Day Two from adidas National Championship

Day Two from Hotlanta

Day two at the adidas National Championship in Atlanta (Ga.) saw the weather hot and the basketball scorching as Gerald Green and Jovan Adams continue their impressive tournament run while leading the Houston Elite to the championship game tomorrow against the Tallahassee Wildcats.

Gerald Green and Javon Adams lead Houston Elite to Championship game

Wow! That exclamation probably doesn’t do Gerald Green justice when describing his game but it will have to do. The 6-foot-8 shooting guard erased any doubts as to who the nation’s top perimeter player is with back to back performances of 18 and 19 points. But it wasn’t the total points scored but the manner in which he scored them.

With sick athleticism and a complete offensive arsenal, Green, who is currently ranked the nation’s 9th best prospect by Rivals.com, dazzled onlookers with a barrage of long jumpers and one-on-one moves that proved him nearly unstoppable and inevitable brought up talk of him making the jump from high school to the NBA.

When the next Rivals.com top 150 is released look for Green to be ranked among the top two prospects with No. 1 a strong consideration.

His backcourt partner, point guard Jovan Adams continued to be the glue that holds the Elite team together and in tonight’s win over the powerful EBO program the lighting quick point guard sparked the run that led to the victory.

Adams, 5-foot-11, used his killer crossover and nice hesitation move to penetrate the EBO defense and fearlessly challenged the 6-foot-11 Lopez twins. In one move late in the game Adams drove hard left and used his body to move both twins off the ball and finish. Adams, who is currently ranked No. 14 in the nation by Rivals.com, is the complete package and once he learns to run a college offense will be an instant impact player.

Over 20 college coaches were in attendance and immediately after the game were sent scrambling to find out the current situation of the Texas athlete. Arkansas, Boston College, Illinois, Oklahoma, UNLV and Washington are the early leaders.

Alonzo Gee putting on a clinic from long-range

Tallahassee Wildcats shooting guard Alonzo Gee opened the morning with five 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point effort showing off his beautiful form well outside the arc. After his strong performance at the adidas Superstar Camp last week Gee has seen his recruitment reach a flurry with coaches from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Charlotte, Florida, Florida State and UAB attending both of his Friday showings. He continued his impressive shooting in the night cap while leading the Wildcats to the championship game to be played tomorrow at 1:20 p.m.

EBO/ EA sports loaded with division-one talent

You have to give it the EBO program which rolls about 16 players deep with at least five coaches. Most of the prospects are in the 2006 class and watching this team the next two years will be a must stop for most of the nation’s top programs.

Fresh off their impressive adidas Superstar Camp, Brook and Robin Lopez continued to be active on both ends of the floor. Both are 6-foot-11 and versatile enough to put the ball on the floor or show off a nice 15-foot face up jumper. The coordination is still coming but both are high majors with nice upsides.

Point guard Derrick Jaspers has nice size for his position and a great feel for the game. His jumper is a little bit funky and is fired from his ear but he gets it off quick and clean and more importantly makes it. Long and quick he is a good defender.

Quincy Pondexter is a lean athlete with a nice stroke from the outside. His body will fill out but he is a good defender and isn’t afraid to drive hard to the basket or create off the dribble.

2006 Alabama small forward playing well

Stanley Robinson is quickly earning the reputation as one of the top athletes in his class. The wiry 6-foot-8 small forward is at the stage of shooting the long ball or throwing down monster dunks but he has shown a improved handle in addition to a more patient offensive approach. He has NBA size and athleticism and is currently developing a solid mid-range jumper that will go well with his ability to put the ball on the floor.

Rising sophomore getting early attention

2007 big man Gani Lawal put up 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in his morning session. The long, lanky athlete has proven to be too much to handle for defenders while leading his Atlanta Celtics 15 & under team to the championship. The bouncy post player runs the floor hard, finishes near the basket and has a soft touch.

At times it’s apparent that his coordination is trying to catch up with the rest of his body but he has a tremendous upside and looks like he will eventually grow into his long legs. Georgia head skipper Dennis Felton has watched at least one of his games this week.

Keep and eye on Florida athlete

If passing the looks test means anything then Jacksonville Bull forward Anthony Steward III is in business. The 6-foot-7 combo forward is a long, strong athlete who runs the floor well but at this point is more of a power forward than a small forward. At Arlington Day High School in Jacksonville (Fla.) he played on a loaded team as a freshman but next year is expected to be more of an impact player. Potential is the key here and he has to develop but he has the physical tools.

Quick, fast and in a hurry

After playing in the Alabama all-star game Thursday night Jonathan Huffman and Trey Hampton joined their Alabama Challenge teammates in Atlanta today.

Head coaches Rick Barnes, Jeff Lebo, Mark Gottfried and Rick Stansbury and assistants from Cincinnati, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, UAB and Vanderbilt were seen evaluating the duo.

Lewis Clinch and Anthony Mason Jr. squared off today with Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and UAB among the two dozen coaches watching closely. Clinch scored 14 points with Mason totaling eight.

2006 small forward Stanley Robinson scored 17 points in a losing effort with his teammate and fellow 2006 point guard Taurus Dortch chipping in 16.

While the NBA talk continues to swirl around Andray Blatche the New York big man scored 15 points in an early morning win with most coming at the free throw line. Blatche continues to avoid contact in the paint.

Undersized power forward John Garcia was watched by Pittsburgh and Villanova while scoring 16 points in his workman like effort.

Duke commitment Greg Paulus has struggled since his arrival in Atlanta. The 6-foot-1 point guard has been sick since last weekend and his play certainly indicates that he is not at 100%.

Houston Elite combo forward Rashad Woods continues to play despite swelling in his knee that was caused during a mishap before last night’s contest. Woods’ back-to-back threes in the 2nd half were big in the Elite run in the night cap against EBO.

Florida head coach Billy Donovan has been front and center for all of Gator commitment Derwin Kitchen’s games. Kitchen has been consistent averaging close to 19 points per game while showing patience and an unselfish demeanor.

Abdul Hererra has a long list of favorites which includes Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Illinois, Kansas State, Ohio State, St. Johns and UConn.

Florida, Florida State, Penn State, St. Johns and UConn make up Jimmy Sutton’s top schools.

While Ryan Reid is looking hard at Florida, Florida State, Kansas State, Miami, Penn State and Pittsburgh.