EAGAN, Minn. -- The final session of Nike's EYBL rolled on in the Minneapolis suburbs on Sunday. As usual, there was so much talent in the gym that it wasn't hard to find big-time performances. Five-star big man Cheick Diallo continued his dominance and spoke about his recruiting process, while Allonzo Trier continued his run to five-star status.
Diallo dominant
Throughout the entire EYBL, few big men have been as dominant on both ends of the floor as Cheick Diallo. Playing with Team Scan, the nation's No. 8 prospect has been showing all spring that he needs serious consideration for at leas the national top five. During a 20-point, 20-rebound and three-block performance against the Jackson Tigers and current No. 1 Malik Newman on Sunday morning, Diallo continued to build his case.
While Diallo is on the slender side, he does have strength and plays with an incredible motor. He is quick off his feet, has tremendous length and can easily outrun most big men from block to block. Because he is so physically and athletically impressive, the improvement he has shown in his skill game probably hasn't been talked about enough.
Diallo has become reliable with his jump hook, he can now make 12-foot jumpers with pretty good regularity, and his decision making with the ball is much improved. Averaging just under 19 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game while shooting over 63 percent from the field, Diallo has also been highly efficient through all four stops of the EYBL.
The native of Mali has been happy with his play.
"I think that I've been playing great," Diallo told Rivals.com. "I have to keep improving my free throws but I rebound, I block shots, I run the floor and I catch dunks."
With regard to where he fits in the national picture, Diallo believes that he has proven himself as a top player, but he's not stressing rankings.
"Sometimes I care, sometimes I don't," said Diallo about where he ranks. "I just want to play and have fun."
Trier leads team to success
One of the biggest stories of the EYBL has been the play of 2015 shooting guard Allonzo Trier with Athlete's First. One of the league's doormats in 2013, Athlete's First has experienced tremendous success in 2014 as Trier has led what is essentially a 16U team to a 12-4 record in the highly competitive EYBL.
Athlete's First actually suffered a tough loss to the Travelers Basketball Club on Sunday afternoon. Down by as many as 22 in the second half, they were able to cut it all the way down to 3 with just under 30 seconds to go but just didn't have enough gas to finish it out, even with Trier scoring 39 points.
"Last year we didn't do to well and this year nobody expected us to be in the running to compete," said Trier. "We're really young, probably one of the youngest EYBL teams ever. We don't have a lot of experience but we play really hard, we're well coached and we're tough."
Sitting at the No. 38 position in the class of 2015, it isn't as if Trier was lightly regarded headed into the spring. But, he's proven to be a nearly unstoppable scorer while averaging over 29 points a game throughout the spring. He has a strong frame he uses to get to the rim, he has a balance between his mid range game and taking deep jumpers and the Oklahoma native who attends Rockville (Md.) Montrose Christian is a smart basketball player.
For now, Trier says he is leaning towards waiting until next spring to make a choice and that he really needs a chance to sit down with his mother and go over his options before taking his next step.
"I think I will be wait until the spring to make a choice," said Trier. "I need to first get home and talk to my mother because I go to school at Montrose and don't get to see her. We need to get a school list cut down and go from there."
The younger brother of current San Antonio Spur Danny Green, Devonte doesn't have his older brother's size and is a different style player. He is about 6-foot-1 and a combo guard, really more of a self described "undersized shooting guard" but he has game. He can hit from deep, creates off the dribble and has a toughness about him that is tough to ignore. Green said that he has gotten early offers from Arizona and Cincinnati and mentioned UConn, West Virginia and North Carolina as other programs that he has heard from.