SPARTANBURG, S.C. & ATLANTA -- On Saturday, four-star Makai Ashton-Langford and the Mass Rivals team closed out the Adidas Finale in style while the Elite 32 offered another chance for coaches to scout high-level players.
RIVALS TAKE ADIDAS TITLE
Anybody who watched Mass Rivals this week in Spartanburg probably walked away thinking they were going to have a really good shot at winning the title. Makai Ashton-Langford is a big reason for that as he’s such a pure point guard, but his supporting cast, while not highly recruited, makes a lot of plays too.
Ashton-Langford, who told us on Friday he’s seriously eyeing Louisville, Providence and UConn, pumped in 16 points, six rebounds and three assists for Mass Rivals in the championship. All three of those assists went to Azar Swain, who chipped in 17 points, including three from beyond the arc. Wabissa Bede contributed seven points and four assists in the winning effort and scored offers from Minnesota and Seton Hall following the game.
The championship game brought out quite the group of coaches. Head coaches from North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Miami, Butler, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Arizona State, DePaul, VCU, Rhode Island, Harvard, Dayton and La Salle were all spotted courtside.
FEBRES MAKES NAME
The July recruiting periods are always good for a few breakout performers, and Jase Febres was certainly one of them from the first recruiting period. Coming into the Adidas Gauntlet Finals, not much was known outside of Texas about the 6-foot-4 wing from Texas Pro. That changed when he averaged 24 points per game through the first three games of the weekend, including a 26-point outing against Exum Elite on Thursday night.
Recruiting has picked up for Febres, who cooled down in Saturday morning’s win over Garner Road but still had 13 points.
“I have Auburn, Kansas State, TCU, Houston, Weber State and Rice,” Febres said. “Auburn and Kansas State both offered in the past couple days. Baylor and Texas A&M are on me now too.”
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy and Virginia Tech head coach Buzz Williams were both in attendance on Saturday morning along with a number of Big 12 and SEC assistants.
SAMUEL'S STOCK KEEPS RISING
High-major coaches were flocking to the Elite 32 this weekend, and a big part of the reason was to get a look at Kevin Samuel, a 6-foot-10 center out of Texas. He didn’t disappoint. The Rivals150 prospect is very athletic with a strong build. He’s relentless on the glass and is strong enough to grab a rebound in traffic and finish through all sorts of contact.
Texas A&M, Houston, TCU, Nebraska and Baylor are among the schools that have already offered Samuel. Assistants from Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Baylor, USC, Iowa State and a few other high-majors were there watching, but TCU sent head coach Jamie Dixon to track the Texas native on Saturday.
Samuel is clearly a priority for Dixon.
“He’s recruiting me really hard,” Samuel said. I went up there about two weeks ago. He’s a nice guy and they have a nice campus up there.”
MORE SATURDAY NOTES
Thomas Allen had a really nice outing for Garner Road in a loss to Texas Pro on Saturday morning. The 6-foot-1 guard put up 22 points and connected on a variety of deeps balls and floaters in traffic. Buzz Williams was on hand to track him.
John Walker looks like a prospect that has a chance to develop into a pretty good player. He connected on two three-pointers and had a three-point play with minutes of entering the game. The lanky 6-foot-8 forward seemed to fade in and out the game, but he’s clearly very talented.
Romeo Langford and Zion Williamson continue to attract high-profile coaches. On Saturday morning, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams showed up to split time between their games on courts right next to each other.
Garrison Brooks had a nice weekend for Team Carroll and that resulted in new offers from Arizona State and VCU. Georgia head coach Mark Fox and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl watched him late on Saturday night at the Elite 32 along with teammates Alex Reese and Jamal Johnson.
Scootie Bryant from the Jacksonville Magic is starting to attract some attention from high-major programs. Clemson and UAB have already offered the 6-foot point guard, and quite a few high-major coaches watched him on Saturday night. Iowa State could be next to join his offer list.
Bryce Drew, John Groce and Leonard Hamilton along with several high-major assistants watched the Florida Vipers on Saturday night. RaiQuan Gray, Anthony Polite and Victor Uyaelunmo were the focus of their attention.
