Shaw's Takeaways: Under Armour events in Atlanta
ATLANTA – Under Armour showed up in the Peach State during the first July live period, bringing talent and college coaches. Under Armour features its top division, UAA, and its second division, UA Rise, all playing under one roof.
Of course the UAA portion of the circuit has numerous Rivals150 players, but we were still able to find some sleepers as well.
Rivals.com’s Jamie Shaw spent the weekend watching the UAA and UA Rise games and here are some sleepers he found.
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2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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As I walked over to the furthest court away from the door and settled in on the final day of the live period, I looked up and saw Diop. While Diop is not currently in the 2023 Rivals150, that should change during the next update. There is simply too much to like as he defended, initiated the offense, knocked down threes, and overall made plays.
In talking with Diop, Kansas, Texas A&M, Illinois, Maryland and other programs are involved. He may have been the revelation of the weekend, so the high-major interest makes perfect sense.
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During the June live period I kept hearing about a 6-foot-7 wing from Avon (Conn.) Old Farms Academy. Maryland and Seton Hall were among the four offers Gadavicius picked up. Watching him with his New England 6 (Conn.) UA Rise team, you can see the intrigue. Gudavicius is a competitive and fiery player.
The tallest on his team, Gudavicius also was the one who initiated the offense, and got his team into sets. He showcased excellent floor vision and threw pinpoint, precise passes, delivering on target and on time. He is a unique player, and possibly is one who is best served at the next level as a primary initiator.
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Johnson is a qualified senior who is looking to attend prep school next season. Johnson finished Sunday’s game with a 34-point outburst, the most of any player I saw at either event this weekend. Johnson, and his SOH Elite (Fla.) UA Rise team won the game, and it was behind Johnson’s ability to be a mismatch on the floor. Johnson has a strong frame, with broad shoulders, long arms, and very passer friendly hands.
He knocked down a three in this game, as well as scored on a variety of post ups, screen slips, and pick and pop mid-range jumpers. Impressive performance, and again, he and coach both say he is qualified.
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Word has been circulating that Green has been dominating his summer to this point, however, my first time watching him was this weekend. Playing up an age group, with the Team CLT (N.C.) UAA 17u team, Green showcased an entire arsenal with the ball in his hands. Green has deep range, great footwork, a tight dribble, and the ability to get to his spots and create space, but this we already knew about the 5-foot-10 point guard. In this setting, Green showed the ability to run a team.
His passing was precise, and his team ended up with two double figure wins. Green picked up offers from UMass and Virginia Tech after his showing on Saturday. He will enter the conversation when we look to expand our 2023 Rivals150.
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I should have known when I looked over and saw that BYU great Tyler Haws was coaching the team that I was in for something. But I was taken by surprise by the 6-foot-8 strong bodied, highly explosive Keita. The Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy post player finished the game with a very loud 19 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.
Talking to Haws after the game, I found out the Utah Mountain Stars (Utah) UA Rise big does not have any recruitment. A native of Mali, Keita should be on college program’s lists to check off these next couple of weeks. No offers in hand currently, he will be in the conversation to enter the 2022 Rivals150 upon next update.