ARDSLEY, N.Y. -- The action at the final Under Armour
Association league stop in New York continued at the House of Sports on Saturday
and the big timers came to play. Class of 2017 forward Billy Preston
played with vengeance while class of 2016 bigs Dewan Huell and Edrice Adebayo were among the many others having strong days.
Preston elevates game
There's a narrative that has been built regarding Billy Preston, the
No. 9 player in 2017, of MWA Elite. While the 6-foot-9 combo forward is very skilled and
loaded with talent, his motor has been questioned while his talent has been
lauded. Anybody who has seen him play over the past two years knows it and, most
importantly, Preston knows it.
Even more importantly, he's gone to work on changing that narrative.
The skill is still there. He can handle the ball, he can shoot with range and he
has a deadly game in the low post. He recognizes mismatches and exploits them.
The big change is that, since moving from California to Texas, he has added
strength and turned the motor up in a big way.
On Saturday, Preston played a man's game on both ends of the floor during a 22 point and eight rebound outing against the Carolina Wolves. He attacked the
basket with strength, he took jumpers when they were available and during a game
that featured two five-star prospects from the class of 2016 -- his teammate
The Dallas (Texas) Prime U product took unofficial visits to Baylor,
Kansas and Texas A&M during the latter part of the season but
said that he won't get serious about his recruitment until his senior year. For
now, he's concentrating on showing people that he does care about his game and
putting forth a good effort each time out.
"California basketball and the south basketball is way different," Preston
said. "I took basketball for granted when I was in California. When I
moved to Texas it just made me a tougher person. I started playing harder, my
motor got better and I started to displace the rumors that Billy Preston has no
motor."
No list for Adebayo
No matter the setting this spring, Edrice Adebayo of Washington (N.C.)
Northside has been a stud. The No. 8 player in the class of 2016, Adebayo has
impressed with Nike's Team Penny, Adidas Team Loaded North Carolina and now he's
done it on the Under Armour circuit with Team Felton.
A 6-foot-9 power forward who is already built like an NBA player, Adebayo plays
with a tremendous amount of energy each time he takes the floor and is a true
intimidator on the interior. The 13 points and eight rebounds he had during a
morning win were nice, but the numbers didn't do any real justice to the way he
controlled play in the paint. For the most part, opponents back away from his
non-stop physicality and double teams simply have to foul him to stop him from
dunking on them.
In many ways he's similar to Louisville's Montrezl Harrell (another North
Carolina product) but he's bigger and further along than Harrell was as a rising
senior.
Adebayo said t his gameplan in New York is a simple one
"Every time I play I just try to go as hard as I can," he said. "I think
that my energy is contagious and I can really get going on the glass."
So far, Adebayo has avoided listing schools that stand out to him and he won't
even list the schools that are showing interest. He will get more serious about things in the next month
or so.
"Probably by the middle of summer," said Adebayo when asked when he will release
a list of schools. "I'm looking for a good place where I fit in with a good
coach and a good campus."
Huell opening things back up
Cutting a list to 11 isn't exactly making a huge cut, but it still qualifies.
After taking some time to look at things, though, 2016 four-star Dewan Huell is opening things back up and says that he has no
list.
The 6-foot-9 power forward, ranked No. 21 in 2016, said that
despite cutting his list he realized that he was still unsure about what
programs were
really serious about him.
"I decided on a top 11 and I realized some of those schools weren't recruiting
me like I am looking for," Huell said. "I decided to open it back to everybody
to find the schools that really want me."
Any program who saw him go for 37 points and 14 rebounds for Florida-based Team
Breakdown against the Houston
Defenders on Saturday would be ramping up their recruiting efforts. Showing
quickness in the lane, Huell finished again and again at the rim and played with
a relentless level of energy. He ran the floor, hit a few short jumpers and was
totally dominant.
For good measure, he added another 16 points and 12 rebounds during his second
game of the day. When rankings get updated in late June, he is going to be under
heavy consideration to be elevated to five-star status.
More Saturday notes and news
Making his first appearance on the grassroots circuit since breaking his foot during his junior season, four-star guard
Kwe Parker had some impressive flashes. Arguably the single most explosive athlete in high school basketball, Parker just missed on some acrobatic lob finishes but it was his jumper that looked good. In addition to the jumper, he is a high-level defender and unleashed a filthy baseline floater that he can make out to 12 feet.