Adebayo
solidifying five-star status
RANKINGS: Class of 2014 - 2015 - 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Friday is the last day of pool play games at the NBPA Top 100 with playoff action starting on Saturday. Traditionally, Friday is the day where campers start to drag and the energy level suffers. While it is easy to tell that many players are tired, the energy level was good during Friday's first session of games. Edrice Adebayo didn't put up huge numbers but has solidified his status in 2016 while others like Deng Adel and Chance Comanche made some noise as well.
Adebayo expanding
his game
One of the most athletic and physically tough big men regardless of class, there have never been any questions about Edrice Adebayo's ability to dunk in traffic and rebound the basketball. At the NBPA Top 100 Camp, the five-star post man who guys by Bam Bam, or just Bam for short, is showing that he has expanded his game a bit.
A 6-foot-8 power forward at Washington (N.C.) Northside who currently ranks No. 9 overall in the rising junior class, Adebayo feels he has had a good run in Charlottesville.
"I think I've been playing well," Adebayo told Rivals.com. "I'm getting good exposure. The guards are giving me the ball in the post, sometimes at these camps it is all about the guards."
Rugged and tough, Adebayo has a long and wiry strong play and has a style similar to a Montrezl Harrell type. He is comfortable as an above the rim power player but is working hard to improve his ability to attack via one or two dribbles and make short jumpers.
"I've really been working on it since last summer," said Adebayo. "I'm trying to perfect getting by people with a shot fake and dribble and hitting the elbow jumper.
Adebayo didn't want to speak about a school list and said that he is wide open in the process. He did mention that he has heard from N.C. State, Iowa State, Duke, Memphis and Wake Forest since coaches could start making contact with rising juniors last week.
However, Adebayo also cautioned that he is just in the infancy stages of his recruitment and that there are several other schools in contact with his mentor Eric Peartree. It is clear that Adebayo thinks highly of his mentor and he will lean on him for guidance.
"He's very important to me," said Adebayo of Peartree. "If it wasn't for him I believe a lot of people would come at me in a hateful way and try to get me to do the wrong things. I'm thankful to have him in my life."
More news and notes from Friday's first session
Five-star big man
Chance Comanche had a
good run during Friday's first session. The 6-foot-10 Californian was running
the floor, using his length to finish around the rim and he even stepped out and
knocked home a very clean looking three-point jumper. Comanche still has to get
stronger and is certainly more of a face-up player than a low post grinder but
there shouldn't be any question about whether or not he has big upside and
potential.
Class of 2015
four-star Jimmy Whitt
is a natural combo guard who is best scoring off the dribble. At NBPA Camp he
has been playing almost exclusively as a point guard. Running his team has cut
down on his shots so he hasn't been a huge scorer, but he has been very
effective utilizing the high ball screen and he has proven himself as one of the
premier pull-up jump shooters in the country. During the morning session, Whitt
had a string of four straight pull-ups. Whitt currently has a huge list that
he's hoping to cut down at the end of the summer but he did say that Arkansas and
SMU are very
likely to get official visits while Missouri has
really turned up the heat since hiring Kim Anderson. Whitt also mentioned Illinois as
a place he would look to check out unofficially in August.
The play of 2015
power forward Luke Maye
at NBPA Top 100 shows that he needs to remain in the Rivals150. Throw out the
ideal physical characteristics for a power forward because Maye breaks them
down. There are plenty of guys with more length or athleticism, but few have his
jump shooting, tough rebounding, overall awareness and skill level. It will be
very interesting to see who prioritizes him in July.
Currently and
unranked three-star prospect, Deng Adel has locked up a
spot in the next edition of the Rivals150 for the class of 2015. The only
question is how high he will enter the rankings. A very skinny wing with
6-foot-7ish size, Adel is solid in all aspects. He runs the floor well, uses the
dribble effectively and will get on the glass. What he does as well or better
than just about anybody else, though, is use the glass on 12 to 15 foot jump
shots.
There has never
been any question about 2015 small forward Derrick Jones as an
athlete, but there have been questions about his skill level. Those questions
remain valid, but Jones has perhaps been a bit underrated skill wise. He has a
great first step, has gotten a bit better with the dribble and seems to have a
better feel for the game situation. At least he did early Friday while playing
the best ball Rivals.com has seen from him in a while.
It wasn't the best
spring for Bryant
Crawford and he had some struggles when we watched earlier at NBPA, but he
seemed to turn things around some on Friday morning. After spending too much
time hunting jumpers from deep, Crawford decided to start attacking off the
dribble and getting into the lane. The aggressive play seemed to favor him and
he even lit up the gym with a one handed throw down on Ben Simmons -- who had
another outstanding outing with 17 points -- at the rim.
Mustapha Heron is more
well known for his strength and getting to the rim. The class of 2016 wing who
has committed to Pittsburgh
has also looked like he will be more of a mid range jump shooter than deep
threat. However, Heron has shot the ball extremely well from deep at camp and if
that development holds up it bodes very well for his future at Pitt.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Friday is the last day of pool play games at the NBPA Top 100 with playoff action starting on Saturday. Traditionally, Friday is the day where campers start to drag and the energy level suffers. While it is easy to tell that many players are tired, the energy level was good during Friday's first session of games. Edrice Adebayo didn't put up huge numbers but has solidified his status in 2016 while others like Deng Adel and Chance Comanche made some noise as well.
 |
 |
| |
| Bam Bam Adebayo is expanding his game. |
One of the most athletic and physically tough big men regardless of class, there have never been any questions about Edrice Adebayo's ability to dunk in traffic and rebound the basketball. At the NBPA Top 100 Camp, the five-star post man who guys by Bam Bam, or just Bam for short, is showing that he has expanded his game a bit.
A 6-foot-8 power forward at Washington (N.C.) Northside who currently ranks No. 9 overall in the rising junior class, Adebayo feels he has had a good run in Charlottesville.
"I think I've been playing well," Adebayo told Rivals.com. "I'm getting good exposure. The guards are giving me the ball in the post, sometimes at these camps it is all about the guards."
Rugged and tough, Adebayo has a long and wiry strong play and has a style similar to a Montrezl Harrell type. He is comfortable as an above the rim power player but is working hard to improve his ability to attack via one or two dribbles and make short jumpers.
"I've really been working on it since last summer," said Adebayo. "I'm trying to perfect getting by people with a shot fake and dribble and hitting the elbow jumper.
Adebayo didn't want to speak about a school list and said that he is wide open in the process. He did mention that he has heard from N.C. State, Iowa State, Duke, Memphis and Wake Forest since coaches could start making contact with rising juniors last week.
However, Adebayo also cautioned that he is just in the infancy stages of his recruitment and that there are several other schools in contact with his mentor Eric Peartree. It is clear that Adebayo thinks highly of his mentor and he will lean on him for guidance.
"He's very important to me," said Adebayo of Peartree. "If it wasn't for him I believe a lot of people would come at me in a hateful way and try to get me to do the wrong things. I'm thankful to have him in my life."
More news and notes from Friday's first session
|
 |
| |
| Chance Comanche was active Friday morning. |
Five-star big man
Chance Comanche had a
good run during Friday's first session. The 6-foot-10 Californian was running
the floor, using his length to finish around the rim and he even stepped out and
knocked home a very clean looking three-point jumper. Comanche still has to get
stronger and is certainly more of a face-up player than a low post grinder but
there shouldn't be any question about whether or not he has big upside and
potential. Class of 2015
four-star Jimmy Whitt
is a natural combo guard who is best scoring off the dribble. At NBPA Camp he
has been playing almost exclusively as a point guard. Running his team has cut
down on his shots so he hasn't been a huge scorer, but he has been very
effective utilizing the high ball screen and he has proven himself as one of the
premier pull-up jump shooters in the country. During the morning session, Whitt
had a string of four straight pull-ups. Whitt currently has a huge list that
he's hoping to cut down at the end of the summer but he did say that Arkansas and
SMU are very
likely to get official visits while Missouri has
really turned up the heat since hiring Kim Anderson. Whitt also mentioned Illinois as
a place he would look to check out unofficially in August. The play of 2015
power forward Luke Maye
at NBPA Top 100 shows that he needs to remain in the Rivals150. Throw out the
ideal physical characteristics for a power forward because Maye breaks them
down. There are plenty of guys with more length or athleticism, but few have his
jump shooting, tough rebounding, overall awareness and skill level. It will be
very interesting to see who prioritizes him in July.  |
|
| |
| Deng Adel loves to use the glass. |
Currently and
unranked three-star prospect, Deng Adel has locked up a
spot in the next edition of the Rivals150 for the class of 2015. The only
question is how high he will enter the rankings. A very skinny wing with
6-foot-7ish size, Adel is solid in all aspects. He runs the floor well, uses the
dribble effectively and will get on the glass. What he does as well or better
than just about anybody else, though, is use the glass on 12 to 15 foot jump
shots. There has never
been any question about 2015 small forward Derrick Jones as an
athlete, but there have been questions about his skill level. Those questions
remain valid, but Jones has perhaps been a bit underrated skill wise. He has a
great first step, has gotten a bit better with the dribble and seems to have a
better feel for the game situation. At least he did early Friday while playing
the best ball Rivals.com has seen from him in a while. It wasn't the best
spring for Bryant
Crawford and he had some struggles when we watched earlier at NBPA, but he
seemed to turn things around some on Friday morning. After spending too much
time hunting jumpers from deep, Crawford decided to start attacking off the
dribble and getting into the lane. The aggressive play seemed to favor him and
he even lit up the gym with a one handed throw down on Ben Simmons -- who had
another outstanding outing with 17 points -- at the rim. Mustapha Heron is more
well known for his strength and getting to the rim. The class of 2016 wing who
has committed to Pittsburgh
has also looked like he will be more of a mid range jump shooter than deep
threat. However, Heron has shot the ball extremely well from deep at camp and if
that development holds up it bodes very well for his future at Pitt. 
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