“Which is the Texas team?
(Checks notes).
Southern Assault?
I pointed to the team warming up on the left side of “Court 7” and casually mentioned they were playing against Team Trae Young.
“Speaking of Trae, did you watch the Eastern Conference Finals? He’s a special talent.”
“Yes sir, he is” I responded. “Know what else though? Although you didn’t coach him, your resume includes some pretty good players too.”
From there, the conversation shifted to Keshawn Murphy.
I mentioned how it was great to see Murphy, a class of ’21 signee, choose Mississippi State. The coaching staff had a proven track record to help him grow as a player.
It is my hope to see the Birmingham native reach his full potential and make it to the NBA.
Ben Howland seemed kind of impressed with my knowledge of both his resume and the Bulldogs latest freshman forward.
Then the head coach had to go into recruit mode. I had to begin filming games.
We shook hands and began our long, first day at the Adidas 3SSB showcase tournament.
_____
It’s been a week now.
I left Hoover with memories of that brief conversation with Coach Howland.
I left having met certain coaches for the first time. Seeing John Calipari and Bill Self (honestly) felt weird.
I have a picture taken with former NBA player David West. His Garner Road (North Carolina) program had several teams in the tournament.
I walked into the Finley Center with limited knowledge about the heavily sought after high school prospects in the ’22, ’23, ’24 and ’25 classes. I left with a list names who will potentially be in the NBA soon.
Keyonte George, for instance, is a part of that previously mentioned Southern Assault team. In 2022, he has stated intentions to play college ball at either Oklahoma State, Kansas, Texas, Baylor or Kentucky.
Mocks for the 2023 NBA Draft currently have George listed as a top 10 first round pick.
It will be interesting to watch if Mike Boynton can lure Quion Williams and his Southern Assault teammate to Ok St. Adding Marquise “MJ” to the mix would make the Cowboys a dangerous team in 22-23.
Rice is another name mentioned as a potential first rounder.
Team Loaded North Carolina played several games on my assigned court. So I got to see him play for the first time.
NC State is considered a strong favorite to keep the small forward and Durham native home. But many think his transfer from Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) to Prolific Prep (California) signifies plans to skip college.
In addition to George, Williams and Rice, Boynton recently offered fast rising New York native Ryan Dunn.
Dunn was originally a unknown member of the 2021 class but decided to go the prep school route and boost his recruitment as a member of the ’22 class.
The extra year has definitely benefitted him.
I watched Dunn and Jamarques Lawrence lead the NY Jayhawks team. Both headed home with offers from big name schools.
And speaking of Prolific Prep, their roster also includes Adem Bona and Yohan Traore.
The 6″10, Traore came to Hoover with offers from Cal, Creighton, Houston, Kansas, LSU, TCU, Texas and Texas Tech. He gained more (Arkansas, Louisville, Tennessee, UCLA & USC) after a monstrous performance in 3SSB.
Nigerian big man Bona would’ve been a part of the We Can All Go (WCAG) team alongside fellow five star recruits Mikey Williams and Chris Livingston.
But he instead played in the Latvia hosted FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
_____
I’ll give this YouTube and social media era much deserved credit.
Mass exposure can turn people into mega stars.
After four days of witnessing the Mikey Williams experience, I can tell you firsthand the kid has reached a high level of mega stardom.
He can instantly attract large crowds.
One specific moment worth mentioning came Friday night (July 9th).
I was filming New World vs Arkansas Hawks.
This particular game featured several four-stars. Joseph Pinion (Arkansas commit), Creed Williamson (son of Razorback legend and Hawks coach Corliss), Jaden Daughtry and Favour Aire.
A crowd somewhere between small and medium had formed. Several college coaches were watching.
As the 4:15 games ended, WCAG strolled past and headed toward the adjacent Court 6.
They had played OSA Crusaders (Omaha Sports Academy) earlier in the day on my court. Mikey, however, chose to sit that one out.
This time around, the basketball phenom was dressed for action.
Checked the schedule to discover WCAG vs Southern Assault was the upcoming match-up.
And almost like magic.
The crowd grew until it reached well over 100 spectators. They packed the upstairs viewing area too.
Heck, even well-known basketball analyst Jeff Goodman was there.
I jokingly expected to see Stephen A. Smith or Skip Bayless appear next.
All this attention because of one specific player.
True.
Southern Assault has an all-star roster that includes George, Q. Williams, Austin Nunez, Colin Smith, Tyler Smith and Zineddine Bedri (Columbia commit).
True.
Chris Livingston, Devin Ree (LSU commit) and Jaylen Jones are Mikey’s WCAG teammates.
But extra star power only added to the game itself. The amount of people, not including college coaches, surrounding the court was clearly based off the appeal of name recognition.
So this new Charlotte, NC based Vertical Academy basketball team his dad (Mahlon Williams) has co-created makes perfect sense.
Lavar Ball built the Big Baller Brand for his three sons.
Ironically.
Mikey is the older sibling to a sister and a brother who are involved in sports as well.
Coincidentally.
Last year, the youngest Ball brother (LaMelo) was drafted third overall by the Charlotte Hornets.
The Williams family had moved to North Carolina a few months prior.
With the creation of Vertical Academy, Lake Norman Christian now knows how Chino Hills felt to lose a star basketball player.
Lavar pulled LaMelo from high school prior to junior year and allowed him to focus solely on basketball.
Mahlon has taken a similar action for his son.
And you know what? Being a part of the Adidas 3SSB gave me insight about how tough is to be a mega star.
WCAG, for instance, played six games. They only won one.
I believe Mikey played in four games.
When he sat out, people could be overheard criticizing him for not helping the team. They would praise Chris Livingston for playing every game despite him not needing too.
When he did play and WCAG lost, people could be overheard using the word “overhyped”.
Yet Mikey is about a top three draft pick soon.
So it’s tough love the kid needs as he prepares for and adapts to the NBA journey that lies ahead.
_____
If J.D Davison tried to blend in amongst a crowd, he would fail each time.
The hair makes him instantly recognizable.
That’s actually how I spotted the Crimson Tide basketball signee checking out a game on my court.
Then there was Christian Watford.
The Birmingham native and former Indiana Hoosier checked out some 3SSB game action too.
Interestingly enough.
Watford was a part of the same 2009 Alabama high school recruiting class as Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins.
Davison, meanwhile, is expected to become our state’s first one-and-done prospect since Bledsoe and Cousins.
Trendon Watford, Christian’s brother, almost took the same route last year. But returned to LSU for one more season.
The younger Watford and Davison established basketball star power in a predominately football focused state.
Both joined the list of John Petty Jr, Trevor Lacey and Ronald Steele as two-time winners of the Alabama Mr. Basketball award.
Labaron Philon, a 2024 prospect from Mobile, has similar potential. He already has offers from powerhouses like Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss.
But looking around the Finley Center.
You didn’t see Philon.
You didn’t see a player from Hoover High nor nearby Spain Park High.
Despite Vestavia Hills High being a short drive away, you didn’t see Win Miller (’23) and his teammate Reese Gurner (’22) either.
There were no current local high school players amongst the Alabama hosted star studded affair.
Our top ’22 recruit Barry Dunning Jr recently committed to Arkansas. He has been playing “summer play date” scrimmage games with his high school team (McGill Toolen).
Will Shaver, Jordan Frazier and Calen Lightford played in the Under Armour sponsored event in Georgia.
Prior to announcing he would spend senior year at a out-of-state prep school, Shaver had been our number two prospect.
Behind them, notable names are Martavious “MJ” Russell, Rylan Houck (Lipscomb commit), Knute Wood (Tennessee State commit), Colby McAllister, J’Quan Broxson and Dresean Knight.
Part of the problem? The DeMarre Carroll sponsored Team Carroll Premier wasn’t present.
When I attended the Adidas Gauntlet two years ago, most of our local talent (such as Broxson, Trinity Bell, Tony Toney and Jalen Myers) were members of Team Carroll.
Toney (UAB) and Myers (Texas A&M Corpus Christi/Hinds Community College) would go on to accept basketball scholarships.
Bell accepted a football scholarship from the University of Tennessee. Broxson is a two sport star as well.
Nonetheless.
It doesn’t appear any future Adidas event will have a strong Alabama presence.
Alabama Sports Network (A.S.N) Report 