EBA Summer League: First-Round Playoff Standouts

Colby Giacubeno August 1, 2019 @ 06:03 AM

Last night was the first round of the EBA Summer League Playoffs, where a handful of players took advantage of the spotlight with big performances. Let's get right into the standouts. Player of the Night: Jeramiah Gaines | 5’11 | Rams ‘21 From this summer league, Gaines has proven to be the go-to option for Digital Harbor this season. In their play-in game victory against the Mavs, the 5-foot-11 brute guard had one of the most impressive performances of the summer with 34 points and 11 rebounds. I don’t recall Gaines missing one shot. When he did miss, he was able to draw a foul and get to the charity stripe, where he was a perfect 11-for-11 When he wasn’t scoring, Gaines was making sound decisions with the ball. In the second game against the Spartans, Gaines was tremendous once again, posting 30 points and nine rebounds. Other Standouts: Nelson Bundy | 5’9 | Falcons ‘22 Bundy effectively set the tone for the Falcons in their play-in game against the Cobras. The shifty 5-foot-9 point guard finished with a stat line of 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. Bundy mixed it up well throughout the game after making a couple early three’s. He consistently got into the paint off the dribble and found open teammates, as indicated by his assists. Jordan Strickland | 6’4 | EBA ‘20 It isn’t often that you see Strickland finish a game without double-digit rebounds. That again would remain true last night as he pulled down 16 boards in the quarterfinal game against the Falcons. The majority of Strickland’s 10 points came from simply dominating the offensive glass and earning second chance opportunities. John Godinez | 5’9 | EBA ‘20 Godinez got off to a rough start in the first half with some careless turnovers, but eventually got into his groove and began dissecting the Falcons’ defense. The 5-foot-9 used plenty of craft on his way to 16 points to help his team avoid a major upset against the No. 9 ranked Falcons. Godinez struggled to find the mark on his jumper, so he responded by aggressively attacking the basket off the dribble in both iso and ball screen situations. Marlon Lewis | 6’4 | Spartans ‘21 It’s pretty much been a given to see Lewis’ name on this list. The 2021 wing finished with yet another solid stat line of 16 points and 10 rebounds. Lewis found his mark early from three to help his team to a quick start in the quarterfinal win. He knocked down four three’s in total on his way to 16 points. Lewis was also active on the glass and as a shot-blocker defensively. Alan Brown | | 6’0 | Spartans ‘21 Brown and Lewis have been the consistent leading scorers this summer for the Spartans. Brown led the way in the Spartans’ win with 19 points. Usually he plays the role of a sharpshooter, but Brown did most of his damage in transition by getting out and filling lanes early for easy looks. Timmy Adedire | 6’3 | Pointers ‘20 Adedire was key for the Pointers in their quarterfinal win over the Bayhawks. With Ramon Villanueva out dealing with an injury, Adedire had to carry much of the scoring load as well as being an inside presence. The 6-foot-3 rising senior recorded 11 points and five rebounds. He did a nice job of disrupting shots in the paint that resulted in misses and Fastbreak opportunities. Devin Adams | 5’8 | Bluebirds ‘22 Adams had his second strong week in a row as he seems to be finding his role with this Bluebirds team. The 5-foot-8 guard shot it well from three and if the defender closed out without control, he did a nice job of attacking the basket and drawing fouls. Adams led his team with 15 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc.