#3SSB Championships: South Standouts Part 3

<p>The adidas 3SSB Championships were the first major shot circuit event for the city of Omaha, and it did not disappoint. The talent was elite, the crowd showed out, and the competitiveness in each game was palpable. Here are the some of the best performances from Southern region prospects over the weekend:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="829411" first="Riley" last="Kugel"] | 6’5" SG | Southeast Elite 17U (pictured)</strong></p> <p>Kugel has effortless bounce. Whether he is in the open floor or maneuvering through traffic, he has no problem rising above the rest, putting him in great position to score. He reads the defense well, too. Defenders elected to go under on ball screens hoping to contain his drives, and he was able to see that early and punish them with the pull up three. Kugel's mobility was impactful on the defensive end as well. There were several possessions in which he went from closing out hard and forcing his man off the line, to rotating to the next man, and then containing a drive. He covers tons of ground with efficiency and speed.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="814902" first="Ernest" last="Udeh"] | 6’10" C | Southeast Elite 17U</strong></p> <p>The mobility of Udeh was impressive given his big frame. He slid well enough on short drives, flipped his hips quickly to adjust to passes in the lane, and reacted quickly to shots in his court area. On one play, he blitzed a pick and roll with his teammate, secured the steal near half court, and dribbled it cleanly the rest of the way and finished strong through a foul.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="598778" first="Jameel" last="Rideout"] | 6’2" PG | Atlanta Celtics 17U</strong></p> <p>With a tight handle and functional length, Rideout proved to be one of the tougher lead guards to contain in Omaha. He played with pace and set up teammates for success all weekend long. Rideout did a great job cutting without the ball, and even when the pass was far off target, he was able to contort his body and secure the pass while rising up for the layup all in one motion. One of the more athletically impressive plays for Rideout happened on defense when he was in the middle of the lane. An opponent attempted to fire a cross court pass to open shooter, but Rideout stuck his paw up high and snatched the pass with one hand like Odell.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1043320" first="Emeka" last="Iloh"] | 6’10" C | Atlanta Celtics 17U</strong></p> <p>Iloh used his excellent touch to punish defenders over and over again. He faced one team that switched ball screens heavily, and he calmly beat smaller guards with baby hooks and push shots. Many defenses chose to hack him and force him to earn it at the line, but that proved to be a losing strategy. Iloh has a great touch and shooting stroke from the free throw line, too. And half the time he finished the bucket anyway with his significant strength.</p>