Adidas 3SSB Mountain Performers

<p>The Mountains of Colorado and Utah allowed me to view some relatively good players from the Adidas action in Indiana last week. In fact, I would go as far as argue the best overall group this weekend came from the Mountain region. 4 of Colorado’s top 6 and some of Utah’s best players all made this list after good showings in the Midwest. These were those best players below.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="921100" first="Baye" last="Fall"]</strong> 6’11 C (2023) <em>Colorado Hawks (Denver Prep)</em></p> <p>Fall is Colorado’s best prospect in the 2023 class and for good reason. The 6’11 big man is extremely lengthy and has a dangerous skillset to accompany him. Played well with his back to the basket and worked well on the block. Has really good athleticism to go along with his extreme length. Fall already is known nationally as he currently is #5 in Prep Hoops National 2023 rankings. This weekend led to him picking up and offer from Arkansas who is fresh off a top 10 recruiting class. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="965778" first="Assane" last="Diop"]</strong> 6’10 PF (2023) <em>Colorado Hawks (Denver Prep)</em></p> <p>Diop comes in right behind teammate [player_tooltip player_id="921100" first="Baye" last="Fall"] as Colorado’s #2 prospect in the 2023 class. Diop lacks the overwhelming skill his teammate has, but he does bring the same component with his size on the interior. Utilized his length on the boards. Diop seemed to be more of a midrange style player as he didn’t play near as much around the rim. Understands his limitations and spaces the floor when worst comes to worst.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="934031" first="James" last="Rust"]</strong> 6’5 SF (2023) <em>Utah Prospects (Timpview)</em></p> <p>I was a big fan of Rust’s game against Team Huncho as the 6’5 wing brought a quiet flare to the team. Smaller for a wing, Rust is a good teammate and pass-first guy in the halfcourt setting. Constantly made the gritty plays that go unnoticed sometimes. Executed backdoor cuts, made hustle plays on the floor, passed up good shots to get teammates great shots. Rust is a team first kind of player and I believe WCC and WAC programs should know him if they don’t.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1317570" first="Baye" last="Ndongo"]</strong>  6’10 PF (2023) <em>Utah Prospects (St. Mary’s)</em></p> <p>Ndongo is probably the best rebounder on this list as he did a good job securing big boards for the Prospects. At 6’10 you would expect Ndongo to rebound well. However, he isn’t uncoordinated like we see many bigs in the country as he has great hands and feet. Relatively quick for a guy his size and certainly able to defend a stretch 4 at the next level. I like Ndongo as a LM type of player.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="921104" first="Christian" last="Hammond"]</strong> 6’3 PG (2023) <em>Utah Prospects (Colorado Prep)</em></p> <p>Hammond didn’t jump off the page for the Prospects in their matchup, but he did enough to show me he is worth looking into. Has the quickness and speed to get by the initial defender whether it be with 2-3 moves or hesitation. Higher volume shooter for a guard as he took a couple contested looking shots early in their game, but there’s no denying Hammond can beat guys off the bounce enough to open up opportunities for others.</p>