Adidas 3SSB Session 1: 2029 Standout Performers

Orange County, CA - Last weekend, April 24th - 26th, I attended Session 1 of the Adidas 3SSB Circuit hosted at Open Gym Premier Ladera. The event started on Friday morning and wrapped up Sunday afternoon, featuring 3 days of high-level basketball with teams and players from all parts of the country taking the court for some much anticipated match-ups. This article takes a look at 8 standout players from the Class of 2029 with variation on their player position. Some of these freshmen played up in the 16u Division and one in the 17u Division, but all had standout showings and are players to keep an eye on the next three years. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with King Bacot.   King Bacot (6'4 | CG) - Petersburg/Team Loaded 15s    Bacot has been one of the better known names from the 2029 class since middle school and he did not disappoint at Session 1, showcasing his lead guard skills, as well as his ability to create his own offense, and averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. I caught his team's final game of the weekend and Bacot filled up the stat-sheet in an impressive win over Midwest Basketball Club, going for 10 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals. The 6-foot-4 lead guard has dynamic handles, the moves to create space from his defender, using the hesitation, between-cross, crossover, spin-move, and wrap-behind to get his defender off balance, has great body control on the mid-range jumper with a variety of ways to score from that area, with the baseline spin-fade middy, the stop-and-pop jumper, and the up-and-under middy, displaying the footwork and touch needed to connect on that shot consistently. Bacot has great court vision in the open court, as well as the half-court setting, finding teammates ahead in transition, off the drive and kick pass, or to screeners diving out of the pick and roll action, and has active hands and instincts to deflect passes, jump passing lanes, or poke the ball out to get out in the open court. Bacot is effective with the 3-ball off the dribble, with the step-back in his bag, as well as good movement off the ball to get open looks off the catch. Plays with good pace and feel for the game, changes direction on a dime to keep his defenders guessing, and is a creative scorer around the basket, using the Euro-step, up-and-under and reverse lay-ups, and is able to absorb and score through contact.     Benjamin Brown (6'3 | CG) - Scott/Midwest Basketball Club 15s   Brown is a sharp shooting player that can create his own buckets, make plays for others, and had an impressive outing at Session 1, with averages of 11 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game to help his team go 3-1 for the weekend. The 6-foot-3 combo guard has solid handles, keeps it on a string to survey the floor, has the moves to get by his initial defender, using the crossover, hesitation, and between-cross to create space, has a good burst off the bounce, is accurate with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line, and is a crafty scorer at the basket, using the reverse lay-up. Euro-step, and floater to score over height at the rim. Brown has good court vision, makes timely reads to open shooters off the drive and kick pass, as well as to players up the court in transition. Brown really excels from beyond the arc, moving fluidly off the ball, getting into shooting position, and firing off the catch, as was evident in his game against Dream Vision 15s, as he would score 15 points on 5 threes.    [player_tooltip player_id='2951978' first='D'Ari' last='Bruce'] (6'5 | WF) - Oakland/Team Lillard 16s    Bruce is a physical and athletic player that excels in the open court, plays above the rim consistently, and is an emerging high-level two-way player that can impact the game in various ways. The 6-foot-5 wing/forward had his best performance during Session 1 in his team's final game against NorCal rival Lakeshow, and he was a key reason Team Lillard was able to hang on for the win, finishing with 18 points, mostly in the second half. Bruce has a strong handle on the ball, uses his solid frame and bounce to score through contact around the basket, with the body control and in-air adjustments to score off balance within 15 feet of the cup. He is able to space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch, and has the control and lift to connect on the middy through contact. Bruce has the wingspan, timing, and active hands to block/alter shots in the post and on the perimeter, jumps passing lanes, and deflects passes to get out in the open court, and is a constant threat on the rim, as he looks to throw down anything near the basket. Bruce controls the boards, looks to get the ball out and run, and has good court vision from the high-post to teammates cutting off the ball.        Kaedyn Cole (6'8 | WF) - Grace Christian Sanford/Team Loaded 15s   Cole is a rangy and athletic player that can defend multiple positions, runs the floor well in the open court, and averaged 13.5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks per game throughout Session 1. I was able to catch his team's final game of the weekend and he showed out, with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. The 6-foot-8 wing/forward is a problem in the paint, alternating/blocking shots, controlling the boards, getting put-backs with touch or with the bangout, the strides to step out and alter perimeter shots, wingspan and active hands to deflect entry passes, poke the ball out, or jump passing lanes to turn defense to offense, and runs the floor well with good court awareness to get ahead of the defense for transition buckets. Cole has solid footwork, the body control to use the spin-move to get by his defender to score at the basket. Cole showed he can space the floor with the 3-ball off the catch, and has enough handle to attack down the lane to create shots through contact around the basket.    RJ Evans (6'6 | WG) SLAM Tampa/Austin Rivers SE Elite 17s   Evans is the only 2029 prospect playing up in the 3SSB 17u Division and he showed why his game is ready for the highest level now at Session 1, as he put up impressive numbers over the 4 games, with averages of 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals per game. I watched his personal best showing of the weekend as his team closed out in a win over Dream Vision, as he put down an elite stat-line of 23 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and a pair of threes. The 6-foot-6 wing/guard is lengthy and athletic, has the timing, instincts, and court savvy that allow him to be a high-level defender that deflects passes or jumps passing lanes to get out in transition where he can tackle flight, has the wingspan and height to alter/block shots in the paint, as well as the lateral quickness to step out and contest perimeter shooters, and locks-in on the defensive end. Offensively, Evans bag is already deep, with great lift and efficiency on the mid-range jumper, with the body control to connect on the fade-away middy using angles to bank off the glass, as well as the Euro-step into the jumper to create space from his defender, moves well off the ball to get to his shot spots, and is accurate with the 3-ball off the catch. Evans displayed good court vision and decision making with the drive and kick pass to open teammates, the cross-court zip pass with the size to see over the defense, and is active on the glass, which allows him to push the tempo and play to his natural abilities. Very impressive showing and a player to track over the next few years as a top 10 prospect in his class.   [player_tooltip player_id='3241652' first='JP' last='Oka'] (6'7 | WF) - Brave Christian/Lakeshow 16s    Oka is a lengthy, bouncy, and athletic player that brings relentless energy on both ends, looks to hammer down anything close to the basket, and is emerging as a high-level defender with versatility, putting up solid numbers during Session 1 with 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. The 6-foot-7 wing/forward has great court awareness off the ball, runs the floor well to get ahead of the defense, finds the open spots in the half-court setting to receive quick passes for easy buckets in the dunker spot or the restricted area, and can hit the mid-range jumper off the dribble or attack from the top of the key to get to the rack. Oka also sets the tone on defense, with length, with great timing, the wingspan, and quick leaping ability to be a high-level shot blocker in the paint, as well as the strides and foot-speed to close out and alter perimeter shots, has active hands to poke the ball out on entry passes and jump passing lanes, which help him get out and run.   [player_tooltip player_id='2868676' first='Juleeyan' last='Williams'] (6'4 | PG) - Monterey Trails/Compton Magic 16s    Williams is a skilled, savvy, and electric player that can score it from 3-levels, makes plays for others, is a tenacious perimeter defender, and put up great numbers in Session 1, putting up averages of 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists, with two double-doubles of 22 points and 11 rebounds, and 15 points and 12 rebounds respectively. The 6-foot-4 lead guard has dynamic handles, keeps the ball on a string, has an arsenal of moves with the hesitation, crossover, spin-move, wrap-behind, toss-cross, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, has a good burst off the bounce to get by his opponent, is efficient with the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line off the dribble, and is a creative scorer around the basket with the Euro-step, floater, reverse, and up-and-under lay-ups in his bag to evade shot blockers in the paint. Williams is a great positional rebounder, which allows him to push the ball off the glass, has good court vision to find open teammates up the court, off the drive and kick pass, or out of the pick and roll action. Williams has active hands on defense, gets into his opponents dribbling space to force bad decisions, and jumps passing lanes or pokes the ball out to turn defense into transition offense.    Daniel Zoa (6'4 | WF) - Totino Grace/D1 Minnesota 16s #8   Zoa had a solid showing in his team's first 3 games, putting up averages of nearly 9 points and 7 rebounds per game, but was injured and didn't play in the team's final game. I was able to watch his team against Indiana Elite's 16s, and the freshman had a great showing with 10 points and 6 rebounds in the close loss. The 6-foot-4 wing/slasher moves well without the ball, finds holes in the defense in close proximity to the basket, has good hands and touch on catch and finish shots around the cup, with the footwork and body control to score off the spin-move into a lay-up to get space from his defender. Zoa is effective with the short porch mid-range jumper off the dribble, has enough handle to put the ball on the deck and attack the lane from the high-post or the wing, and has the strength to score through contact around the basket. Good rebounder, gets the ball out off the defense glass, and runs the floor well in the open court.

Orange County, CA - Last weekend, April 24th - 26th, I attended Session 1 of the Adidas 3SSB Circuit hosted at Open Gym Premier Ladera. The event started on Friday morning and wrapped up Sunday afternoon, featuring 3 days of high-level basketball with teams and players from all parts of the country taking the court for some much anticipated match-ups. This article takes a look at 8 standout players from the Class of 2029 with variation on their player position. Some of these freshmen played up in the 16u Division and one in the 17u Division, but all had standout showings and are players to keep an eye on the next three years. In this article you will find the following information: players name, height, position, school, club team, how they performed, and their skill sets. The players are listed in alphabetical order, not ranked order, and we begin with King Bacot.