Adidas Summer Championships: Top Prospects (Part II)
Ladera Ranch, Ca. — The second live viewing period of July began Wednesday, and with three events in Southern California within a 60 mile radius, you have to pick your spots wisely.
We spent Wednesday night at the Adidas Summer Championships at the Ladera Sports center where many of the shoe company’s top teams gathered for its final tournament of the summer.
Here is the second second set of top prospects we saw in the games we watched:
Josh Nickelberry, Game Elite Gold
Nickelberry struck a nice balance between creating his own shot and creating shots for teammates, dropping 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting and dishing out three assists. While three assists isn’t a stat that will blow you away reading this tidbit, the 6-foot-4 guard had plenty of other assist opportunities that weren’t converted, meaning he hit an open shooter with a drive and kick or threw an off-hand pocket pass to a roller, but those shots didn’t drop. Nickelberry went 3-for-5 from 3-point range and only forced one or two shots in his 29 minutes of action.
Game Elite guard Josh Nickelberry did a nice job of balancing scoring and distributing.Oscar Tshiebwe, ITPS Wildcats
Tshiebwe was a man amongst boys in the win over Game Elite Gold, finishing with 18 points, 14 rebounds and four assists to boot. The chiseled and physical 6-foot-9, 230 pound PF/C prospect muscled his way through contact in the paint and finished with power, but also stepped out on the perimeter and sunk a couple of face-up jump shots with touch. Tshiebwe went an efficient 9 of 14 from the field.
Trendon Watford, Hoop City
Watford was one of a handful Nike additions to the Hoop City squad, previously playing for Georgia Stars on the EYBL circuit. Watford is one of the more versatile prospects in his class, initiating and running offense with ball skill and feel at 6-9 and 230 pounds. The rising senior uses his thick frame and crafty ball handling ability to get defenders on his hip and ride them into the paint where he can then finish if no help slides over, or drop off a pretty dish to an open teammates.
James Wiseman, Hoop City
Wiseman was another Nike guy to make his way to South Orange County, joining Hoop City from Bluff City Legends. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound lefty forward has some Marvin Bagley III to his game with his rangy frame, inside-out scoring ability and fluid athleticism in transition. Wiseman drained a couple of face-up perimeter jumpers, but was most effective when carving out space in the paint and finishing with power dunks through contact.