Notebook: Saturday At Adidas Gauntlet
INDIANAPOLIS, IN | With Adidas splitting up Gauntlet into Regionals, you were met with a really concentrated amount of talent which made for some great viewing. Saturday was a big day filled with some stellar performances. Here is our breakdown from Saturday at Adidas.
DI Minnesota Trying To Stake Claim As Best 17U Team
With all three shoe company events coming to Indianapolis in the next week, we will get a look at the best of the best in the country. However, it isn’t a stretch to say the DI Minnesota’s 17U team is one of the best, if not the best, team in the country. Built on the back of Top 5 prospect Matthew Hurt, this team possesses so much size, length, and skill, they are really difficult to even slow down.
While Hurt will take a lot of the attention, Zeke Nnaji was extremely impressive. His growth over the last year is remarkable and he’s a kid that looks like he is only going to get better. Tyrell Terry played very well and new addition Patrick McCaffery was a big impact guy too.
They only really have one draw back and that is the lack of guards. Smallest player is Terry at 6’3 and everyone else is easily 6’6 or taller. However, everyone can handle the ball, attack the rim, and shoot at least a little bit. Would love to see this team take on some EYBL rosters because that would be an amazing game. Like we said, next week EYBL and UAA come to town and that will give us a full look but hard to see many teams better than this one.
Khristian Lander Drawing Attention Early
The 2021 class in Indiana is going to be a topic of conversation for years to come because there is just so much talent. Colleges coaches at the high-major level are already locked in on a short list of names and one of them is EG10 2021 guard Khristian Lander. The 6’1 point guard was outstanding on Saturday as he was making plays on both ends of the floor and putting up a ton of points.
Lander is a solid lefty shooter but he’s really impressive with the ball in his hands and when the push in transition. He’s so quick and his decision making is at a high level, it just sets him up to make a ton of highlight reel plays. He’s also really good when he looks to drive. Can finish well at the rim with length and with either hand on either side of the rim. He’s really advanced in that respect.
It’s still early and this 2021 class is loaded but he’s already had a few DI programs to see him this weekend including Purdue twice on Saturday. He did well to state his case for one of the top players in the class.
Evan Bainbridge Has Stellar Day For OBC
Ohio Basketball Club is typically a great program for Ohio kids but most of the time, they are more physical and aggressive. This group is a little bit different and Evan Bainbridge, a 6’9 forward from Stow (OH), has added some skill and flair to this team. The standout in 2019 looked the part of a developing big man as he was able to impact the game all over the floor. For his size, he really shot the ball well and put up points in a hurry. Great range and soft touch was evident.
The best part of his game was everything else he did. He was really good rebounding the ball, distributing, finding the cut man on the baseline, and even showed some shot blocking ability. Really, he’s a wing but skilled enough in the post that he could provide quality minutes there as well. A host of schools were on hand to watch and he should see some serious interest come out of this weekend.