The final leg of the 2010 grassroots travel season tipped off today across the country and while the heat index in Las Vegas was it’s typical sizzling self, the action in the gyms was equally as hot with players like Bruce Barron turning in exceptional performances on the hardwood.  Here’s a recap of a few of the top performers from Day 1 in Las Vegas…

(Note – Listed in alphabetical order)

BRUCE BARRON – 6’4” – 2011 – PG – MAC IRVIN FIRE
Explosive, athletic, electric, and attention grabbing whenever he takes the court, Barron started to soar in July with a scintillating performance at the NY2LASPORTS.COM Summer Jam and continued his strong play on Thursday.  A definite top 75 national talent when we release our new rankings in August, Barron is making a strong case for top 50 status after a ridiculously dominant performance with the Mac Irvin Fire in their opening pool game on Thursday.  If anyone can stop this young man off the bounce, they’ve yet to show it and he continued to dominate on Thursday by attacking the rim, elevating in transition, knocking down jump shots, and completely taking over the game on both ends of the court.

ERIK COPES – 6’8” – 2011 – F/C – TEAM PHILLY
Looks to have made some major improvements since this spring where he appeared heavy and sluggish for the most part.  Copes looks like he’s lost some weight and the big fella impressed with his ability to score in the paint, run the court, and control the glass at times on both ends.  Really liked his play and the results of his hard work over the past couple of months were evident in a solid opening day effort.

ANGELO CHOL – 6’9” – 2011 – PF – DREAM VISION
Tall athletic forward was extremely active on Thursday night in a convincing win as Chol attacked the glass, finished on the blocks, scored in transition, and hit some mid range looks.  When Chol is active on both ends he can dominate the game and Thursday night was a perfect example of that as Chol was big time from start to finish in strong opening day effort.

MAURICE HARKLESS – 6’7” – 2011 – F – NEW YORK PANTHERS
Recently de-committed from Connecticut this spring and took the court with a lot of eyes on him Thursday.  Long, athletic, and instinctive, Harkless was active on both ends, showed excellent athleticism in transition, and scored by attacking the basket with his explosive athleticism and length.  The more active he is the more dominant he can be and Thursday he was at his best in causing havoc on both ends of the court.

SHABAZZ MUHAMMAD – 6’5” – 2012 – G/F – DREAM VISION
What else is there really to say at this point other than the fact that Muhammad may very well be playing the best basketball of anyone in the country at this point.  The game comes easy to him, his composure is professional in nature, and he is absolutely lethal with a versatile offensive scoring package that includes transition baskets, post ups, mid range jumpers, and perimeter shots beyond the arc.  Dropped a 30 piece in dominant performance on Thursday leaving little argument right now as to who the top 2012 prospect in the country is.  Muhammad is that dude right now, end of discussion.

ALEX MURPHY – 6’9” – 2012 – F – NEW ENGLAND PLAYAZ
As hot as Muhammad is you can go ahead and add Murphy to that mix as well as the young athletic active forward continues to make his case for top 5 consideration in the class when the new NY2LASPORTS.COM 2012 player rankings come out.  He’s active on both ends, attacks the glass, can hit the perimeter shot, finishes off the bounce, and has a motor that doesn’t stop.  A no fear mentality makes him a potential highlight dunk every time he attacks the glass and he is a leader with his attacking style of play and East Coast toughness.  Brings a big time floor performance to the table every time and continues to look the part of a high major impact talent whenever he takes the court.

NIGEL WILLIAMS-GOSS – 6’2” – 2013 – G – PUMP N’ RUN ELITE
Not the most explosive perimeter talent athletically speaking but when the game calls for big time plays, Goss really makes it happen.  On Thursday he scored off the bounce, knocked down perimeter shots, showed solid composure handling the ball in traps and press situations and displayed strong instincts and court awareness of a high major caliber in a solid overall effort.  Didn’t play point the majority of the time but was effective and dominant nonetheless.  Solid overall performance for the sophomore to be.

ADONIS THOMAS – 6’7” – 2011 – SF – MEMPHIS MAGIC ELITE
A top 15 national talent without question, Thomas is a top 5-10 player on any given day.  On Thursday he was his usual dominant self as he showed explosive athleticism, an ability to score off the bounce, solid range, decent handles, and a dominant floor effort that is his calling card.

CHRISTIAN THOMAS – 6’5” – 2011 – G – GATEWAY BASKETBALL CLUB
One of the surprise performances of the day was turned in here as Thomas scored with ease in a pool game effort on Thursday afternoon.  A long athletic versatile wing talent who played the 1, 2, and 3 during the game, Thomas scored by attacking the rim off the bounce, he finished in transition, he hit mid range jumpers and he knocked down the trey ball as well.  He’s a little awkward at times in terms of his approach but the results were dominant nonetheless and he looked like a strong mid major talent who could grab a few high major looks with continued strong play.

GABE YORK – 6’3” – 2012 – G – COMPTON MAGIC
An explosive athlete with range, York turned in some dominant efforts on Thursday as he showed excellent range, an ability to score in transition, and dominant potential in two quality wins to kick off pool play.  Continues to look the part of a top 100 talent nationally, York has versatility, skill, and instincts that he combines with explosive athleticism to create problems for opposing teams.

NEWS & NOTES
2011 PG Charles Lee of the Milwaukee Hurricane Rebels opened his day with a strong opening effort to help lead his team past Team Philly.  Lee has excellent instincts, handles the ball well, can hit the mid range jumper and knocks down the trey ball as well.  A host of Horizon league, MAC, and Missouri Valley Conference schools were in attendance during his morning game.

Keep an eye on 6’8” 2011 F/C Nino Williams of the Memphis Magic Elite.  The big wide body interior talent showed excellent agility and some improved post skills during a pool play victory on Thursday and looks the part of a possible high major big on the rise. 

One of the most underrated talents right now is 6’3” 2012 G Joe Rahon of Dream Vision.  A skilled instinctive perimeter talent, Rahon was impressive at the NY2LASPORTS.COM Summer Jam in early July and was equally impressive once again at the Adidas Super 64 on Thursday, this time playing up at the 17U division.

2011 F Cody Zeller of the Indiana Elite was impressive in a matchup against Lebryan Nash and the Dallas Mustangs.  The Mustangs won the game but Zeller turned in a strong effort in front of a laundry list of head coaches in the gym including in-state powers Matt Painter of Purdue, Mike Brey of Notre Dame, and Tom Crean of Indiana.