It came as no surprise that the Georgia Stars beat the Mac Irvin Fire, 77-63, in the Platinum Division Championship Game of the Big Foot Las Vegas Classic Summer Basketball Tournament and that 6'7 Miles Bridges from Huntington (Prep) WV turned in a pair of stellar performances, which included 28 points in a winning effort against Seattle Rotary in the semi-finals and 26 points in a losing effort against Mac Irvin Fire in the Championship Game. However, it came as a major surprise that 1 Nation, which was led by 6'8 Josh Jackson from Benicia (Prolific Prep) CA, knocked off We R1, 66-65, in overtime in the semi-finals and, as a result, set up their 56-49 win in the Invitational Division Championship Game of the Las Vegas Fab 48. However, even more important for our purposes, Jackson made a strong case for top players honors nationally in the Class of 2016, as he finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shot, and two assists. He also totally took over the game with his rebounding, shot blocking, and strong court presence with the score, 49-46 and just over two minutes remaining in the game.
It was also somewhat of a surprise that Team Loaded-Virginia beat Mass Rivals76-74 in the Championship Game in the Gold Division of the adidas Uprising Summer Championships and everybody was pretty disappointed when Wisconsin United knocked off the We All Can Go All-Star 2018 in the semi-finals of the 16-Under Invitational Division in the Las Vegas Fab 48. And you can also bet that it was heart break city for Wisconsin United, which lost 43-42 to the Indy Hoosiers on a last second shot in the Championship Game.. Another one of the biggest surprises on the final day of action was the way the Ramey-Jets United, which was led by 6'8 Soph Carteare Gordon from St. Louis (Vianney) MO and 6'2 Courtney Ramey from Webster Groves (H.S.) MO, manhandled the Sports U, 57-38, in the Championship Game of the 15-Under Invitational Division in the Las Vegas Fab 48. We also think it is noteworthy to point our that Gordon left little doubt about who the best player is after totally outplaying 6'10 Soph Nazreon Reid from Roselle (Catholic) NJ, who finished with only four points in the title game and was reminiscent of the player that we've seen many times in the past underachieve, instead of the one that we heard about being a dominant force in the post earlier in this same tournament.
This also is a good place to point out that the overall level of talent that we got an opportunity to see during the last five days has been the best it's been in a long time, as all three tournaments had a plethora of high level talent and most of the top players in the nation in the Class of 2016, 2017, and 2018 showed the wares in Las Vegas, NV. Unfortunately with nearly 2,000 teams and over 20,000 players spread all over town during a five-day period, it's an impossible task to see be everywhere at once and, as a result, we greatly appreciate the valuable in-put that we received from people like Ronnie Flores, who publishes GrassrootsHoops.net, and Jim Jones, who is a consultant for the HOOP SCOOP. And the list below is a reflection of what we know and saw during this time-period and it is based primarily on performance, instead of college potential. It also does not includes players that we did not get a chances to see and a perfect example is 6'5 De'Aaron Fox from Katy (Cypress Lakes) TX, who was one of the top players in the NIKE EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam two weeks ago in North Augusta, SC, but is missing in action in our List of the Top 50 Ranked Players during the course of the last five days in Las Vegas, NV.
HOOP SCOOP'S RANKING OF THE TOP 50 PLAYERS BASED PRIMARILY ON PERFORMANCE IN LAS VEGAS
1) 6'7 Myles Bridges from Huntington (Prep) WV (Mac Irvin Fire)
2) 6'8 Josh Jackson from Benicia (Prolific Prep) CA (1 Nation)
3) 6'10 Soph Marvin Bagley from Tempe (Corona del Sol) AZ (We All Can Go All Stars 2018)
4) 6'5 Mustapha Heron from Waterbury (Sacred Heart) CT (NY Rens)
5) 6'4 Malik Monk from Bentonville (H.S.) AR (Arkansas Wings)
6) 6'10 Jr Wendell Carter from Atlanta (Pace) GA (Georgia Stars)
7) 6'10 Harry Giles from High Point (Wesleyan Christian) NC (Team CP3)
8) 5'11 Jr Markus Howard from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV (Las Vegas Prospects)
9) 6'2 Dennis Smith from Fayetteville (Trinity Christian) NC (Team Loaded North Carolina)
10) 6'10 Wenyan Gabriel from Wilbraham (Wilbraham Monson) MA (Mass Rivals),
11) 6''6 Jr John Petty from Huntsville (Johnson) AL (We All Can Go All Stars)
12) 7'0 Thon Maker from Orangeville (Athletes Institute) ON (Canada Elite)
13) 6'5 Zach Norvell from Chicago (Simeon) IL (Mac Irvin Fire)
14) 6'8 Jayson Tatum from St. Louis (Chaminade) (Arkansas Wings)
15) 6'4 Soph Javonte Smart from Baton Rouge (Scottlandville) LA (Elfrid Payton Elite)
16) 6'0 Bruce Brown from Saxton's River (Vermont Academy) VT (B.A.B.C.)
17) 6'9 Jr Billy Preston from Dallas (Prime Prep) TX (Mo Williams Elite)
18) 6'1 Jr C.J. Roberts from Richland Hills (Richland) TX (NIKE Team Texas16's)
19) 6'2 Jr Makai Ashton-Langford from Asbburnham (Cushing Academy) MA (Mass Rivals)
20) 6'4 Jr Trevon Duval from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ (We R1)
21) 6'5 Andrew Jones from Irving (Mac) TX (Pro Skills)
22) 6'9 Tony Bradley from Bartow (H.S.) FL (Each One Teach One)
23) 6'6 Josh Langford from Madison (Academy) AL (Atlanta Celtics)
24) 6'6 Brandon Robinson from Douglasville (Douglas County) GA (Team Loaded North Carolina)
25) 6'11 Jr Sasha Killeya-Jones from Lynchburg (Episcopal) VA (Team Loaded Virginia),
26) 6'4 Jr Ethan Thompson from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA (Belmont Shore)
27) 6'7 P.J. Washington from Henderson (Findlay Prep) NV` (Belmont Shore)
28) 6'9 Eldrice Adabayo from Pinetown (Northwood) NC (Team Loaded-North Carolina)
29) 6'10 Soph Jordan Brown from Roseville (Woodcreek (H.S.) CA (Play Hard Play Smart 16),
30) 6'6 Lonzo Ball from Chino Hills (H.S.) CA (Big Ballers VXT)
31) 6'4 Trent Forrest from Chipley (H.S.) FL (Georgia Stars)
32) 6'3 Frank Jackson from Highland (Lone Peak) UT (Utah Prospects)
33) 6'11 Duane Huell from Miami (Norland) FL (Team Breakdown)
34) 6'6 Wayde Sims from Reserve (Riverside) LA (Louisiana Elite)
35) 6'3 Jonah Matthews from Santa Monica (H.S.) CA (California Supreme)
36) 6'6 Miye Oni from Calabasas (Viewpoint) CA (BTI Select),
37) 6'6 Curtis Hollis from Mansfield (Summit) TX (Pro Skills)
38) 6'6 Mark Vital from Dallas (Prime Prep) TX (Mo Williams Elite)
39) 6'1 Jacob Young from Houston (Yates) TX (Howard Elite)
40) 6'7 Terrance Ferguson from Dallas (Prime Prep) TX (Mo Williams Elite)
41) 6'11 Justice Kithcartl from Lynchburg (Virginia Episcopal) VA (Team Loaded Virginia)
42) 6'6 Jr Troy Brown from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV (Las Vegas Prospect)
43) 6'5 Jr George Dixon from Milwaukee (Riverside) WI (Wisconsin United 16's)
44) 7'0 Jayce Johnson from Santa Monica (H.S.) CA (Earl Watson Elite)
45) 6'8 Jr Tyler Pulley from Weston (Sagemont0 FL (Each One Teach One 16's)
46) 6'6 Jr Zach Gunn from Fishers (Hamilton Southwestern) IN (Indy Hoosiers 16)
47) 6'0 Jr Jose Alvarado from Middle Village (Christ the King) NY (New York Rens)
48) 6'9 Jordan Delaurier from Charlottesville (St. Annes Belfield) VA (Team Loaded Virginia)
49) 6'1 Anfernee Simons from Orando (Edgewater) FL (Team Breakdown 16's)
50) 5'6 6th Grader Bryce Griggs from Lake Jackson (Houston Hoops 11-Under)