ROCK HILL, S.C. — The second day of the adidas 3SSB championships took place Wednesday in Rock Hill, S.C.
College coaches weren’t allowed to come Wednesday, but they’ll descend on the nine-court facility Thursday. NBA scouts were allowed to come, which included former NC State assistant coach Orlando Early, who is now with the Los Angeles Clippers. Former recruiting gurus Corey Evans and Andrew Slater were also watching and both are with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Each team only played one game Wednesday, so it wasn’t possible to watch all the top NC State targets in one day. Watching some of the traveling team programs from the main recruiting footprint of North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia was emphasized, along with seeing a few “can’t-miss types” mixed in.
No. 1 on the to-do list was recently offered senior point guard Kaden Magwood of Team Loaded VA, who is now attending Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy.
Magwood is ranked No. 60 overall in the country by Rivals.com, but my hunch is that he’ll end up ranked a good chunk higher. Is he a pure point guard? Not in the least, but he can make some creative passes. His gift is that he’s exciting with the ball in his hands, whether creating for himself or for others. He could play point guard at the right school or be off the ball as a combo guard.
It has been asked on the board on whether Magwood and Davidson (N.C.) Day senior guard Isaiah Denis could play together or not? I think they could, but it would be with Denis playing more point guard and Magwood creating off the ball.
Magwood’s jumper looked fine and he’s on a loaded team with senior small forward Nate Ament and junior power forward Latrell Allmond on his team, who also have NCSU offers.
Simply put, the Louisville, Ky., native is a Kevin Keatts kind of guard, so it is a little surprising he waited this long to offer him. Some have speculated he could be Louisville’s to lose, but one well-placed source wasn’t buying that narrative.
NC State was really late in offering Ament, who is No. 10 overall in the class of 2025. I think Ament will be an NBA small forward one day. He jumper spun out a few times, so he didn’t have a huge game, but his smoothness, 6-8 length and ability to work all three scoring levels is obvious. It feels like every school in the country wants Ament right now, and he was reportedly completely dominant in his game Tuesday.
Allmond looks to be in terrific shape and he said he’s 6-8 and 220 pounds. He is originally from Southern Pines, N.C., and went to the O’Neal School as a reclassed eighth grader when I stumbled on to him. He made the move to Richmond (Va.) John Marshall and played with NC State sophomore forward Dennis Parker. Allmond was the first class of 2026 prospect offered by NC State and unofficially visited in the past.
Allmond is playing in the 17s division, which makes sense because I believe he said he’s 18 years old. Rivals.com has him ranked at No. 34 overall in the country in the class of 2026.
***
The first game I watched featured Fayetteville (N.C.) Berean Prep junior power forward Justin Caldwell and Montverde (Fla.) Academy junior wing Kayden Allen on Team Loaded NC 16s. Caldwell struggled in this one in getting just two free throws made, but Allen showed he’s a gifted scorer and why he’s ranked No. 19 overall in the country in the class of 2206. Scoring comes really easy for the 6-4 Allen, who originally attended Grayson High outside the Atlanta, Ga., area. Allen has a quality offer list, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see NC State offer at some point.
***
Garner Road 15s featured sophomore wing Jordan Page, who played last year at Raleigh Broughton High. Page had to grind his way to 11 points and part of the reason is because he’s the second tallest player on the court, more often than not. He is closer to 6-4, and while a good rebounder for size, he didn’t have the. usual space to operate like he usually does. Small picture, he’ll learn from the experience and go outside more often. Big picture, I still believe he’ll end up as a top 35 recruit in the class of 2027.
***
The night was finished off by watching two elite class of 2027 prospects — small forward Lincoln Cosby of Overtime Elite in Atlanta, Ga., and wing Ryan Hampton of Rockwall (Texas) Rockwall-Heath High.
Cosby is a smooth 6-8 small forward, who just needs a weight room and is originally from Nashville, Tenn. Hampton showed he can really score with a slick arsenal and terrific size for a wing at around 6-5. He’s the younger brother of former Rivals.com five-star prospect R.J. Hampton, who bypassed college to play in New Zealand and has been in the NBA and G-League since 2019.
***
Thursday’s agenda will include senior wing Bryce Heard of D1 Minnesota, who has already officially visited NC State and is considering a wide arrange of options of what he wants to do in 2024-25. Also, senior wing Adriel Nyorha is a Canadian on Brookwood Elite, who is making his way to Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian and could be a top 100 talent now that he’s in the U.S.
College coaches weren’t allowed to come Wednesday, but they’ll descend on the nine-court facility Thursday. NBA scouts were allowed to come, which included former NC State assistant coach Orlando Early, who is now with the Los Angeles Clippers. Former recruiting gurus Corey Evans and Andrew Slater were also watching and both are with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Each team only played one game Wednesday, so it wasn’t possible to watch all the top NC State targets in one day. Watching some of the traveling team programs from the main recruiting footprint of North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia was emphasized, along with seeing a few “can’t-miss types” mixed in.
No. 1 on the to-do list was recently offered senior point guard Kaden Magwood of Team Loaded VA, who is now attending Lincolnton (N.C.) Combine Academy.
Magwood is ranked No. 60 overall in the country by Rivals.com, but my hunch is that he’ll end up ranked a good chunk higher. Is he a pure point guard? Not in the least, but he can make some creative passes. His gift is that he’s exciting with the ball in his hands, whether creating for himself or for others. He could play point guard at the right school or be off the ball as a combo guard.
It has been asked on the board on whether Magwood and Davidson (N.C.) Day senior guard Isaiah Denis could play together or not? I think they could, but it would be with Denis playing more point guard and Magwood creating off the ball.
Magwood’s jumper looked fine and he’s on a loaded team with senior small forward Nate Ament and junior power forward Latrell Allmond on his team, who also have NCSU offers.
Simply put, the Louisville, Ky., native is a Kevin Keatts kind of guard, so it is a little surprising he waited this long to offer him. Some have speculated he could be Louisville’s to lose, but one well-placed source wasn’t buying that narrative.
NC State was really late in offering Ament, who is No. 10 overall in the class of 2025. I think Ament will be an NBA small forward one day. He jumper spun out a few times, so he didn’t have a huge game, but his smoothness, 6-8 length and ability to work all three scoring levels is obvious. It feels like every school in the country wants Ament right now, and he was reportedly completely dominant in his game Tuesday.
Allmond looks to be in terrific shape and he said he’s 6-8 and 220 pounds. He is originally from Southern Pines, N.C., and went to the O’Neal School as a reclassed eighth grader when I stumbled on to him. He made the move to Richmond (Va.) John Marshall and played with NC State sophomore forward Dennis Parker. Allmond was the first class of 2026 prospect offered by NC State and unofficially visited in the past.
Allmond is playing in the 17s division, which makes sense because I believe he said he’s 18 years old. Rivals.com has him ranked at No. 34 overall in the country in the class of 2026.
***
The first game I watched featured Fayetteville (N.C.) Berean Prep junior power forward Justin Caldwell and Montverde (Fla.) Academy junior wing Kayden Allen on Team Loaded NC 16s. Caldwell struggled in this one in getting just two free throws made, but Allen showed he’s a gifted scorer and why he’s ranked No. 19 overall in the country in the class of 2206. Scoring comes really easy for the 6-4 Allen, who originally attended Grayson High outside the Atlanta, Ga., area. Allen has a quality offer list, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see NC State offer at some point.
***
Garner Road 15s featured sophomore wing Jordan Page, who played last year at Raleigh Broughton High. Page had to grind his way to 11 points and part of the reason is because he’s the second tallest player on the court, more often than not. He is closer to 6-4, and while a good rebounder for size, he didn’t have the. usual space to operate like he usually does. Small picture, he’ll learn from the experience and go outside more often. Big picture, I still believe he’ll end up as a top 35 recruit in the class of 2027.
***
The night was finished off by watching two elite class of 2027 prospects — small forward Lincoln Cosby of Overtime Elite in Atlanta, Ga., and wing Ryan Hampton of Rockwall (Texas) Rockwall-Heath High.
Cosby is a smooth 6-8 small forward, who just needs a weight room and is originally from Nashville, Tenn. Hampton showed he can really score with a slick arsenal and terrific size for a wing at around 6-5. He’s the younger brother of former Rivals.com five-star prospect R.J. Hampton, who bypassed college to play in New Zealand and has been in the NBA and G-League since 2019.
***
Thursday’s agenda will include senior wing Bryce Heard of D1 Minnesota, who has already officially visited NC State and is considering a wide arrange of options of what he wants to do in 2024-25. Also, senior wing Adriel Nyorha is a Canadian on Brookwood Elite, who is making his way to Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian and could be a top 100 talent now that he’s in the U.S.
