CHICAGO— Under Armour has been making a big push to make a dent in Nike’s stranglehold on the best prospects in grass roots basketball and it looks like they have made some progress. Seven-foot senior big Thon Maker of Orangeville, Ont. Prep, 6-11 junior DeAndre Ayton of San Diego , forward John Jackson of Prolific Calif. Prep, forward Markelle Fultz of DeMatha, Md Catholic, were all at the UA All American camp in Charlotte, N.C.
But despite the fact Maker has had a spectacular summer, dominating the NBA Top 100 camp and the UA All America event, Jackson is one of the top 3 players in the class of 2016 and Ayton is generally considered the best prospect in the class of 2017.
adidas took a select high school team that included Kobi Simmons, Edrice Adebyo, Rawle Alkins and Frank Jackson to the adidas Euro camp in Trevesio and they went 3-0 against strong international competition. But both shoe companies have a way to go before they catch Nike in terms of depth in the talent pool.
Here’s a look at shoe circuits that the Top 25 seniors and Top 10 juniors are associated with this summer. We passed on giving Maker a ranking because he plays in Canada.
Class of 2016.
1. Harry Giles 6-10 pf Winston-Salem, NC. Wesleyan Christian Academy (Nike).
2. Jayson Tatum, 6-8 sf, St. Louis Chaminade Prep (Nike). Duke..
3. Josh Jackson, 6-7 f, Southfield, Michigan. Prolific Calif Prep (UA).
4. Dennis Smith Jr., 6-1 pg, Fayetteville, N.C. Trinity Christian (adidas).
5. Malik Monk 6-3 sg, Bentonville, Ark. (Nike).
6. Kobi Simmons, 6-5 pg, Alpharetta, Ga. St. Francis (adidas)
7. Miles Bridges, 6-7 sf, Flint, Mich. Huntington, W Va. Prep (Nike).
8. Edrice Adebyo, Pinetown, N.C. Northside (adidas).
9. Terrance Ferguson, 6-6 g, Dallas Tex Home schooled. (UA)
10. Rawle Alkins, Brooklyn, N.Y. Undecided prep school (adidas).
11. Lonzo Ball, 6-5 pg, Chino Hills, Calif. (local). UCLA.
12. Frank Jackson 6-3 pg, Alpine, Utah (adidas).
13. Udoka Azubuike 6-10 c, Jacksonville, Fla. Potters House Christian (Nike).
14. Jonathan Isaac, 6-9 pf, Naples, Fla. IMG Academy (Nike).
15. Isaac Humphries, Australia. La Lumiere, Ind. School.
16. Marques Bolden 6-10 c, DeSoto, Tex. (Nike).
17. Josh Langford, 6-6 sg, Huntsville, Ala. Madson Academy (adidas). Michigan State.
18. Markelle Fultz, 6-5 sg, DeMatha, Md. Catholic (UA).
19. Alterique Gilbert, 6-1 pg, Lithonia, Ga. Miller Gove High (Nike). Connecticut.
20. Tony Battle, 6-10 c, Bartow, Fla. (Nike).
21. T.J. Leaf, 6-9 pf El Cajon, Calif. Foothills Christian. (adidas). Arizona.
22. DeAaron Fox 6-5 pg, Katyville, Tex. Cypress Lakes (Nike).
23. Omari Spellman 6-9 pf Middletown, NY The MacDuffie School (Nike). Villanova..
24. Justin Jackson, 6-8 f Scarsborough, Can. Findlay Prep (UA). UNLV.
25. Tyus Battle, pg, Edison, NJ Gil St. Bernard. (Nike). Syracuse.
Class of 2017
1. DeAndre Ayton 6-10 c San Diego Balboa City (UA).
2. Michael Porter Columbia, Mo. Father Tilton (Nike).
3. Wendell Carter 6-10 c Atlanta Pace Academy (Nike).
4. Gary Trent Jr. 6-5 g, Apple Valley, Minn. (Nike).
5. Jarred Vanderbilt 6-8 f Houston Victory Prep (Nike).
6. Trevon Duval, 6-2 g, St. Benejdict’s NJ Prep (UA).
7. Jalek Felton 6-3 pg Mullins, S.C. HS (UA). North Carolina
8. Mohammed Bama 6-10 c, Westtown, Pa. School (UA).
9. Markus Howard 6-0 g Findlay, Nev Prep (Nike).
10. Troy Brown 6-4 pg, Las Vegas Gorman (Nike).
Guard Alterique Glbert of Miller Grove, Ga., 6-10 Tony Bradley of Barlow had 26 and guard Malik Monk of Bentonville, Ark. had 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists as USA South defeated USA West (Malik Howard of Findlay Prep, 34), 120-109, to win the 2015 Nike Global Challenge Saturday at Whitney Young High here. The South was coached by John Mosco of Archbishop Wood in suburban Philadelphia.
