by Alex Schwartz

The AAU Super Showcase kept rolling on rolling the past couple of days. On Sunday, U17 pool play wrapped up and bracket play got underway while the U16 champions were crowned. Monday saw U17 bracket play continue on through the semifinals and, in addition, U16 AAU Nationals got underway. There have been more and more coaches at the ESPN Wide World of Sports each and every day, with the majority of Division I schools dispensing at least one coach to the events, if not more.

Top Performers

Darion Atkins, 2011, PF, 6’7, Landon School (MD), DC Team Takeover-
With star big man Mikael Hopkins battling injuries and his team struggling as a whole, Darion Atkins came up big for DC Team Takeover, though the score sheet might not show it. In a quarterfinal game against Team Next where Takeover trailed by 16 in the third quarter, Atkins provided a huge spark in the second half and helped key a huge run for a victory. Takeover won by 10, which happens to be the number of points Atkins scored, with all of them coming in the second half. In addition, in both that game and others, Atkins grabbed rebounds and blocked shots. His stock has certainly increased with his play in Orlando.

To read the rest of this article that I wrote for Flagrant Fouls—it is free to all and also includes school lists—click Here.