Agony and ectasy in Las Vegas

Made it back alive to a degree but with the urgent feeling of needing to go on a very restful vacation...

New Heights NYC captured the adidas Super 64 basketball tournament 17U championship division final at Rancho High School. 

 DC Assault took the Fab 48 event.

The Seattle Rotary won the Bigfoot Las Vegas Classic tournament.

...tried to catch as many outside the area talents as possible this past week since the opportunity to do so doesn't present itself often so apologies for those locals and regionals we missed or overlooked

...yes, hundreds of coaches from all levels were in search of the Holy Grail of hoops: athleticism, skills, intelligence, motor and eligibility

...we visited the Adidas 64 and the Las Vegas Classic (Bigfoot Hoops) but never made it out to Bishop Gorman for a look at the Fab 48 -- here's a plea surely to go unheeded: how about just two tournaments next year so as to generate higher quality and closer games prior to the last day's matchups?

...saw a lot of shooters -- just not many consistent ones and plenty of what-were-they-thinking, ill-timed, ill-advised attempts

...balanced by moments of absolute grace that will appear much more often once bodies are chiseled and skills honed

...with quite a few backcourters displaying blinding quickness -- being in front of a defender one moment and, poof, they re-appear having left said opponent in the proverbial dust

* the jump stop on dribble-drives continued to be AWOL as milk carton status is fast approaching

 ...Oakland Soldier Stanley Johnson's life and that of his family is going to dramatically change in say a year and a half -- sure, more strength is needed but hey, he just finished his junior year -- his game is siky, his shot is seemingly guided by radar and he is destined to become a top scorer in the NBA

 ...Teammate Ivan Rabb at his tender age also needs to fill out but displayed a nice touch on his shot (a nifty left-handed hook in one game) and shotblocking prowess

...out of southern California, Soldier Max Hazard enjoyed a stretch in one game where his opponent just couldn't go anywhere on his dribble

...wanted to see a Mac Irvin Fire 2014 6-foot-10, 260 Jamil Okafor - Dream Vision 2015 7-foot, 215 Stephen Zimmerman matchup but it was not to be

...the former already has an NBA body and will provide an immediate professional payoff -- he's strong, agile, with a great first step, excellent hands and is marvelously coordinated for his age

 (adidas/Kelly Kline)

... the latter is a year younger and offers an offensive game similar to Kevin Durant's style -- his body has a long way to go but he runs well, maintains decent balance despite his thinness, forces opponents to come out to unfamiliar territory (three-point range) or pay the price and blocks or alters shots

... so who has the better long range potential?

...The Mac Irvin squad also enjoyed the presence of 6-foot-10 Cliff Alexander who had his moments but banged up a hip or leg on Saturday

 ...6-foot-5 Kodi Justice of the Compton Magic (and an Arizona State commit) was the best catch-and-shoot markman witnessed in four days of viewing -- his range is NBA remarkable

 (adidas/Kelly Kline)

...6-foot-5 Brandone Francis of the Florida Elite will probably be an off-guard at the next level -- a couple of his drives in which he reversed his dribble without a loss of speed -- actually a blurring increase -- just smoked his would-be defenders

 ...6-foot-9 Ian Theisen of Minnesota DI Hoops was the best face-the-basket shooting big on display as he showed mid-range prowess all the way to three-point proficiency

...Liked the play of 6-foot-7 southern California 2014 forward Derrick Newton -- solid scorer, shooter and rebounder

...Bishop O'Dowd 5-foot-10 guard Paris Austin starts for a very talented Dream Vision 17U squad

...Hey, if you call yourself Hard To Guard, be it and if you're splashing Elite on your jersey, demonstrate it

A Bit Off Topic

...Translated into English, Las Vegas means "the meadows" but we all know the real answer is 'extract maximum dollars in the minimum amount of time'

cue up "Master of the House' from Les Miserables:

Residents are more than welcome 
Bridal suite is occupied 
Reasonable charges Plus some little extras on the side! 

Charge 'em for the lice 
Extra for the mice 
Two percent for looking in the mirror twice 

Here a little slice 
There a little cut 
Three percent for sleeping with the window shut 

When it comes to fixing prices 
There are a lot of tricks he knows 
How it all increases 
All those bits and pieces Jesus! 
It's amazing how it grows! 

...Subtlety has been exorcised from each and very Las Vegas dictionary -- example #50719: the billboard on 215 advertising a medical marijuana evaluation at Dr. Reefer.com

...Maybe it was a dream, maybe not -- when talking about temperatures, thinking the television weatherman actually said "anything beyond naked is overdressing for tomorrow"

...Finally, entering a casino is like receiving an epinephrine injection directly into the brain -- a cacophony of bells, lights, whistles, smoke, neon, a variety of humankind, did we mention smoke?