Adidas 3SSB Championships: Magnolia State Standouts

By Lavel Johnson

July 12, 2023

The Adidas 3SSB Championships ran last week from Wednesday thru Sunday in Rock Hill, SC, and there were several Magnolia state prospects who performed well and caught some eyes with their play. Here are the standouts from the week.

Avery Thomas, Jr.  6’7” 2024  F  Terry H.S./Team Carroll Premier 17u

Thomas has really turned his play up of late and it continued at the Adidas championships. He had a very good week scoring the ball, as he was Team Carroll’s leading scorer in all but one of their five games and closed the weekend out with a strong 21 point effort in a close loss in the Classic tournament championship game. But maybe his most impressive play came in his efforts on the boards as he had one game in which he snagged 15 rebounds, another with 9 and he had 6 to go along with the 21 points in the championship game.

Ethan Long  6’7”  2026  F  Petal H.S./OSAG 15u

Late June and early July has been a coming out party for Long. He continued his impressive play at the Adidas 3SSB championships as he showed a strong inside outside game, holding down the paint on defense and on offense scoring on finishes and put backs around the rim and stepping outside to consistently knock down three pointers. His played so well he caught the eye of ESPN director of recruiting Paul Biancardi who put him on his best of the Adidas 3SSB championships list.

Kedrick Simmons  6’6”  2025  F  Booneville H.S./OSAG 16u

Simmons proved to be an outstanding pickup for the OSAG 16u team as he was a consistent scorer throughout the week and was more than serviceable on the boards. Simmons showed a very good three point stroke, consistently knocking down open threes but as the week went on he began to attack the rim more and more for driving finishes. He proved to be a solid defender and played well enough to pick up an offer from Tennessee Tech.

Dylan Rowe  6’2”  2025  G  Madison Central H.S./OSAG 16u

Rowe had a strong week scoring the ball for the OSAG team. He was equally effective knocking down jumpers and scoring on drives to the paint. He showed that he can be a effective ballhandler against upper level competition and proved to be a hardnosed competitor throughout the week.

Michael Johnson  6’0”  2026   G  Vicksburg H.S./OSAG 15u

Johnson was the second half of the OSAG 15u two headed scoring punch throughout the week. He strung together several strong scoring performances as he and Long complemented each other quite well. He really shot the ball well and proved to be a more than adequate ball handler and creator against strong competition. Pushed into action at the point he showed promise at the position despite very limited time playing it previously.

D.J. Davis  6’2”  2024  G  Oxford H.S./Hoop City Elite

While Davis’s numbers won’t jump out at you, I feel I must mention him here as he is a key contributor for a Hoop City squad that was the Cinderella of the Adidas 3SSB championships, pulling upset after upset and making a run all the way to the Final Four. Davis’s role and play on this Hoop City squad is quite different from his role and play at Oxford, but he plays a vital role as a secondary ball handler and a strong perimeter defender. He picks his spots offensively but shows flashes of the scoring prowess he displays regularly at Oxford, choosing to key on team success and to just be what his team needs him to be.