Vegas Sunday: Smith's time to shine

LAS VEGAS – The Washington D.C. area came up big on the final day of action in Vegas as District-based programs Team Takeover and DC Blue Devils battled in the 16U title game of the Fab 48. Top 25 rising junior Jalen "Sticks" Smith made sure things went Takeover’s way and was one of the day’s final standouts.

RELATED: Saturday report | Friday report | Thursday report

With his team trailing 20-6 in his Team Takeover squad's semifinal game against Earl Watson Elite in the 16U division semifinals of the Fab 48, 2018's No. 25 player Jalen Smith decided enough was enough.

Coming out of a timeout, the rangy power forward took the game over thanks to his sheer will to dominate on the glass. He grabbed one contested rebound after another, protected the rim and scored from between the rim and out to 12 feet. He provided his teammates energy that they could feed off of and they rode his energy wave all the way to a comeback win in the semis and eventually a tournament title after the knocked off the DC Blue Devils in the finals.

Named MVP of the tournament for his efforts, Smith said he knew that his team needed a little juice.

"I felt that I needed to push my team harder and told everybody to just get their nerves out," said Smith. "I told them that if we just played hard we would pick it up and have nothing to worry about. I love playing with these guys and this tournament was a great experience.

"I'm like a defensive stopper and I can play some offense as well. Even though I'm thin, I'm comfortable banging with other big men and I can shoot the ball."

In no hurry to make a college choice, Smith listed offers from Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland, Stanford, Miami, Villanova, Penn State, Florida and Arizona among others.

The last few days in Las Vegas saw many 2018 prospects emerge as potential high major prospects. On Sunday, three-star small forward Jerome Hunter of the Ohio Nova added his name to the list.

By helping to lead his team to the 16U semifinals of the Fab 48, Hunter had a stage to play in front of many coaches and he took full advantage. A rangy athlete who is pushing 6-foot-7, Hunter made several jump shots between 12 feet and the three-point line. He showed some athleticism going to the rim and his frame has plenty of room to add muscle without costing him flexibility or athleticism. Also, with his size he can play as a faceup four to provide more mobility in a lineup.

Hunter listed offers from Dayton, Xavier, Toledo, Wright State and Stony Brook while Ohio State and many others are keeping tabs on his progress.

In the 17U division of the Fab 48, Earl Watson Elite and Splash City played a rematch of a a spirited pool play game. This time EWE was without their four-star power forward Ira Lee and Splash City without their high scoring point guard Damari Milstead. As he did in their first matchup, California commit Jemarl Baker shot EWE to the lead and a win. The No. 110 ranked player in the class of 2017 and a four-star prospect, Baker is more of a natural shooting guard than the point guard prospect that we have him projected has. Either way, though, his play earned him MVP of the tournament and he's probably earned a bit of a bump in the rankings.

Playing up an age group with the DC Blue Devils in the 16U Division, class of 2019 wing Marvin Price looked like an impressive prospect at the Fab 48. A product of basketball powerhouse Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha, Price is a well built 6-foot-4 southpaw and he is a crafty offensive player. He will make jump shots from three-point land, uses his strength to finish through contact at the rim and though he doesn't rely on athleticism, he showed that he can dial it up when needed as evidenced by a very nasty and seemingly out of nowhere on a two-handed flush driving to his right. He's definitely going to be one to watch.

Another DC area player making waves Sunday was 2018's No. 51 ranked player Brandon Slater. A 6-foot-5 wing on Team Takeover with length and athleticism, what Slater really has are great feet. Those feet afford him a terrific first step and they are going to allow him to be a high-level college defender and potential defensive stopper at multiple positions should he choose to fully buy into that role. His offense isn't bad either as he's a streak shooter, above-the-rim finisher and improving ball-handler. Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, USC, Louisville, Virginia Tech and Miami.

Last but not least, New Zealand big man Sam Waardenburg was the object of considerable interest from college coaches. A pretty good athlete at about 6-foot-9, Waardenburg played with tremendous energy and showed skill and toughness. On the final day of the Fab 48 head coaches from Utah, Virginia and Utah State all stuck around to watch him while SMU, Washington State and Miami have all been involved. He'll stick around for a week to play in this weekend's Adidas Nations event in Los Angeles.