Under Armour’s The Association, the premier grassroots summer league for UA sponsored travel teams, culminated its second season in Atlanta 10 days ago. There were tons of storylines that derived from the showcase and four-star players that looked to push their way into the five-star conversation.
Donovan Mitchell stole the show on Day 1 after a 28-point, 7-assist, 6-rebound and 6-steal performance. The 6-3 shooting guard from New York has had a breakout month that started with strong showings at the Reebok Breakout Camp in Philadelphia the prior weekend. Mitchell missed last summer with a broken wrist and looks to have be making up for it over the past month. Diamond Stone also started the tourney with a bang, putting up 28 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in a match-up against fellow high-ranked 2015 center Doral Moore. He didn’t show any signs of stopping on Day 2, averaging 24.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in two games. Stone ultimately ended up leading everyone on the boards, averaging 11.4 rebounds for the tournament.
Jaylen Brown was another prospect that made his case for moving up the ranks. The versatile wing scored in all types of ways and from all spots, including showing consistency from behind the perimeter. He led all in scoring for the entire weekend, averaging 21.6 points. On Day 2, he averaged 28 points in two games, shooting 69.2% from the field.
Derrick Jones, the explosive guard out of Philly, led his WE-R1 squad to the U17 title, and while he only finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds in the championship game, it was his play during Friday that propelled his team to the end, averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 83% from the floor.
Other notable performers include Mustapha Heron, the gritty and bulky guard from Connecticut and now a PITT-commit, who actually led all scorers after Day 2 and Day 3, with 25.5 points and 23 points respectively. Samir Doughty of Team Philly also had an impressive showing, finishing second in scoring for the weekend after averaging 20.2 points. Marquese Chriss, Tevin Mack, Jimmy Whitt and Chase Vassell were also among the top performers of the weekend.
Check out the video above of SLAM’s Ashley Holder speaking with Under Armour executive Chris Hightower about the growth of the league and some of the talent and coaches it has attracted.
