Fab 48 Day Three

By Bryan Kriss - bryankriss@hardwoodelite.com

Day 3 is over at the Fab 48 and there have been some major upsets to begin bracket play. First the NJ Playaz fell to Seattle Rotary, but the biggest surprise was when the Drew Gooden Soldiers, who many considered the favorite to win the whole thing, fell to Branch West. Mac Irvin Fire appears to be the favorite to win the 17s invitational division now, but considering the way bracket play has been going so far it appears that anything could happen. Here were some of today's most notable performers:

Jabari Parker (Mac Irvin Fire) - Parker had another solid outing on day 3. After scoring 22 points against Louisiana Dynasty, he turned a portion of his game against Juice All-Stars into his own personal highlight reel. Shortly after putting one defender on a poster, he got the ball on the baseline and dunked over the top of two others. There hasn't been a more exciting player to watch at the Fab 48

Kyle Anderson (NJ Playaz) - Kyle Anderson is never phased by quicker or more athletic defenders. No matter how much of a disadvantage he has in terms of quickness, he always seems to get where he wants to be on the court. He has great control of the ball for a player his size and simply uses his body to shield defenders away. Once he gets into the lane he can either set up teammates with his vision or he can hit fade away jumpers that defenders can never seem to contest.

Nick Stauskas (Grassroots Canada) - Stauskas shot the ball well from deep like usual, but he also did a good job of putting the ball on the floor and creating for his teammates in their win against Long Island Lightning-Shandue.

Ricardo Gathers (Brandon Bass Elite) - Resembling an NFL defensive end, Gathers used his strength and athleticism to practically rip the hoop down on a couple of dunks. While Gathers has a solid handle for a power forward, he should embrace his physical strength and explosiveness on the block more instead of playing from the perimeter.

Dominic Artis (Drew Gooden Soldiers) - Although a bit undersized, there is a lot to like about Artis. There are few point guard who can match his quickness and if you play off of him too far he is a major threat to hit pull-up jumpers.

Isaiah Whitehead (Juice All-Stars) - Whitehead was fearlessly going at Jabari Parker for a portion of their game against Mac Irvin Fire and showed his range with some impressive three point jumpers. He also showed his handle and ability to create off the dribble. Whitehead is certainly one of the better scoring guards we have seen in the 2014 class.