ORLANDO, FL — Saturday at the Grassroots Summer Championship has wrapped, and we’re now facing the last day of the travel season. Sunday will crown the top independent teams in the country. In order to get to this point, we had a lot of great Saturday action to watch. Here are some musings from what I saw throughout the day.

Lightning  Strikes: The Atlanta Lightning are one of the teams that I always go out of my way to see because I love watching their high-caliber guards. Watching the Lightning has been a good call thus far. In both games that I’ve seen them play, they’ve gone 2-0, and Devin Story and Brasen James have delivered in both games. Story and James have averaged double-digit points and have been the source of the Lightning’s strong start. Under the radar might not be the correct term, but this pair and team should garner some more eyeballs. Although I didn’t get to see this game, the Lightning went on to pick up another victory to improve their record to 3-0 on the weekend.

United and Strong: Wow, Team United is a mighty impressive group. I hadn’t gotten the chance to see them before, and I left the game very impressed. In fact, this may be the team that impressed me the most on Saturday. After an undefeated outing with us at Best of the South, Team United has remained unbeaten to this point this weekend.

Louisville Football commit Chance Morrow, Daniel Sanford, Maxwell Coles, and Logan Blair have been among their players that have impressed thus far, but what’s been most impressive is the team’s overall chemistry and desire to win. Sure, every team wants to win, but Team United is playing as their team name implies. They’re united, cohesive, and they want to be here. This team wants to win, and it really shows. Everyone on the court and on the bench are constantly talking, motivating, and communicating.

This is a team that can win this entire tournament because of their talent and desire to be great. Team chemistry and communication go a long way for coaches and media members, and no team has been more impressive on that front than this Team United bunch.

The Best Game: The best game that I saw on Saturday was definitely 3D Empire against Ball4lyfe on court 42. These are two great teams with bonafide stars that came ready to play. On one side Anthony Black led his team to a 6-point win by dropping 24 points, and on the other side, Anquan Boldin Jr. continued his phenomenal weekend by dropping 26 points and putting on a show for onlookers. This was the type of game that develops a big crowd and one that people can hear from across the room.

We all know about Anthony Black’s lengthy offer list. After the game, Anquan Boldin picked up an offer from Albany State. Boldin has athleticism in his genes, and it shows on the court.

Terrance Ramirez had a tremendous game for 3D Empire as well. He finished with 18 points and poured in four 3-pointers. Bracket play brings out big-time games, and this was certainly one of the biggest of the weekend.