The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) is a major NBA event that showcases some of the top senior talent across college basketball. It is noted for featuring many of the great players of NBA's past. And, over the course of its 62-year history, the PIT has become a staple for NBA scouts, agents, and media members alike, who all flock to the four-day event to see some of the top senior talent square off in organized scrimmages.

In the current agent-dominated landscape, where players are too often concerned with harming their draft stock and are focused more on how they will conduct themselves in team interviews, the PIT is a breath of fresh air for those who subscribe to the mantra: 'actions speak louder than words.'

At the PIT, a player's game does the talking, so to speak, which provides a glimmer of hope for those out there who still clamor to the notion that head to head matchups can still tell a lot about a prospect. While no scout in their right mind would substitute a player's body of work in the regular season for one's performance at the PIT, the event does allow scouts to glean some aspects of a player's adaptability, toughness, and willingness to buy into a team construct, especially given the fact that most of these guys are playing alongside each other for the first time.

While many players stood out in certain contests but failed to live up to their promise in others, several individuals were consistent throughout, standing out from the pack and really helping their draft stocks. Five players in particular really impressed from an NBA prospect perspective: Markel Starks, Travis Bader, Akil Mitchell, Javon McCrea, and Andre Dawkins all really helped themselves at this event.

Markel Starks, Georgetown - While Davante Gardner took home the MVP trophy for his spectacular performance in the final game, looking pretty dominant on the glass and in the post, Markel Starks was far and away more deserving of the MVP award. Although he played alongside pure point David Stockton, who had a tremendous camp in his own right, Starks looked every bit the part of the best point guard at the event. In terms of his ability to break down the defense, Starks employs an adequate first step and regularly turned to his arsenal of hesitation moves to break his man down off the bounce and either take the ball all the way to the rim, or pull up for an often uncontested jumper. He did this with impunity at the PIT,  and demonstrated excellent body control when confronted with a bigger help defender. Not only was Starks hyper aggressive attacking the basket, but he was incredibly crafty at the rim, evincing tremendous body control and the concentration and strength to finish through contact. He also possesses an array of floaters and scoop shots. With that said, Starks' bread and butter at the next level will be his ability to keep defenses honest with his pullup jumper, which is somewhat of a lost art in today's game. Starks has the balance and poise to score off the bounce, elevating and creating enough separation on his shot to likely receive clean looks at the next level. While Starks displayed good range on his outside shot, he was not particularly consistent in this respect throughout the season.

Starks is more than just a scorer though. At the PIT, Starks demonstrated that he can serve as a floor general, seeing the floor and creating plays for his teammates. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to read the defense, hitting open cutters and making winning basketball plays. On the defensive end, Starks is a savvy defender who committed only 2.55 fouls per 40 minutes (good for 11th best in the Big East). Starks does a nice job getting in a stance and possesses the lateral quickness to defend at the next level. While Markel Starks was not given the MVP nod, he more than impressed with his performance at the PIT, capped off by his game winning three pointer as time expired to earn his team the championship trophy.

Travis Bader, Oakland - While I did not have the pleasure of witnessing Bader's most impressive three point shooting barrage in his first game at the PIT, the 6'5 wing clearly stood out as the best shooter at this event. Travis Bader sports textbook mechanics, nice elevation, and a quick release on his jumper shot.   And even though he did try to display a more diversified game at times, Bader's potential at the next level rests in his ability to nail the long ball. While he is not as effective shooting off the bounce, Bader was remarkably accurate connecting off the catch in transition or hitting shots off a curl. He also did not get rattled by the physicality of the game, drawing several three point fouls. This came as no surprise to me given his performances during the year, where teams absolutely did everything they could to clamp down on him from beyond the arc. Bader is a master at properly utilizing screens and reading defenses in order to get off his shot. Oakland regularly ran set plays and he was able to dial in from distance with only a little bit of daylight.

In terms of the other facets of his game, Bader did employ a shot fake at times and got to the rim on a few occasions, but this was few and far between. Defensively, Bader shows good effort and a solid intensity level, working hard to stay with his man, but will likely be average to below average at the next level given his limited physical profile, which will hurt his ability to fight over the top of screens. All in all, Bader has good size for a wing and a defined role at the next level, making him an obvious candidate to be drafted.

Akil Mitchell, Virginia - Akil Mitchell was one of the most highly touted names coming into the PIT, and he did not disappoint with his performances here. Mitchell was dominant defensively and controlled the glass throughout the tournament, two areas he will likely have to specialize in next season if he is able to earn an NBA roster spot. The lengthy Mitchell has a fairly raw offensive game at this point, but was physical attacking the basket. His explosiveness off the bounce was evident, and he likely has not reached his full potential on this end of the floor. For instance, he made several explosive maneuvers to the basket, spinning off of his man and finishing at the rim before the defender could even react. Mitchell is not particularly shy in this regard, and will ferociously throw the ball down if a defender allows him to get deep enough post position. While Mitchell certainly has the strength to back his man down, he does not yet boast the advanced footwork to truly create for himself off the initial post entry feed in any meaningful way. He instead relies heavily on his athleticism and strength to finish at the rim on both back to the basket and faceup moves. In terms of his other capabilities on this end of the floor, Mitchell does not yet have the range to stretch defenses and keep them honest at the next level. This likely could be a big area of improvement for him in the coming seasons.

In terms of his promise on the glass, Mitchell did a nice job securing rebounds and this will likely be a strength at the next level. He did a nice job of blocking out more physically imposing players and utilizing his superior athleticism to corral loose balls. On other trips, he was able to tip it out to his teammates and keep possessions alive. Defensively, Akil is a great help defender who can come over from the weakside and contest at the rim. He works hard in the post to maintain position on the block and utilizes his length to deflect post entry feeds. He is active in passing lanes and regularly deflected the ball on several occasions due to his great timing and quickness (he led the PIT with 2.3 steals per contest according to realgm.com statistics). Ultimately, Mitchell is a consummate role player at the next level who possesses the requisite athleticism to make an NBA roster next season.

Two Additional Players Deserving Mention:

Andre Dawkins, Duke - Dawkins was a revelation at this event due to his tremendous shooting display. Dawkins gets good elevation on his shots and was able to pull up from virtually anywhere on the floor. He also demonstrated a lot more aggression attacking the rim than most were accustomed to seeing during his time at Duke. He was able to get past his man on several occasions and possesses the strength to finish through contact. All in all, Dawkins projects as a jump shooter who can spot up off the dribble or off the catch.

Javon McCrea, Buffalo - McCrea was arguably the most consistent big man at this event and was able to physically dominate his opponents at times. He likely is the strongest player at the event, and regularly attacked his man's body and finished through contact. McCrea possesses the necessary girth (body type wise) to create separation in the post and finish against bigger opponents. At the PIT, McCrea was a dominant physical presence facing up and scored on several up and under moves and scoop shots which were heavily contested. He was also aggressive on the offensive glass, creating extra possessions for his team and looking every bit the part of an undersized power forward. Defensively, McCrea was physical enough to move his man out of the post area, but struggled a little bit when lengthy players were able to get the ball super close to the hoop. With that said, he was active defensively and readily poked the ball away on numerous occasions. McCrea also demonstrated his midrange jump shot, and connected with some consistency. His form is still rather awkward looking though, and a larger sample size is needed before it can be said that he has improved in this area. Overall, McCrea will likely be limited initially by his size, but can eventually make a roster down the road if he can show some consistency on his jump shot and extend his range.