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DESERT DUEL CHAMPS CROWNED + BIG EAST NOTES

Chicago Is King at the Desert Duel Memorial

by Doug Ferguson

The first annual Desert Duel Memorial AAU tournament concluded today just outside of Phoenix and it finished stronger than a Kenyan in a marathon. With 82% of the tournament field consisting of teams who were based either west of the Mississippi or south of the Mason-Dixon Line, it gave the NBE Basketball Report a great opportunity to see players we have yet to see. However it was two teams from metropolitan Chicago who were left standing. Other teams went back home with a pat on the back and a nice tan, but it was the Mac Irvin Fire who would be going home with a trophy with a nail biting double-overtime victory of over the Illinois Wolves. The Fire came back from a 16 point defecit to eventually become the tournament’s first ever champion.

The first half was dominated by the Wolves. They had a huge advantage in the experience department and it showed early. The Fire’s high octane offense blew a hole through everyone they played up to this game, never winning by less than double-digits. The Wolves main focus was to play good transition defense and not to give up easy buckets in the half-court and it really had the Fire’s coaches, players, and fans flustered. Mac Irvin was one of the highest scoring teams in the tournament, but with 4:15 left in the first half they scored at a clip of less than a point per minute.

Mac Irvin went on a run to trim the lead to five with the score 26-21 in the final minute of the half. The coaching staff dug the hole back to its previous depth after two of their coaches were assessed techical fouls following a questionable foul call 90 feet from the basket with under 10 seconds to go. David Bryant, who was automatic from the charity stripe, hit all four technicals as well as the shots awarded to him via the personal foul, and the Wolves went into halftime with an 11-point cushion. The referees were getting close to forfeiting due to the constant onslaught being put on them by the Mac Irvin coaching staff.

The Warriors got the lead all the way up to 16 at 49-33 just shy of the 9:00 mark. That’s when the Fire’s full court pressure start to yield the results it had all tournament. Derrick Needham erupted in the second half, scoring all 23 points after the intermission. Mac Irvin faught all the way back to take a 2 point lead on a floater in the lane Tracy Abrams (Mt. Carmel) with a half minute to go. Coming out of the timeout, the Wolves excuted perfectly and Derrick Tartt sliced through the defense and scored with 7 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

The teams exchanged baskets in the first two minute extra period. In round two of OT, Reggie Smith (Thornton) hit 2 foul shots on the Fire’s first possession. The Wolves’ Conrad Krutwig (Jacobs) was fouled attempting to grab a defensive rebound, but only hit 1 out of 2. Neither team would score from that point on concluding with a last second miss by John Wilkins was rebounded by Needham and the sounded to end an outstanding conclusion for an outstanding event.

Needham’s 23 points led all scorers, but the best player on the floor in the championship game was Jonathan Mills (N. Lawndale Prep). Mills put up a Dwight Howard-like stat line which read 16 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals. The Wolves were led by David Bryant (Batavia) who had 19 points (9-9 FT) and 5 boards and Derrick Tartt (Fenwick) chipped in 13 points and 4 assists.

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES:

– Big East coaching staffs were well represented in the three days in the Desert. DePaul head coach Jerry Wainwright made the trip and assistants from Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Providence, Marquette, Rutgers, Connecticut and Syracuse were very visible throughout. Look for a complete breakdown of who each was watching very soon and school lists from some of th etop players seen in the Desert Duel over the next couple days here at the NBE Basketball Report.

– As reported previously by several outlets, the Syracuse Post-Standard reports that James Southerland, an Orange Recruit, is Not Ready to enroll in college and will likely spend another year at Notre Dame Prep. Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins was in Arizona keeping a close eye as SU Looks in on Southerland and his Albany City Rocks teammates.

– Jordan Hamilton will not make the trio to Storrs on Sunday for the second annual Connecticut Elite Camp, which will run Sunday and Monday at Gampel Pavilion. Hamilton is still hoping to take an unofficial visit to UConn later in August. With Hamilton out, there is still a pretty impressive list of players expected to attend the camp and the latest two added to the list are Dominic Cheek, Durand Scott, JUCO guard (formerly of Alabama) Rico Pickett, who know attends Miami-Dade CC and 6-foot-9 (rising) sophomore Andre Drummond of Hartford’s Capital Prep, according to the New Haven Register (Cheek In, Hamilton Out of Elite Camp).

Scott and Cheek are both close with incoming UConn point guard recruit Kemba Walker, who could play a key role in the recruitment of both players. Walker was a Rice High School and NY Gaucho teammate of Scott’s and he also just played on the U-18 USA National Team with Cheek that won a silver medal in Argentina.

– Not great news from West Virginia as Two WVU Players Accused in PNC Park Scuffle (Charleston Gazette) with police during Monday night’s Pittsburgh Prates and Colorado Rockies baseball game. Joe Mazzulla was charged with aggravated assault, hindering apprehension and underage drinking. He was arraigned Tuesday morning and was to be released on a non-monetary bond. Cam Thoroughman was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and underage drinking. For now, WVU Officials are Tight-Lipped on Mazzullla, Thoroughman arrests (Wheeling Intelligencer), letting the judicial process play out and handling the manner internally, according to head coach Bob Huggins.

The two WVU Players are to Appear in Court August 6th (Daily Mail) .

– As reported yesterday in our Big East Recruitng Update on Louisville, the Cards scored a commitment from the class of 2010. Josh Langford, an Alabama Forward, Commits to U of L (Louisville Courier-Journal).

– Adam Zagoria updates the growing recruiting interest in guard Kyrie Irving who is lighting it up on the summer circuit. Irving is Drawing Big-Time Interest (ZagsBlog.net) as schools such as Florida, Notre Dame and Virginia have recently joined previous suitors such as Memphis, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Texas A&M and St. Joseph’s.

Last season, Irving led Montclair Kimberley to its first-ever New Jersey Prep ‘B’ State title last season, averaging 26.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 4. 8 assists and 3.6 steals. He will play at St. Patrick’s next season.

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