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EDDIE GRIFFIN CHALLENGE RECAP

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New Jersey takes two of three from Philadelphia rivals in annual event

by JEFF BORZELLO

Over the past several seasons, one of the most talked-about events of the fall campaign is the Eddie Griffin Challenge, a three-game series matching the top players in New Jersey against the top players in Philadelphia. Last year, the Philly teams swept the players from the Garden State, and New Jersey came into Sunday looking for revenge.

The Challenge was held this year at the Fellowship House in Conshohocken, Pa. Although many of the top players originally scheduled to appear didn’t show – namely Mike Gilchrist, Ashton Pankey, Desmond Hubert, Rakeem Christmas and Tyrone Johnson (the latter two were injured) – there was still plenty of talent on hand for a jam-packed Fellowship House.

The sophomores kicked off the event with arguably the least exciting game of the day. New Jersey jumped out to a quick lead, but the boys from Philadelphia slowly came back and eventually ran NJ out of the building. The final was 84-71, in favor of Philadelphia, with Tariq Carey (N.J.) and Kyree Wooten (Pa.) garnering the MVP awards.

The game with the most talent was the junior game, with nearly every player getting some sort of high-major interest. This game was back-and-forth from the opening tip, but New Jersey finally emerged victorious, by a final score of 99-87. Texas-commit Myck Kabongo (N.J.) and Pittsburgh-commit John Johnson (Pa.) were the MVPs for their respective sides.

Breaking the tie was the senior game, which featured plenty of big-time players, including a trio of ACC guards in Kyrie Irving (Duke), Tony Chenault (Wake Forest) and Tyrone Garland (Virginia Tech) as well as Big East commits Fuquan Edwin (Seton Hall) and Dion Waiters (Syracuse). The team from New Jersey got off to a quick start, but it became a tight battle as the game went on. However, Irving was the main man down the stretch and wouldn’t let New Jersey lose. The final score was 111-103, in favor of the Garden State. Irving and Garland were the MVPs.

Here is a look at some of the top players in the event:

Kyle Anderson, 2012: This was certainly not the best we’ve seen Anderson play. He had a few nice plays, including a pull-up from just inside the arc and a nice drive and finish at the basket. However, he seemed to turn the ball over too often, and was called for a travel on nearly every one of his spin moves in the lane.
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Tariq Carey, 2012: The MVP for New Jersey came on strong in the fourth quarter after not doing all that much in the first three periods. He showed an ability to get to the basket and finish, and also demonstrated his three-point shooting ability and range when he knocked in a few outside jumpers.
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Amile Jefferson, 2012: Clearly the marquee player coming into the game, Jefferson was forced to play inside despite his preference to play facing the basket. Nonetheless, he stood out due to his length and athleticism. He blocked shots, grabbed rebounds and attacked the glass, ran the floor and even showed solid ball-handling ability. Moreover, Jefferson knocked down a three and posted up defenders well. He is going to be an outstanding small forward.

Jefferson recently attended Midnight Madness at Georgetown and the ‘Hoops Mania’ event at Villanova. He also has offers and/or interest from West Virginia, Wake Forest, Temple, Penn State, Duke, Syracuse, Saint Joseph’s and Drexel.
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Ryan Arciadano, 2012: A tough and quick point guard, Arciadano has very solid dribbling ability and does not turn the ball over. However, he needs to look for his shot more and become more aggressive on the offensive end. He passed up open shots too often, but did demonstrate a solid pull-up jumper and good body control.
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Kyree Wooten, 2012: In warm-ups, the player who gained the most double-takes and roster glances was Wooten. His leaping ability and athleticism is absolutely jaw-dropping. He backed up his performance in the lay-up line with an MVP award in the actual game. Wooten is extremely impressive above the rim and can finish with the best of them. Moreover, he can finish in the lane and on leaners around the foul line.
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Blaise Mbargorba, 2011: Probably the most unknown of the players in the junior game, Mbargorba showed flashes of his potential. He had one big-time dunk in the second half, as well as a couple of nice rebounds and blocks. He is still clearly raw, but the fact that he is 7-feet tall and has solid skills bodes well for his future.

Mbargorba, a center from St. Benedict’s (N.J.), says that Georgetown is showing him the most interest at this point, but there are plenty of schools contacting him.
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Sterling Gibbs, 2011: Gibbs did not play that well, and was overshadowed by a few of the other guards in the game. His shot was off from most of the game, and he turned the ball over a couple of times. Gibbs seemed frustrated at some points, but he did have some nice baskets and was aggressive.
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Myles Davis, 2011: Davis was one of the better players for the New Jersey side in the 2011 game. He showed excellent range on his three-point shot, and was active on the defensive end, racking up steals and deflections. He ran the break well and was very good finishing in transition. Davis had a nice pull-up jumper inside the arc and another nice pull-up from deep. He and Myck Kabongo single-handedly (double-handedly?) turned the game in New Jersey’s favor late in the game.
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Derrick Randall, 2011: Randall was an absolutely dominant force around the rim at both ends. He blocked multiple shots and completely controlled the backboards. He had several easy baskets off of put-backs or dump-offs by his guards. His defensive presence was a major factor in New Jersey’s win and his ability to get rebounds was key. The lefty showed off his athleticism and leaping ability.
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Jarrod Davis, 2011: Davis was quiet at the outset of the contest, but played well in the second half. He knocked down a couple of outside jumpers and was also very effective getting to the basket, both in transition and in the half-court. Davis finished strong at the rim and had a few nice dunks.
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John Johnson, 2011: One of the best players in the event, regardless of class, Johnson was outstanding at getting to the basket and had multiple impressive finishes. He used his quickness and athleticism to get past his defender and finish at the rim or pass it off to a teammate for an easy basket. His speed with the ball going to the lane was eye-opening, and he was certainly not outplayed by the more well-known Kabongo. In the future, he adds a big-time dose of speed to the Pittsburgh attack.
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Jaylen Bond, 2011: Bond started off the game with a bang, but slowed down somewhat as the game went along. He came out of the gate with two nice finishes in transitions and a jump shot, but was quiet for much of the latter three quarters. He did get a few baskets around the rim, but his jumpshot disappeared.
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Aaron Brown, 2011: The strong lefty doesn’t do anything flashy, but he gets the job done consistently. He is tough to stop when he is driving to the basket, and gets points around the rim. Of course, he has yet to show a semblance of a jump shot and struggles going to the right, but until someone stops him from driving to his left, he does not need to do anything else.
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Fuquan Edwin, 2010: Edwin did not seem overly aggressive and was actually fairly quiet for most of the game, but when one looked at the score sheet late in the contest, Edwin had 22 points. He got the majority of those points on finishes in transitions and dunks off of passes from Kyrie Irving. His ability to glide to the rim is impressive.
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Tyreek Duren, 2010: Despite the plethora of more highly-touted guards in the game, Duren did not get overshadowed. He is extremely quick and is an excellent ball-handler. Duren changes directions very well and can finish at the rim with contact against bigger players. Duren does not turn the ball over often and has good vision.
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Dion Waiters, 2010: The Syracuse-bound Waiters demonstrated his strength and quickness on multiple occasions, taking inferior defenders off the dribble and finishing with ease at the basket. He showed off his ability to knock down outside shots, and also found the open man when the opportunity presented itself. His combination of speed and strength make him nearly impossible to defend.
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Deshon Minnis, 2010: The senior game was not all that exciting for most of the first half – until Minnis decided to take matters into his own hands. Within the span of a few minutes, Minnis had arguably the top three plays of the day. On one occasion, he went down the floor in transition and threw down a one-handed dunk out of nowhere. A few plays later, he broke a double-team with some impressive dribbling ability, and followed that with a ridiculous crossover that nearly brought the house down.
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Devon Collier, 2010: The 6-foot-7 forward is down to four schools in his recruitment: Providence, Oregon State, Seton Hall and St. John’s. He is set to make his last visit this weekend, to Seton Hall. After that, he will decide on his future destination. Collier claims that he has no favorites right now, and needs to see what the Pirates have to offer before making his pick.

A separate source with knowledge of Collier’s recruitment indicated to NBE over the weekend that the Friars and Oregon State are the frontrunners with the local teams playing catch-up. It looks like the Pirates will have a last chance to make up that ground when they have him on campus this weekend.
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