July 2011

2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 7): RECRUITING LISTS FROM AAU NATIONALS

By Alex Schwartz

The grind continues in Orlando as we move into the home stretch of the 2011 AAU National Championships. On Thursday NBE caught up with Malik Price-Martin, Kasey Hill, Duane Wilson Jr., Kobe Eubanks and Zacarry Douglas for the latest on their recruitment.

The action continues on Friday and through the weekend in Orlando and NBE will be on hand right through the conclusion. In the 16U level they have reached the FInal 8 of Pool Play. Match-ups late this morning include BABC/Garner Road, Ohio Varsity White/Rising Stars Gold, NY Gauchos/All-Ohio Red & Team Takeover/Ohio Hoopsters Cash. The semifinals will be played later this afternoon and the championship game is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

17U action has moved into championship bracket play with 32 teams left after early morning play. The field will be narrowed to 16 later today and then tomorrow the Final 8 will square off. Some big names remain and Albany City Rocks and Texas PRO square off today for a spot in the final 16. The Arkansas Wings, Florida Rams, CP3, All-Iowa Attack, PA Playaz, Wisconsin Playground Elite and others highlight the remaining teams.

Below you will find our recruiting updates from yesterday….

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2011 DESERT DUEL MEMORIAL FINAL DAY RECAP: NJ PLAYAZ STORM BACK FOR TITLE

By Raphielle Johnson

The only thing better than the two best teams in an event playing in the title game is those teams putting forth a game for the ages. And that’s exactly what happened when the Mac Irvin Fire and New Jersey Playaz 17U teams met in Tuesday’s title game at the Desert Duel Memorial. Despite trailing by as many as 26 points early in the second half the Playaz found a way back, ultimately winning the game in overtime by the final score of 70-62.

Things most certainly didn’t look good for the Playaz at the start as Mac Irvin jumped them out of the gate thanks to the combination of solid offensive execution and the Playaz’s inability to make shots. The squad from Chicago had everything rolling, especially 2013 stud Jabari Parker who hit just about any shot imaginable in the first twenty minutes.

Steve Taylor (2012) was able to slash to the basket, DePaul commit Billy Garrett Jr. (2013) and Derrick Randolph (2012) made plays in the backcourt and Aaric Armstead (2012) was also a factor. A dunk just before the halftime buzzer made the score 43-20, and a Parker three in the first minute of the second half pushed the lead out to 26. To say the least things did not look good for the Playaz was an understatement.

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2011 DESERT DUEL MEMORIAL – DAY ONE RECAP: COACHES GALORE ON HAND FOR ACTION

By Raphielle Johnson

With the second ten-day open period of the month on the back end it would have been easy for teams still playing to perform in a sluggish manner. But that didn’t happen on Wednesday, especially at the Desert Duel Memorial Tournament where a few games needed overtime to render a decision. One of those games was the matchup between Long Island Lightning Blue and Seattle Rotary Select, with the Lightning making up a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of regulation and going on to win by the final score of 69-65.

The guard tandem of Kareem Canty (2012; postgrad) and Melvin Johnson (2012) made crucial plays down the stretch with both being able to get to the rim off the dribble. Canty’s more of a scoring point who was also to make some nice passes to his big men after beating his man off the dribble, and the pull-up jumper he says he’s been working on was on display as well.

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2011 ORLANDO AAU UPDATE (PART 6): HOUSTON DEFENDERS TAKE 17U SHOWCASE TITLE

By Alex Schwartz

It was a busy day in Orlando on Wednesday as the 17U AAU Super Showcase came to a close. The Houston Defenders earned the crown with an impressive 55-45 victory over BABC. Class of 2013 twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison led the Defenders as Aaron scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Andrew finished with eight points and 10 assists. Earlier in the afternoon the Defenders got past Team Takeover, rallying from a halftime deficit to advance to the championship game. For their part, BABC survived a stiff challenge in the semis from Hoop Heavan Elite out of NJ to advance to the televised championship game.

Now the full focus will shift to the AAU National Championships. The 16U is in full swing and the 17U championships are also getting going in pool play as well. Still plenty of basketball left these next four days as the second July live evaluation period closes out.

Below we have some additional player evaluations and recruiting information from yesterday’s action with a heavy concentration on the Houston Defenders (Derrick Griffin), Team Takeover (Jerami Grant), BABC (Jaylen Brantley, Jake Layman, Goodluck Okonoboh) and more (Bobby Portis)…

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2011 ORLANDO AAU UPDATE (PART 5): CHAMPIONSHIP DAY FOR 17U SUPER SHOWCASE AHEAD

By Alex Schwartz

It is championship day at the 17U AAU Super Showcase in Orlando on Wednesday afternoon. At noon, Team Takeover DC will meet the Houston Defenders in one semifinal match-up while BABC will take on Hoop Heaven Elite at 3 PM in the other semifinal. The winners will meet in the Showcase ttile game scheduled for 7 PM and it will be televised by ESPNUI.

Last night ESPNU had a made-for-TV ‘highlight’ game in Orlando putting Texas PRO and the Georgia Stars on display for television viewers. NBE caught up with some of the top names from the highlight game, including Alex Poythress, Danuel House and Danrad ‘Chicken’ Knowles, to get the latest in their recruitment. Also a pair of 2013 guards, Stephen Vasturia and Allerick Freeman, are profiled in today’s report…

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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 4): ARCHIE GOODWIN UPDATES RECRUITING, MCGARY, NOEL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE & MORE

By Alex Schwartz

Ian Baker, a native of the DC-area now attending Arlington Country Day School in Florida, told NBE he has a top five school list he is working off of.

“I’d say my top four are Miami, South Carolina, Providence and Tennessee and you could say Marshall,” he said in Orlando where he is playing in AAU Super Showcase. “That’s my top five.”

Baker said Miami is his leader right now with South Carolina second and Tennessee third.

Baker has offers from four of his top five schools, with Tennessee as the only one who has not offered.

Asked if that is definitely his final five he cut his list to, Baker replied, “That’s about it. I wanna see how it’s gonna be after the tournament, who’s interested, who’s not, but as of now that’s how it’s gonna be.”

At one point Providence was his co-favorite with Miami, but Baker said he has not heard from PC as much of late and noted, “I’m not sure if I’m a top priority to them or not.”
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 4 NOTEBOOK: WILD, WILD WEST IN VEGAS

By Raphielle Johnson

By the end of the last college basketball season it was best to simply expect the unexpected. The same could be said for this weekend in Las Vegas, which has produced an unexpected champion in the Kansas City 76ers. The 76ers won the Las Vegas Fab 48 by beating Team Breakdown (Florida) in Monday night’s title game.

While the stands weren’t filled to brim as they were last summer (Oakland Soldiers tend to bring out the crowds), there were a few college programs represented in the coaches area with 2013 wing Ishmail Wainright the primary focus.

Ben Howland (UCLA) and Steve Lavin (St. John’s) were both there to watch Wainwright, who considers Earl Watson (who has connections to both as he played at UCLA under Lavin) to be an older brother and mentor. Other programs represented include Western Illinois, George Mason, Kansas, Missouri, UC Irvine, South Florida, Cal Poly, Nebraska, UM-KC and Creighton.

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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 3): GARY HARRIS IMPRESSES; JERAMI GRANT UPDATE & AQUILLE CAR TALKS RECRUITING & MORE UPDATES

By Alex Schwartz

As things begin to head towards the climax in Las Vegas the action in Orlando continues to heat up. More and more of the nation’s attention will turn to the sunshine state in the recruiting world. NBE continues to be ahead of the game with continued coverage from the land of Mickey. On Sunday the 17U pool play got going with an impressive slate of games while the 16U Super Showcase playoff action got underway.

Here are some player evals and recruiting updates from Aquille Carr, Gary Harris, Kennedy Meeks, Jerami Grant, Marcus Hunt, Robert Carter and Sindarius Thornwell to highlight the action occurring in Orlando…

Aquille Carr listed offers from Syracuse, Memphis, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, St. John’s, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, and Connecticut. His favorites at this point are Wake Forest, Syracuse and UConn.
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 3 NOTEBOOK: UPSETS & CLOSE CALLS DEFINE SUNDAY’S ACTION

By Raphielle Johnson

On paper Sunday’s slate of games in both the adidas Super 64 and Las Vegas Fab 48 looked to be locks for the top teams. But many learned (once again) first-hand that games are played on the floor and not on some poster-sized sheet of paper in a gym lobby. The list of victims included the Oakland Soldiers, who dropped their first round playoff game to a Branch West Elite team that looked highly impressive in the first half against Play Hard Play Smart in the nightcap.

Also bounced from the Fab 48 were TP Elite and Team Loaded, both of whom fell victim to the Wisconsin Swing. Zak Showalter (2012) out of Germantown (WI), who scored 29 points in their 90-75 win over Team Loaded, can do a number of things on the floor from his guard position. He caught fire from deep but didn’t simply settle for those shots, also driving to the basket and setting up teammates for good looks as well. Ironically Showalter stated after the game that he’s working on becoming a better perimeter shooter, although he was referring to consistency as opposed to simply making the shot.

That matchup also featured a pair of excellent prospects in NC State commit Tyler Lewis (2012) and Andrew White (2012), who has many top programs after his services. When the ball was in Lewis’s hands things seemed to run smoother for Team Loaded, although the way in which Wisconsin Swing executed offensively it may have taken 100 points for Team Loaded to win the game.
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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART 2): ACTION HEATING UP IN DISNEY

By Alex Schwartz

The action continues in Orlando with the AAU Super Showcase for the 15U and 16U heating up on Saturday. On Sunday the 17U division gets going stronger as well and more and more college coaches are arriving at the ESPN Wide World of Sports venue. In this afternoon’s notebook we take a closer look at the recruitment of standouts such as Kavon Stewart, Geno Thorpe, Davon Reed, Kendrick Nunn and we take a look at the impressive games of Dakari Johnson, Aquille Carr and Phil Booth. Read on below for the detail…

At 5-foot-11, NJ Playaz/Hudson Catholic point guard Kavon Stewart might not have elite height for a point guard, but what he does have is a fantastic feel for the game and the ability to lead a team. A pure point, Stewart gets others involved and has superb floor vision. He is able to find the open man and get him the basketball in a position to score. Stewart has a solid build, though he could add a bit of muscle. The 2013 prospect has a nice mid-range game which keeps the defense honest.
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 2 NOTEBOOK: TOP MATCHUPS CONTINUE

Khan/Judah not the only prize fight in town

By Raphielle Johnson

While boxing fans enjoyed the battle between Amir Khan and Zab Judah over at Mandalay Bay, two of the top AAU teams on the West Coast did battle at Bishop Gorman in the Las Vegas Fab 48. Led by the interior tandem of 2012 Brandon Ashley and 2013 Aaron Gordon, the Oakland Soldiers withstood a late rally to beat Belmont Shore 85-80. Both showed off their vast array of skills, especially Gordon with a few thunderous dunks.

The game was also valuable to see what Belmont Shore big men Zena Edsomwan and Grant Jerrett could do against two of the best prep players regardless of class. Edsomwan isn’t the kind of player who’s going to dominate the basketball but rather do the little things on both ends of the floor needed to win. Jerrett had his moments as well but it proved to be a tale of two halves for the Arizona commit.

In the backcourt the battle was just as intense, with the likes of Dominic Artis and Jabari Bird taking on Ikenna Ireogbu and Katin Reinhardt for Belmont Shore. With regards to dribbling skills, Artis may not have an equal in the 2012 class (Kris Dunn is another to consider). Bird can do just about everything on the floor, and while the 2013 prospect needs to continue to improve as a shooter he’s shown the ability to knock down open shots.
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2011 ORLANDO AAU NOTEBOOK (PART I): SELDEN, WILBEKIN, HAYES STANDOUT

By Alex Schwartz

The second July live evaluation period kicked off on Friday and the place to be over the 10-day period looks to be Orlando (FL). With AAU Super Showcases along with AAU National Championships being at the top age groups the action will be heating up like much of the summer weather our nation is currently seeing. In this first notebook, NBE chats with elite 2014 prospect Wayne Selden about his recruitment and covers the play and recruitment of Nigel Hayes, Mitchell Wilbekin while also getting a look at Marial Shayok, Che Bop and Jeremy Miller as well with the younger age groups taking center stage first. Read on below for the details…

Wayne Selden said he has offers from Kentucky, Boston College, Connecticut, West Virginia and Pittsburgh. He has interest from Ohio State, Arizona and Providence. He noted, “A lot more other schools in the Big East, ACC.”
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 1 NOTEBOOK: JABARI PARKER SHINES, KRIS DUNN SPARKLES & MORE

By Raphielle Johnson

When a who’s who of the college coaching profession is on hand a show is expected. And 2013 prospect Jabari Parker provided that and then some in Mac Irvin Fire’s win over Worldwide Renegades in the evening session of the Las Vegas Fab 48 at Bishop Gorman. Parker showed off his vast array of skills in front of the likes of Dave Rose (BYU), Oliver Purnell (DePaul), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Bruce Weber (Illinois), Buzz Williams (Marquette) and Tom Izzo (Michigan State) among others.

Also playing well in the win for Mac Irvin were 2012 forward Steve Taylor and 2012 guards Aaric Armstead and Derrick Randolph. Taylor won’t be graded on the same level as Parker but make no mistake about it, the young man is skilled. Taylor showed off the ability to step out and attack the rim, doing a solid job of playing with contact and knocking down mid-range shots. Randolph, while he looks shorter than his listed height of 5’9”, is the kind of winning player that all successful teams tend to have.

Randolph was highly competitive at both ends of the floor, setting up teammates for easy baskets on quick drives to the basket and disrupting the Renegades defensively. Armstead may not have had the impact scoring-wise that some of the other players had, but he did the little things especially on the defensive end. And 2013 DePaul commit Billy Garrett Jr. proved to be a tough matchup due to his crafty handle and ability to knock down a variety of shots.
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GONZAGA HS IN DC POISED FOR CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON AHEAD

By Matt Whitfield

Those that follow high school basketball closely know that the Washington, D.C. area is traditionally a hot bed for talent and that trend will continue for the next couple of years without a doubt. Gonzaga College High School is one of the many talented programs in the Washington, D.C. area and this upcoming season they return four starters as they look to avenge their loss to DeMatha in last season’s Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) Championship game.

“I think we’ve had a great summer thus far,” said Gonzaga Head Coach Steve Turner. “We’re sitting at a 29-3 record right now, with all three losses coming by three points. Two of the losses came to two very high level teams which are in our conference and the third was to a very good Neumann-Goretti team from Philadelphia which is probably going to be one of the best, if not the best team, in Philadelphia this year. So I’m very excited how our summer has gone thus far, how we’ve been able to start to gel and grow towards next season.”

Undoubtedly the marquee player on Gonzaga is nationally recruited point guard Nate Britt. Coach Turner describes his rising junior (Class of 2013) star as a classic point guard.
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UA SUMMER JAM PRESENTED BY NY2LA SPORTS — TOP PERFORMERS

By Alex Jesswein

Standout Seven: Top Players from the UA Summer Jam last week

Robert Carter–6-8 Power Forward–Atlanta Xpress: Although he was hobbled by an ankle injury, Atlanta Xpress Robert Carter really impressed us with his ‘old school’ approach. He won’t wow you with his athleticism or finesse, he just gets down to work in the block and is very adept at finishing with either hand. He did show an ability to step out and hit an open jumper but he will make his money doing the dirty work on the inside.
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Chris Thomas–6-5 Guard–Colorado Hawks: Thomas is an extremely talented player. He reminds me of former Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts because of his ability to play multiple positions. He seems to be very comfortable playing with the ball in his hand and because of his size and length should be able to defend multiple positions at the collegiate level.
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JELON HORNBEAK PICKS UP NEW OFFERS; READY TO CLOSE JULY STRONG

It is becoming pretty clear that the Adidias Super 64 will be the place to be to start the final 10-day evaluation period of July. One player that wil lbe there and NBE is excited to get a look at is Jelon Hornbeak, a Class of 2012 guard out of Grace Prep in Arlington (TX). For much of the summer Hornbeak has been playing with Texas PRO but he will step out on the circuit this weekend with Family First in Las Vegas. He will not be doing it alone as his Grace Prep teammate and Baylor-commit Isaiah Austin will be along with him. Early highlights from the opening 10-day evaluation period in July for Hornbeak included connecting with his high school teammate in front of a plethora of college coaches and putting a beating on one of the top AAU programs at the NY2LA Sports Summer Jam in Milwaukee.

“Putting the mercy rule on Dream Vision,” said Hornbeak when asked of an early July highlights, “and throwing lobs to Isaiah and one game in Dallas I went 6 for 8 from three-point [range, making] five of them in a row.”
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CLASS OF 2013 Q&A: TYLER ENNIS CONTINUES TO BLOW UP

One of the most intriguing prospects in the Class of 2013 is Tyler Ennis out of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark (NJ) and the CIA Bounce AAU program. The Canadian import has been having a tremendous spring and summer on the AAU and camp scene and his recruitment continues to skyrocket.

Ennis is a smooth scoring guard that can put points on the board. He continues to improve his floor game as a point guard and with a busy July travel schedule you can be certain college coaches will continue to be seen at his games. The attention from the coaches keeps Ennis grounded and working hard to his goals. He also updates readers on the latestr in his recruitment in the following Q&A with NBE Sports…

NBE Basketball Report (NBE): What is your current height and weight?

Tyler Ennis (TE): 6’3, 180
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JOHN WALL REMEMBERS HIS NBA JOURNEY BEGAN WITH JULY BASKETBALL AT ’07 REEBOK BREAKOUT CAMP

By Matt Whitfield

Seeing John Wall float around and interact with campers at the Reebok Breakout Challenge Camp earlier this month, one couldn’t help but think ‘man, I don’t know how many NBA player would be do something like this.’

Wall, however is not just any NBA player.

Wall is an explosive point guard who was selected by the Washington Wizards as the #1 overall pick out of Kentucky in the 2010 NBA Draft. Two years before attending Kentucky and dazzling fans, Wall was a relative unknown though, that is until he blew up at the very Reebok Camp he was hosting and became a consensus top five recruit in 2009.

“It’s a great opportunity I think for the kids to get a chance to be around NBA players or just have a great opportunity to see college coaches and have scouts talk about them. I think some of these guys have never been in the type of the environment where they got to see coaches,” said Wall.
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Q&A WITH CLASS OF 2013 STOCK RISER HALLICE COOKE

One of the players that has made a quick ascension in the Class of 2013 in recent weeks is St. Anthony;s of Jersey City (NJ) guard Hallice Cooke. After playing well in the early July events on the East Coast, Cooke and his teammates at Sports U./Team Izod made a major splash by taking home the 16U crown at the UA Summer Jam presented by NY2LA Sports. Their championship run was culminated last Friday afternoon with a 51-48 win over the Illinois Wolves to take home the 16U Platinum Bracket Championship.

NBE was able to catch up with Cooke this afternoon to get his thoughts on the impressive early July run and hear the latest on his recruitment, which is starting to explode rapidly. Another impressive 10 days to close July and Cooke could become one of the most heavily recruited players on the East Coast in the 2013 class…

NBE Basketball Report (NBE): What is your current height and weight?

Hallice Cook (HC): I’m 6’3 and my weight is 175.
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NBE: Where do you live?

HC: I live in Union City, New Jersey
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NBE: Can you talk about what is the best part of attending St. Anthony’s and playing for Coach Hurley?
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CLASS OF 2013 Q&A: BRANNEN GREENE

NBE got a chance to conduct an interview with Brannen Greene over the weekend. Greene is a highly regarded G/F out of Mary Persons High School in Monroe (GA). Playing with the Charlotte Royals 17U AAU program you can be sure Greene will be a priority for college coaches to see in the next open evaluation period whihc runs from 7/22 – 7/31. The rising junior (Class of 2013) has heard from many high-major college programs since schools were officially able to contact players in the class beginning on June 15th. Below is our Q&A with Brannen Greene:

NBE: What is your current height and weight?

Brannen Greene (BG): I’m 6’7 and 197 lbs
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NBE: What was the highlight of the first 10-day open evaluation period for you?

BG: My highlight of this first half would probably be having so many top-notch coaches at my games in Indianapolis (Adidas Invitational).
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NBE: With coaches allowed to be at these open evaluation AAU games, do you notice who is in the stands watching? Anyone in particulat stick out who has been watching?
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