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2011 BOB GIBBONS TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS: DAY ONE

by Alex Schwartz

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 2011 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions tipped off on Friday night. While the field is not as strong as it has been in the past in large part due to new NCAA regulations that caused last minute changes, there are still a number of talented players in attendance.

NBE Basketball Report will have coverage of all three days of the event. Here is part one of our coverage of the TOC, which features both recruiting updates and player evaluations.

Carlos Morris, a 6-foot-5 wing in the class of 2012, is part of a three-headed monster for the U17 Dwight Howard Warriors. The Arlington Country Day (FL) standout teams with fellow high-major recruits Ian Baker ’12 and Solomon Poole ’13 on the Sunshine State squad.

Morris is garnering interest from a number of Big East programs at this point. He lists offers from Cincinnati, Providence, Miami, South Carolina, Georgia and South Florida. The other schools on his list are Florida, Seton Hall, Missouri, Arkansas, and VCU. Morris lists Cincinnati and Georgia as his favorites at this point.

When 6-foot-8 power forward Jordan Goodman played with the Dwight Howard Warriors last weekend, he was committed to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. A teammate of Morris at ACD, Goodman has since reopened his recruitment. Although Goodman was not in attendance this weekend, Dwight Howard Warriors coach and ACD assistant Antwain Tennell provided an update on the class of 2012 standout’s recruitment.

Since he decommitted from Rutgers, about 15 schools have called to express interest in Goodman. Included on that list are Arizona, Memphis, South Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Providence. In addition, Georgetown, to whom Goodman was first committed, is “back in there” according to Tennell.

“I doubt it,” Tennell said of whether Rutgers is still in play. “They never came to watch a game, they saw him once.”

Bronson Koenig, a 6-foot-2 class of 2013 point guard out of La Crosse Aquinas (WI), already has offers from a couple of basketball blueboods. Koenig, who is running with both the U16 and U17 teams for the Wisconsin Playground Warriors, said that Wisconsin, North Carolina and Kansas are coming after him the hardest.

Asked who else his on his list besides those three, Koenig replied, “Virginia with Tony Bennett and I’m not really considering any other schools, but I’m being recruited [by others].” Playing for a program that will allow him to compete for national championships and win a lot of games is something that Koenig said is important to him.

One of the top prospects at the TOC is 6-foot-8 class of 2013 center Isaiah Hicks of Body of Christ Academy (NC). Playing with the Garner Road U16 team, Hicks simply could not be stopped in a dominant 77-47 victory over the shorthanded Westchester Hawks. The big man finished with 22 points and certainly had a double-double.

An ultra long post player who scores his points around the cup and is by no means afraid to dunk the basketball, Hicks is an outstanding finisher around the basket. He possesses nice athletic ability and can both block and alter shots on defense. A long strider who can get up and down the floor, Hicks has a game that is seemingly beyond his years. Already a beast on the court, Hicks has tremendous upside as well.

Carlos Morris did not have a great game in the Dwight Howard Warriors’ comeback two-point win over the Charlotte Nets to cap off the evening. Some of that may be attributed to the fact that the team was stuck at the airport for much of the day due to inclement weather and finally got in only about three hours before their rescheduled late game.

Even though he struggled a bit, Morris showed flashes of potential. He can lock up defensively when he puts his mind to it. A long and athletic wing, Morris is somewhat wiry and could use a bit of added bulk to his frame. The rising senior can play both shooting guard and small forward and has the ability to hit shots from beyond the 3-point line. Morris did not wow, but showed a solid all-around game.

The most highly touted of the Dwight Howard Warriors trio is Solomon Poole, a 6-foot class of 2013 point guard at Terry Parker (FL). Poole has basketball in his genes, as his father, Stacey Poole, Sr., starred at the Florida and his older brother, Stacey Poole, Jr., is a rising sophomore wing at Kentucky.

Poole was up and down during the win over the Charlotte Nets, but he came up big when it mattered most, hitting a tough midrange fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to win the game. While his 3-point shooting was inconsistent, Poole did connect on a trey from NBA range. A bit undersized, Poole has a strong build and is a tough player. He attacks the basket well and can get past his defender.

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