SPIECE RUN ‘N SLAM REVIEW
2008 Speice Run ‘N Slam Bill Hensley Memorial
By Doug Ferguson
America’s basketball heartland was at a fever pitch this past weekend as the city of Fort Wayne, IN hosted the 2008 Bill Hensley Memorial Run N Slam AAU Tournament. While games were strewn in gyms all across the hub of Northeast Indiana, a majority of the action was held in the tradition-rich Spiece Fieldhouse. This museum disguised as a collage of eight courts is littered with memorabilia that is enough to keep basketball lovers in awe for days. Indiana legends from Larry Bird to Greg Oden and John Wooden to Bob Knight just begin to account for the jerseys hanging from the rafters.
Fans got to see all of this, and that was before a whistle blew or a buzzer sounded. The action overall was outstanding, however slightly disappointing for fans of the Big East. A few late scratches for various reasons left many of the conferences followers doing a lot of scratching in their own right. Only they were scratching their heads instead of a lineup card as two of the conferences top early recruits were unfortunately absent from action this weekend.
Center DaShonte Riley (high interest in Georgetown) did not travel with his team (Detroit’s “The Family). His team fared fairly well without him, going 3-0 in pool play before eventually falling in the elimination tournament leaving many to wonder if they are beatable with him in the lineup.
Team Philly, led by point guard Maalik Wayans (verbal commit to Villanova) was set to play as early as a week ago but ended up not making the trip to the Hoosier State. The show went on however, despite the absentees and there was still an extremely high level of basketball being played on the holy ground of the sport. Here are some of the highlights.
Spiece Indy Heat 73 Florida Elite 70
(under 17)
The first game, on the first day, on the first court pitted tournament host Spiece Indy Heat against Florida Elite in probably the toughest pool in the under 17 division. The game was back and forth throughout the first half. Both teams played somewhat sloppily, committing a lot of turnovers and taking a plethora of ill-advised shots. Florida Elite switched defensive looks frequently falling into various trapping sets which seemed to befuddle the Spiece guards, and actually went into halftime up five points.
The pivotal quarter in this game was definitely the third. Spiece came out gangbusters with center Robert Goff throwing down two thunderous dunks. The first came on a rebound tip and the second came on a nifty alley-oop pass from Justin Jordan in transition accounting for Goff’s only 4 points of the game. That seemed to spark blue-chip Ohio State recruit DeShaun Thomas who took over the game at this point. He scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half which consisted of 3 straight fast break flushes which seemed to demoralize Florida at this point.
However, they began to trap successfully again in the 4th quarter bringing the lead down from double digits at one point all the way down to 1. Ultimately, they had the ball down by one, with under 30 seconds. Greg Gant of Florida dribbled the ball off his foot on the baseline with 3.8 seconds left, and the ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds to all but seal the Spiece win. Justin Jordan supplemented the monster game by Thomas with 6 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
Scouting Reports
Justin Jordan, 5′10 point guard, Class of 2009
Top Interest: Purdue, Michigan, Marquette, Butler, Tennessee Tech
Strong Point: Point Guard whose quickness impacts the game on both ends of the floor.
Area of Improvement: Can be a bit careless and loose with the basketball at times causing unnecessary and untimely turnovers.
Skinny: Jordan is a player who is quickly jumping on a lot of team’s radar recently with his lighting quick point guard play. On defense, he hawks his opponent with his tenacious on the ball pressure. A perfect example came less than a minute into this game when he force a five second call in the backcourt, setting the tone for how the game would be played throughout defensively. On offense, he is raw, but very talented. One thing he does with great proficiency is quarterback the fast break. He has an array of ways to get it done and isn’t always flashy. The bottom line is that he knows a finisher when he sees one and they are the one’s who see the ball at the rim. His quickness allows him to penetrate the lane at will where he finds perimeter shooters just a easily as he does transition finishers. He also uses a floater in the lane fairly effectively. He is by no means a finished product. He definitely needs to work on his perimeter shooting. He is given a decent cushion by most defenders and improved shooting would make it close to impossible to stop him from penetrating. He also needs to take better control of the ball. He has a tendency to dribble into traps as well as dribble the ball loosely at times. Jordan has the right name to play basketball but is still a very raw talent. He can benefit immensely from playing in college in a situation where he won’t be counted on to play big minutes and can learn from a more experienced point guard.
Shaun Noriega, 6′4 shooting guard, Class of 2009
Top Interest: Verbal Commitment to South Florida
Strengths: A big guard who can defend three positions and hit shots from long range
Area of Improvement: Tends to force both shots and passes leading to empty possessions.
Skinny: Shaun Noriega is Stan Heath’s first commit for the 2009 class. He is nothing spectacular but should provide the Bulls with a steady bench player at the guard spot in 2009. He looks seemingly unfocused at times by making lazy passes and not hustling and fighting through screens on defense. Hopefully for South Florida his intensity will pick up when he starts to play against Division 1 competition. He has good technique on his jump shot but can be streaky. His streakiness is mostly due to shot selection however, as he seems to convert more often than not when uncovered. His defense also predicates mostly on how hard he is playing as well. He is a good match up with just about anyone size wise and usually has just enough quickness to at least stay with whoever he is guarding. He has a bad habit of floating around screens rather than fighting through them which can become a big problem against first rate shooters. His game has a long way to go, but all in all, he should be a solid player for coach Heath and the Bulls.
All-Ohio Red 105 Full Package Elite 52
(Under 16)
Scouts surrounded the court early Saturday to see All-Ohio Red take on Full Package Elite (IL) in pool play. All-Ohio Red is the defending national champion in their age group with a record of 64-2 last season. Their starting lineup consists of 5 mid to high major Division 1 prospects including recent commits Juwan Staten (Dayton) and Jared Sullinger (Ohio State) who is a consensus top 10 prospect for 2010. Fans were treated to an unforgettable show and scouts were left drooling so much it endangered the players on the floor. The game was for all purposes over after one quarter. The Ohio team had a total of 8 dunks in the first half including 3 each by Jordan Sibert and J.D. Witherspoon. The 2nd half was not without its share of jaw dropping plays starting out with an alley-oop from Staten to Witherspoon from about half court. All-Ohio Red displayed their depth, athleticism, and teamwork to prove they were the early favorites in the under 16 division. Jordan Sibert led all scorers with 35 while J.D Witherspoon chipped in with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
All-Ohio Red 71 Grand Rapids Storm 44
(Under 16)
All-Ohio Red wrapped pool play without their most versatile player when Jordan Sibert traveled back home to Cincinnati to attend his prom. Without him, they barely broke a sweat in disposing of the Grand Rapids Storm to win pool 19 with a 3-0 record. Grand Rapids had no answer for the inside/outside duo of Jared Sullinger and Juwan Staten. Staten set the pace in the game with a couple of early jumpers from the wing. This opened things up for Sullinger down low who swallowed up 12 offensive rebounds (17 total) which led to 11 of his 13 points. Staten paved the way in the second half where he scored 14 of his 21 points which led all scorers. The real show in this game though was displayed on the defensive end where J.D. Witherspoon had 6 blocks to go with his 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Scouting Reports
J.D. Witherspoon, 6′7 forward, Class of 2010
Schools of Interest: Wisconsin, West Virginia, Georgetown
Strengths: A freakish athlete with length and world class leaping ability.
Area of Improvement: An undeveloped perimeter game as of yet.
Skinny: In speaking with one of the coaches for the All-Ohio Red team, he said that J.D. Witherspoon had been “flying under the radar of most schools before this season”. You can count on Witherspoon’s days of flying under anything over from this point forward. Witherspoon, who says his favorite dunker is Bill Walker, has top of the line athleticism. His leaping ability is at the top of his resume. His ability to get up can’t be matched against most players in college already and he won’t see that level for another two full seasons. His long arms disturb aspiring shots as well as passes. He is a better shot blocker so far than he is at disrupting passing lanes. However talented he may be, the scary thing is how much better he could be. His shot is very awkward looking and is rarely accurate to this point. As of now, most of his points come from around the rim.
Defensively, his athleticism causes a whole array of problems for opponents. However, one huge eyesore in his game is his tendency to cherry pick in search of the awe-inspiring dunk. He can often be found trying to sneak behind the other team in search of pleasing the crowd with a dunk rather than searching for a rebound to help his team. His footwork could also use work on both ends, especially offensively on the block. This guy’s upside is through the roof and all of his flaws are coachable. He knows how good he can be. He also has a very bright and upbeat personality. It is a personality that people should get to know because they will probably be seeing it for quite some time.
Jordan Sibert, 6′5 shooting guard, Class of 2010
Schools of Interest: Cincinnati, West Virginia
Strengths: Versatility and athleticism on both ends of the floor
Area of Improvement: Could be served to be more assertive offensively at times; could be accused of being too unselfish (if that is a bad thing).
Skinny: Jordan Sibert is one of those quiet assassins. On his All-Ohio Red AAU team which includes at least five division one players, he was the best player on the floor at times. He is the definitely the most polished. He is quick enough with the outside shooting ability to play the 2-guard while having the length and versatility to play the ‘3’ position in college. He is fluid in his motions and lets the game come to him but usually takes the shot when it is there. He is an outstanding finisher at the rim for a player his size, especially in transition. Jordan has very active hands defensively, making him apt to pick his opponent’s pocket when least expecting. His jump shot above average if not better with good form. He is willing to find the open teammate and always makes the right decision in transition. He can play any of three positions on the floor if asked.
I sat for about an hour trying to think of something bad to say about this guy’s game and I really came up with he is too unselfish. This guy is a coach’s dream for the man who is coaching him and a nightmare for the coach across the floor.
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Day’s one and two of this tournament were played at a level of above average. The star power wasn’t there, at least as it was in year’s past. But it was proved as it is in most of these big AAU tournaments that there are more and more kids that can play the game of basketball. Additionally, that number seems to grow every year. It is a testament to the popularity of the game and how much it continues to grow through time.