Ohio AAU State Tournament:Saturday

The 2010 Ohio AAU State Tournament tipped off in Cincinnati last night and on the line in the U-17 division is a # 1 seed at the AAU Nationals In Orlando, Florida in July. Since All-Ohio Red is the defending national champions, the winner of the Ohio Association will get the #1 seed at the nationals. This high school division of this year's tournament features 48 teams in 3 grade divisions (9-11th).

Although All-Ohio would have to play without the services of 2 starters (Elijah Macon and George Fant did not make the trip), they were able to pick up two quality replacements in 2012 Kenny Kaminski and Northland's Devon Scott. All-Ohio Red began their quest for a repeat with a convincing 75-49 win over Ohio Crossover. In their opening game, All-Ohio's superior talent was on display as they jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. All-Ohio had broad based scoring support as 5 players scored double digit points. Red was led by Trey Burke's 18 points, followed by Kenny Kaminski (16 points), Brandon Neel (14 points), Nate Anderson (12 points), and Stevie Taylor (10 Points).

In the U-15 division, Recardo Hill's Cincinnati Lakers held off an upset minded Queen City Prophets (QCP) team to claim a 69-52 victory. Although playing without one of their key players in Josh Davenport, QCP grabbed early momentum, but could not match the depth and talent of the Lakers. Although Trent Donald was the high man for the Lakers, I was most impressed with the play of 6'6 Deven Williams who was almost unguardable in the post when the guards got him the ball. Davion Jordan added 10 points for the Lakers. For QCP, Peeper and Raymar Hariston finished with 9 and 10 points, respectively. All-Ohio Red's U-15 team jumped all over Club Ohio and cruised to an easy 40-29 win. Quintin Roger's squad was a little juiced up with the addition to Tony Farmer who came over from King James and will play with Red the rest of the summer. In this game, 5'10 Jaaron Simmons, widely regarded as the top point guard in the class, was the top dog with 18 points, followed by Nigel Hayes who finished with 15 points and Cha Cha Tucker who contributed 12 points.

All-Ohio Red's U-16 squad used strong guard play to claim a lopsided win over the Shinning Stars. Although I did not stick around for the entire game, Red had things well under control with a 56-24 lead at halftime. Before I left, Myles Hamilton and Chris Harrison-Docks were having there way with the Shinning Stars guards, as each player had already scored 11 points at the midway point in the game. Cameron Wilson appears to have improved his jump shot as evidenced by his 9 halftime points. Ed Lyshe's U-17All-Ohio White dropped a hart breaker to the Shinning Stars with a 57-58 loss. All-Ohio was in good shape late in the game until a mental let down led to a missed block out assignment and 2 extra free throws for the Stars. Although White's Chauncey Orr got off a trey with time running out to win, his shot missed the mark. The leading scorers for the Shinning Stars were Jalen Goodwin who finished with a team-high 12 points, followed by Zach Baker (11 points) and Alex McGlothin (10 points). DeMarkio Lyshe paced All-Ohio with 13 points, followed by Damone Powell (15 points) and Chauncey Orr (11 points). In their second game of the day, All-Ohio White faced off against Mac Ohio, and although they trailed for most of the game, an aggressive intentional foul by a MAC Ohio and a resulting technical foul on an All-Ohio player sparked White to a comeback and a close 75-70 win. In the game, Chauncey Orr's 21 points were a game-high, followed by Adam Westbelt's 20 points and Damone Powell's 15 points. For Mac Ohio, Lancaster's Steve Bridgmen led all Scorers with a team-high 18 points, followed by Trent Waybright who added 15 points and Dane McLaughlin who contributed 12 points.

All-Ohio Red's 17s dominated (72-38) KBC Select in their second game of the day. Key to the victory was Trey Burke's team-high 16 points, and Stevie Taylor's double double (12 points and 11 assists). In the contest, Taylor lived in the paint where he consistently and creatively found open teammates for easy buckets. Brandon Neel had a big game as well, as he went for 15 points. Devon Scott added 13 points and Nate Anderson finished with 6 points. Both Jabrill Coaston and Jordan Taylor led KBC Select with 9 points apiece. Game 3 for All-Ohio Red was a confrontation with a well-coached Shinning Stars team. Red got out of the gate early and never relinquished the lead in the 45-38 win. Red was often forced to defend the Shining Stars in the half court for 3-4 minutes at a time as they were very patient running their offense, which includes multiple screening and back door cuts. Stevie Taylor logged in another big performance as he dropped a game-high 20 points. Trey Burke finished with 7 points while Nate Anderson and Kenny Kaminiski both offered 6 points, and Brandon Neel added 4 points. Earlier in the day, Club Ohio 17s defeated the Dayton Nets by a score of 73-51. Orlando Berry's All-Ohio Purple squad is often to a 3-0 start after pool play and poised to make another championship run. Watch out for Randy Clarkson's All-Ohio Varsity White team who has picked up Pickerington's Taco Charlton who recently ran with All-Ohio Red. With Ohio Varsity having beaten Red 2 times already this year, if both teams happen to meet in the championship, the game could be epic! Ozzie Davis' U-17 Queen City Prophets team is rolling and should end up in the big game on Sunday. To see the pictures I took at the event, visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page.