 |
| Buckeye Prep-D-II 9th Place Finisher |
Twelve
Ohio-based teams participated in this year’s D-I and D-II 7th Grade
AAU Nationals, and by the time the dust settled on Sunday in Memphis, only 4 teams returned to the Buckeye state with hardware. Although the Columbus-based
Excel got off to a rocky 0-2 start in pool play that ultimately relegated them
to the D-I Classic bracket, they refused to get discouraged and pack it all in,
then proceed to make a magical run that did not end until they were crowned
champions of the Classic bracket. They may have been led by their main guys
like Dane Goodwin, Isaiah Speelmam, Braden Norris and Matt Allocco, but Excel
has always been about total team effort, so “total glue guys” like Jake McLaughlin,
Xavier Henderson, Eli McNamara and Nathan Hellstedt played a significant role
in the team’s run to the championship. SMAU U made the deepest run in the D-I
tournament, but besides Excel, there were no other D-I teams from Ohio left
playing on Sunday.
 |
| Excel-D-I Classic Champions |
For
the record, in D-I, the order of finish is as follows: 1st-Georgia
United; 2nd-Team Izod; 3rd-We All Can Go All-Stars; 4th-NC
Runnin Rebels; 5th-Spiece Ky. Gators; 6th-San Antonio
Hardwork; 7th-DC Assault; 8th-ATR Xplosion; 9th-Chicago
Select; 10th-Florida Phenoms; 11th-SW Illinois Jets; 12th-Team
Ramey; 13th-CB Spiders.
Although
the Buckeye state was not represented among the D-I finalist, in D-II we
dominated! Of the top 12 finishers, Ohio placed 3 teams in the top 10. With an
overall record of 6-2, and for the second year in a row, Shining Stars-Kelly placed
3rd. Right behind the Shining Stars with a 6-2 overall record was Dayton Metro
who finished in 6th place. Last year Chuck Painter’s squad placed 4th.
With a 7-1 record, Buckeye Prep finished in 9th place.
 |
| Shining Stars-Kelly-D-II 3rd Place Finish |
For
the record, in D-II, the order of finish is as follows: 1st-Slam
& Jam Hoyas; 2nd-Judge’s Court; 3rd-Shining
Stars-Kelly; 4th-NC Swarm; 5th-Eastside Hoops; 6th-Dayton
Metro; 7th-Inland Force; 8th-Indana Blizzard; 9th-Buckeye
Prep; 10th- NJB Orange County Stars; 11th-St. Louis
Gateway; 12th Memphis War Eagles (6th grade).
In
closing, I thought most of the Ohio teams really represented the state very
well. In addition, although we often
beat each other up on the court and sometimes on the message boards, I was
really proud of the fact that we supported each other in Memphis last
week. On several occasions players and coaches
from opposing teams not only came out to watch other Ohio teams play, they actively
rooted for and chanted O.H.I.O. in support of their follow Buckeyes. Trust me
on this one; Ohio’s support for each other did not go unnoticed by the fans
from the other states! You guys may not realize it, but we really have something
special going on in the Buckeye state!
 |
| Dayton Metro-D-II 6th Place Finish |
Now
that the AAU season is in the books for the class of 2018, the next big event
will be the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase currently scheduled for September 21st
and 22nd. In addition to the traditional showcase on Sunday, I’m
currently putting together the rosters for the Ohio North vs South All-Star
Game. Also, I’m also working on an Ohio
vs Indiana game as well which should really be HOT! Look for those rosters to
be posted in the coming weeks. Congratulations to all of the players, coaches,
parents and fans for a great season! See you in September!!
