Saturday, March 28, 2015

Nike Grassroots Tournament Day I Recap

Dane Goodwin and Amari Davis
We were able to catch some of the Friday night action at the Nike Grassroots Tournament in Columbus last night. First up was a 7th grade match-up between Dayton’s MVP Dynasty and All-Ohio Southeast. By the time we got there, MVP Dynasty was already in control of the game, and would go on to get the win 89-63. Darryl Duverglas (5’8/SG/2020/Dayton) was the high man with a game-high 28 points. Keshawn Hugley backed him up with a 21-point performance, while Zierin Exon (6’2/C/2020/Dayton) added 16 points.  For All-Ohio, Zack Loveday (6’7/C/2020/Gallipolis) scored a team-high 19 points in the loss.  We first saw Loveday earlier this month at the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase and were very impressed with his potential then.  What we saw on Friday revealed more production as Loveday was tough to handle in the post.  He is still very slender, but his length and footwork allow him to score on shorter defenders.  Loveday also rebounds at a high rate and gets his hands on a lot of shots.  We still believe his long-term potential is significant.

We finally got our first look at All-Ohio’s 2019 team as they faced off against Buckeye Prep-Goodwin, a 9th grade team.  Our first question was to what extent All-Ohio Red had upgraded, as they did not return for a third season with the NYBL and people were wondering. Other than Tailor Currie (6’6/C/2019/Worthington), Trenton Gillionson, a 6’3 freshman from Pickerington Central High School, Tanner Holden  (6’1/WF/2019/Wheelersburg) and Cameron Curry, the core of the team is still intact.  Of course Jordan Mitchell is running with King James and Gerard Reynolds and Greg Tribble Jr. have moved on. The starters appear to be Jeremiah Francis, Andre Gordon, Amari Davis, Chris’sean Stringer, Demarco Bradley Jr. and Tailor Currie. The fact that All-Ohio went toe-toe with arguably the top 9th grade team in the state suggests they are still a quality team despite the defections from last season. 

For the record, Buckeye Prep won the game 56-55.  Is should be noted there was a bit of controversy as most in the crowd believed the game went into overtime after Amari Davis drained a deep three with time running out.  The problem, although the scoreboard read 57-57, the official score book reflected 56-55.  Game over. Despite the drama, the big story of the game was the big time performances of Dane Goodwin (6’3/WF/2018/Upper Arlington) and Amari Davis (6’2/WF/2019/Trotwood), both of whom displayed high major talent.  Goodwin, an Ohio State commitment, confirmed why Thad Matta offered the freshman a scholarship before he played his first high school game. Goodwin is super smooth, is a lights out shooter from beyond the ark, has deceptive athleticism and can score at the rim.  Goodwin finished with a team-high 27 points. Not to be outdone, Amari Davis was as impressive as we have ever seen him.  Davis has always been considered somewhat of a sleeper, but his game has awakened. Deep threes and drives to the basket is how Davis got it done on Friday, as he hit big shot after big shot.  He’s young, but Davis may have the highest ceiling of any player on his team.  College coaches should be tracking Davis as college ball is definitely in his future.  We plan to stick around for day 2 to see if we can find some more standout performers.

22 comments:

  1. Go to the other gym to check out MVP Dynasty Black. They are really good too.

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  2. Instead of building a legit 2019 team All Ohio decides to play as a 2018 team? Don't let a coach brainwash you do what's best for you kid

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  3. That's what happens when both of the head coaches for aor 8th have held back sons on the team who are now ineligible to play 14u ball, they make the entire team play up. How fair is that to Davis and his camp. Sad. There are more than enough talented age appropriate kids that could have form a really nice aor 8th, but Watson let's Francis pretty much dictate that situation, and you know if it ain't benefitting Jeremiah you can forget it. Daddy ball broke up one of the greatest collection of basketball talent the state of Ohio will ever see! It was very entertaining watching the old Red play, not this new bs.

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  4. What you said was very true i don't understand why they keep making it looks like this AOR 8TH grade team is beating up on 9th grade teams when they have players older then 9th grade teams the kid #20 andre will be 16 and the rest are 15 besides Davis. This team was put together again for Francis i bet they want go play D-1 in Nationals 9th grade

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  5. Love the Brandon Norris kid. He at Hilliard Bradley. Saw him doin his thing during the high school season. He the best all around player on that Buckeye Prep team in my opinion.

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  6. If you are going to talk, know what you are talking about. AOR 2019 are 8th graders, not one of those kids were held back to compete at a different level. You are just hating because apparently your kid is not on their level. Instead of hating you should be congratulating them on their accomplishments, because they are stil all children. By the way, they won the 9th grade division in the tournament over the weekend. But of course, you did not see that reported here. HATERS.

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    1. If AOR 2019 played up in the 16u division and won then congratulations would be in order, cause then that team would truly be playing up. But if you want extra credit for playing against kids ur age then cuddos lol, great job, nice work, hallelujah! No one has ever hated on AOR 2019, just not about to give older kids and their daddy coaches unnecessary props for beating up on younger kids all these years! Very talented team no doubt, but all the age appropriate 8th graders from this team have moved on cause of daddyball, the lone one left is Davis. Congrats to the other parents for exploring all their options for their age appropriate sons, Nationals in Orlando should be so much fun. What 8th grade team wouldn't want a Gerald Reynolds, a Greg Tribble, and a Chris Payne on their 8th grade roster for Nationals. And I haven't come across a true aged 8th yet that can shoot a basketball like Malachi Matthews, what team wouldn't want him spotting up on the perimeter. Enjoy ur season everybody!

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  7. I truely am saddened by the constant back and forth comments made by adults about what should be a enjoyable time for young men doing something positive.. True, age requirements should be put into place for the whole basketball circut because everyone should be able to shine in their own age bracket, but up until this point, this has been a ongoing issue for years.. The really heartbreaking thing is, these guys are kids. WHETHER they are 13 - 16, they are kids and these kids happen to be friends. The adults get in the middle of this, and turn what should be a beautiful experience for our youth, into an ugly battle of words. Remember, these kids are reading every word and its hurtful... Here u have a group of young men, trying to do something positive, and all we can do is criticize them. It is ok to have your opinion about the grown ups, we can take it, but mentioning names, and forming opinions about these young men is just plain sad.. We hear so much about kids now a days doing bad things, but its ok to tear these guys down for doing something positive and not under their control. Seriously, I applaud all the young men involved in sports because one thing I learned, belonging to an atheletic organization teaches them teamwork, discipline, humility and allows them to see beyond color and belong to something POSITIVE. None of them deserve this.. I dont care what team they are on. None of these guys deserve the ridicule..Good luck to All young men on the court.. you are all in my prayers...

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  8. I see nothing wrong with the comments being made because they are factual. AOR is still a very talented team but they are not a 8th grade team. They might be in the 8th grade but 98% of them are 9th grade age you can't blame someone for pointing out the truth lol. Red had a good run the past couple of years they just couldn't get over the hump and win a national championship and I've heard many opinions about why they couldn't get it done, daddy ball comes up a lot( what do you expect when you let a parent coach?) I also hear about coaches changing game plans and overall style of play against certain teams in big games but one thing I never heard any complaints about was team chemistry which is normally a problem on stacked teams. With all the rule changes we wouldn't have been able to see this team make another run at it this year anyway so I'm hoping in the next couple years we can see a reunion of some sort without all the coaching antics and daddy ball drama

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  9. For those that cant read.. No one is knocing the comments about the facts, ITS THE PERSONAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE KIDS... Any parent who has a child with feelings should understand you dont personally attack a child (children) on social media. Its cruel and hurtful. All are intitled to feel how they feel, just see how the game changes when its your child being named and ridiculed. People need prayer. God help us..

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  10. Apologies to anyone for the last entry. Not tryin to offend anyone,. I just get very passionate about all the young guys in the AAU circuit.. All opinions are valid..

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  11. Where was the Ohio Hoopsters 9th grade team King James, Obc, Queen City at this past weekend. They weren't in this tournament.

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  12. All the Other teams played in the EBC League in Chicago 8th Grade Hoopsters, All-Ohio Takeover and the Hoopsters 9th grade team i heard. Not sure about King James.

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  13. the davis kid is fantastic.A very humble young man. Watching him play is like a breathe of fresh air.Gets it done on both sides of the ball.Any coach and team would love to have him.He is in the perfect place and situation.Can't wait to see him at the next two or three levels.College coaches really need to get after Davis.

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  14. The Davis kid from AOR?

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  15. Three teams from Ohio in the EBC... Ohio Hoopsters, AOT, and Dayton Elite! Should be interesting.

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  16. I checked Darryl Duverglas out. He is an amazing guard very quick and has a nice shot. Go check him out.

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  17. I had a Chance to watch AOT this year play the Ohio Hoopsters 8th grade team and the Hoopsters also have older kids and AOT beat them by 9pts. The great thing about this team they'll in their correct grade with No older kids. Great young Talent.

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  18. Your facts are wrong, the AOT team that beat the Ohio Hoopsters was the AAU sanctioned team. AOT takeover has a AAU sanctioned team and a non-aau sanctioned team.

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