Ohio Teams Excel at George Hill Tourney

Mid-Ohio Pumas-George Hill Invitational Champions (2020)

Coach Greg Allocco’s 2020 Mid-Ohio Pumas squad traveled to Indianapolis, IN this past weekend to participate in a loaded field at the George Hill Invitational and ended up running the table on the way the the 8^th grade championship.  Let the truth be told, the Pumas faced little resistance as they mowed through some pretty tough teams.  While we were there, we caught some of their blowouts. In their wake were teams like Chicago’s Prodigy, the storied Mac Irvin Fire, Louisville Magic, and arguably the #1 team in the country, George Hill Rising Stars.  In the championship game, Matt Allocco drained 6 treys in the victory.  Other standouts for the Pumas included: Jack Pugh, Chris Mayfield and Cameron McCreay.  At some point, people are just going to have to accept the fact that the Pumas are for real, and list them among the best teams in the class of 2020!

Tony Kynard’s 2022 Toledo Wildcats team ran their season record to an impressive 37-4 after a 6-0 run at the George Hill Invitational in Indianapolis, IN. this past weekend.  With lopsided wins over Wisconsin United (81-18), Indiana Gametime (56-30), Stag Elite (38-11) Missouri Pressure (56-36), Louisville Focus (52-36) and Indiana Rise (42-29), the Wildcats captured yet another tournament championship and solidified their place among the nation’s elite. Toledo was powered by the outstanding play of Michigan’s Emoni Bates and Genesis Kemp, both of whom logged in dominate performances.  Also playing well for the Wildcats were Dior Connor and Demarko Craig.  With yet another title under their belt, the Wildcats have to be the favorite to win Buckeye Prep’s Team of the Year!

In Ohio AAU action, with only six players suited up for the weekend, Malcolm Walters’ 2020 NEO Shooting Stars went 6-0 on their way to the D-I AAU State Championship.  In an epic battle with All-Ohio Black, down 8 points with a little more the 1 minute left, Walters’ squad pulled out a 2-poimt victory on the strength of defense, big shots and free throws.  Stepping up for the Shooting Stars were Darion Henry, Grant Huffman, Devontae Blanton and Isaiah Kennedy.

Another Level  2020-Shoot the Rock Spring Classic Champs

Ozell Dobbins’ Another Level (2020) team took home some hardware as Shoot the Rock Spring Classic Champions. Another Level was led in scoring by O’mhan Dobbins who averaged for 22 points and 7 assists on his way to MVP honors. Anthony Maxie dominated defensively, averaging 14 rebounds and 6 blocked shots per game over the weekend.  In addition, Conner Boclear (6’4/WF/Cleveland) emerged over the weekend, averaging 15 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Eddie Norrills’ Team Toledo Flash are AAU State champs after taking down Chris Anthony’s Ohio Bulldogs 64-56. Toledo was powered by Dominique Cole (6’5/WF/Toledo), who went for 18 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game. Also coming up big for Toledo were Jonzell Norrills, who finished with 10 points and 7 assists, Caleb Smith (14 points), Dimtri Mitsopouls (8 points) and Jaedyn McKinstry (6 points).  The Bulldogs displayed a balanced attack, but were led in scoring by Dominq Penn (14 points), Von Cameron Davis (12 Points) and CJ Anthony (10 points).

Brian Farmer’s All-Ohio Red squad made the Gold Bracket in the All-Ohio Super 16 Tournament this past weekend before being knocked out of the event with losses to the NEO Shooting Stars and Murphy AC. Two weeks ago, All-Ohio finished in second place at the Eddie Guice Memorial Tournament here in Columbus. All-Ohio was upended in the championship game by VCC Nova Village by 3 points.  

EBA Hoops 2022 captured their 3^rd championship of the spring with a 5-1 run o the title of the Varsity AC Mayhem tournament in Massillon last weekend. EBA’s trek to the crown went through  the Ohio Bluejays (52-51 loss), All Out Sports (65-13), Air Attack-McAfee (47-37), Air Attack-Vaughn (75-30), Ohio Storm (64-33) and Air Attack-McAfee (41-39).  Jalen Wenger was the leading scorer in each of the 6 games, averaging an eye-popping 29 points per game. Behind him in scoring were Chris Smith, Braylen Wenger and Jaiden Malone.  For the season, EBA Hoops is 24-8.

Toledo Wildcats 2023-George Hill Invitational Champions

Scott Bradley’s New Birth Warriors (2022) finished as runner-ups at the D-II AAU State Qualifier in Cincinnati over the weekend. New Birth finished 2-2, and went down to Ohio Varsity for the second time in tournament in the championship game.  Standouts for the Warriors were Isaiah Wilkins (5’7/WF/Columbus), Drey Carter (5’7/WF/Bell Fountain) and Dan Washington (5’3/SG/WF/Columbus).

Ohio Basketball Club’s 2021 team won the silver division bracket of the NYBL this past weekend. Also, a shout out goes to All-Ohio Red 2026 for representing the Buckeye State at the George Hill Invitational this past weekend and bringing the title back to Ohio.  Congratulations to all of the teams, coaches, players and parents for a job well done!