Shooting Stars Take Memorial Day Tourney

Ohio Shooting Stars 2022-Nike Memorial Day Champs

On Sunday, Ed Heban’s #6^th ranked Ohio Shooting Stars team got a little revenge, as they defeated Danny Young’s #5^th ranked All-Ohio Northeast squad (70-43) in the Gold bracket championship game of the Nike Memorial Day Tournament in Columbus.  Their trek to the title went through EBA Hoops (77-39), All-Ohio White (79-29), All-Ohio Red 2023, Ohio Hoopsters (64-28) and All-Ohio Northeast. Standouts for the Shooting Stars included: Shondo Green, Michael Bova, Steven Bodamer and Joey Battista. Coach Young’s path to the championship game included wins over All-Ohio Black (42-24), BSA (50-20) and EBA Hoops (45-29).  Standouts for All-Ohio included: Danny Young Jr. Trey Martin, Deon Horn and Jordan Huff.  Young and Huffman were selected to the event’s All-Tournament Team.  For the season, All-Ohio packs an impressive 32-8 record.

Coach Dave Wright’s #11^th ranked Dayton Swish made the trip over to Fort Wayne, Indiana and brought back the 5^th grade championship trophy from the Gym Rats Memorial Day Tournament.  To bring back the title, Dayton had to get by Club 1 and Gym Rats 2023 in pool play before running through bracket play with wins over the #13^th ranked Toledo Wildcats (44-21), Spiece FW Heat 2023 (57-56) and Flint Affiliation (51-50) in the championship game.

The #1 ranked Toledo Wildcats just keep winning championships; this time it was the Gym Rats Memorial Day tourney in Fort Wayne.  The Wildcats’ 5-0 run included wins over the Indiana Grind (45-33), Wisconsin Scholars (59-27), Cereal City Hoopsters (40-8) and Prospectors (42-40).  Standout performers included: Emoni Bates, Genesis Kemp, Demarko Criag, Nate Houston and Jorden Brooks. For the season, the Wildcats are an amazing 42-4.

Quintel Wilson’s #9^th Lima Gators cashed in this past weekend with a 6th grade championship at the Kings Island Memorial tournament in Cincinnati.  To grab the title, the Gators had to take down Elite Sports Center (56-14), Pro Camps (49-21), Pro Bound Elite (57-26), OBC (49-25) and Tri-State Assault Red (52-39).  Standouts were: Cyrus Burden, Devin Taborn, Ivery Cotton, Quintel Wilson Jr. and Cecil Benton Jr.

NEO Tru Game 2023-BW3 Memorial Day Tournament Champions

Quiment Smith’s #12^th ranked NEO Tru Game’s squad went 3-2 to finish in 2^nd place in the 5^th grade division of the BW3 Memorial Day tournament in Cincinnati this past weekend.  Their run included a 30-37 loss against #7th MVP Dynasty Black, a 41-39 win over All-Ohio South Elite, a 57-34 win over R4L, a 45-43 win over #10^th ranked Shinning Stars and another loss in the championship game to MVP Dynasty Black 45-40.  Tru Game was led in scoring by LA Hayes and Kellon Smith who represented a strong one-two combination.  With their run this weekend, Tru Game inches closer to the top 10 of our rankings, and could be poised to make some noise at the Buckeye Prep Summer Showdown in a few weeks!  For the record, with believe Tru Game’s 2021 team grabbed a championship at a Memorial Day tournament in Cincinnati this weekend, but we did not receive in details about their run.

Greg Allocco’s Mid-Ohio Pumas racked up yet another championship (their 7^TH straight) this past weekend; this time, the knocked out the Dennis Barba’s Ohio Basketball Club by 9 points in the championship of the Adidas Chicago Classic.  The Pumas reached the championship games with victories over All-In (59-34), King James (57-48), Illinois Attack (52-15) and Minnesota Skills First (79-16). Chris Mayfield was a force in transition scoring, rebounding and passing, as he continues to evolve into a great all around player.  Mayfield twice just missed notching triple-doubles in 2 games. Jack Santa Emma and Matt Allocco carried the way with a consistent 3-ball, while Jack Pugh’s relentless energy at and around the rim was spectacular.

Surprisingly, 6’5 Harley Day may have played his best ball over the weekend, averaging 12 rebounds per game.  The Pumas added some length to the roster for the event in 6’10 Zach Loveday, who is already getting looks from at least a couple of Big Ten schools. Unfortunately for the Pumas, Stud Chris Mayfield may have to shut it down for the rest of the season with a hip injury.  In addition, the Pumas’ Blue team also made the trip to Chicago and lost to OBC 33-30 in bracket play.  A.J. Mirgon carried the Blue squad though pool play with 24 and 21 points, while knocking down a total of 11 treys in both games. Noah Platfoot showcased his superior athleticism in leading the Pumas in rebounding, steals and assists from the PG spot.   All in all it, was a good weekend for Ohio Basketball!