Hoopsters Ready for Regional Event

On Friday, the Ohio Hoopsters will face Michigan’s The Family in their opening game of the Jr. NBA World Global Championships’ Midwest Regional Qualifier.  The event is one of 8 regional tournaments that will host 16 elite boys and girls U-14 teams from the 6-state Midwest Region, which includes Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin. The Pacer Athletic Canter in Indianapolis, IN. will play host to this exclusive event, which runs through Sunday.  Winners of each regional qualifier will punch their ticket to the finals set for Orlando, FL August 6-11^th, where each regional winner will compete against multiple international champions.

The Ohio based teams that will be participating in the event include the Ohio Hoopsters, Northcoast Blue Chips and the VSN Trail Blazers. The other regional teams include: Central Kentucky Storm, Team Stamina (KY), Grand Rapid Storm (MI), The Family (MI), MWA Elite (MI), Team Michigan, R.E.A.C.H. Legends (MI), Hoop Avenue Elite (IL), Illinois Predators, Midwest United-MUA (IL), Grand Park Premier 2023 Black (IN), Indy Heat Red 2023 (IN), Indy Heat 2024 (IN) and Indy Ice (IN). In addition to The Family, the Hoopsters’ other 2 pool games will include Illinois’ Midwest-MUA and Indiana’s Grand Park Premier 2023 Black.

Right now, the Hoopsters’ roster includes 7 players who fit the needs of the team, including Mason Shrout, Sonny Styles, Dailon Swain, Chase Walker, Samaj Council, Grayson Surlee and Isaiah Finch-Campbell. Coaching the team are Lamonte Tillman, Mike Daniels and Jason Dawson. 

It should be noted that this will be the second year the Hoopsters have sent a team to the event.  According to Coach Mike Daniels, “…this is an opportunity to bring together top kids for a 1-time chance to participate in a great event. We’re not trying to recruit kids, and we want to make this an annual opportunity for the kids in our area.”  Daniels went on to describe the strength of this team as “very athletic, scrappy with length.” Stay tuned as we provide weekend updates.

Jr. NBA Global Championship Website

Buckeye Prep to Cover Rising Stars Tourney

Dru Joyce Classic-2024 Northeast Results

This past weekend saw a loaded 2024 field descend upon Akron, OH for the 2019 Dru Joyce Classic. Several out of state powers attended as well as many teams ranked in Ohio. The ranked teams from Ohio that participated included the following: OPA, All-Ohio Red, Nova Village-Rice, Marshall Warriors, Much Greater Elite, Team Premiere, Team XCel, Ohio Shockers, TNBA Attack, TAD, Lima Gators, OBC Showstoppers, Miller Factory, and Ohio Hustle.

In regards to the Northeast Ohio teams, the Ohio Shockers went 2-0 in pool play defeating Team Takeoff (Dayton) and defeating a very good Team Delaware 13U squad.  The Ohio Shockers moved into the Gold Bracket and drew a first round matchup against a loaded House of Hoops Bridgwater (Florida) team. The Shockers went into halftime only down by 6 but ended up losing the matchup. While disappointed with the loss, the Ohio Shockers considered it a good weekend after taking into account that the team they lost to (House of Hoops) went onto play in the Gold Bracket Final...one team they defeated (Team Delaware 13U) went onto play in the Silver Bracket Final, and the other team they defeated (Team Takeoff) lost by 3 in the Bronze Bracket Semifinals.

TNBA Attack started on a down note. They were up by 16 at half against Miller Factor, but ended up losing by 1. However, they showed resilience in bouncing back to beat a very good Mac Irvin Fire 2024 team.  Moving into the Silver Bracket they defeated Much Greater Elite in the “play in” game and then defeated Down River Elite in the first round. In the second round they ran into a stacked Team Delaware 13U team and were down by 20 points midway through the 2nd half.  While they battled back, they eventually lost by 5. Team Delaware went on to the Silver Bracket Final.

Marshall Warrior also moved into the Gold Bracket, falling to House of Hoops Bridgewater in the Second Round. OPA and Team Premiere both moved into the Gold Bracket and were both victims of the Cincy Cavs, who ended up winning the Gold Bracket.

The Bracket Finals saw the following results: Cincy Cavs defeating House of Hoops in the Gold; TAD defeating Team Delaware in the Silver; Team Xcel defeating OBC Showstoppers in the Bronze; and All-Ohio Cleveland made the Gold Bracket and defeated a nationally ranked ITPS team (Pittsburgh) in the quarterfinals before falling to the Cincy Cavs in the semi finals.

Rebels fall 1 win Short at Dru Joyce Shooting Stars Classic

Ohio Rebels-Dru Joyce Shooting Stars Classic 5th Grade Runner-ups

Although they fell 1 win short of a 5^th grade title at the Dru Joyce Shooting Stars Classic this past weekend, Coach John Brooks’ #1 ranked 2026 Ohio Rebels teams has a lot to be proud of.  Prior to their 40-33 loss to the eventual champions North Coast Blue Chips, the Rebels had notched wins over Detroit Roadhounds 2026 (24-32), Allen Elite (38-9), Meanstreets-Harris (54-44), Toronto City Elite (53-52), and League Bound Elite (48-40).

Standout performers included Brayden Fogle (5’8”/PF/C/2026/Lexington), Diante James (5’3”/PG/2026/Canal Winchester) and Jakyevion Roane (5’5”/SG/WF/2026/Mansfield). Coach John Brooks attributes his team’s run to the championship game to “playing together, locking in defensively and having fun.”  So for this season, the Rebels are an impressive 23-6 heading into the final session of the Midwest Circuit this weekend.  Congratulations to Coach Brooks and his players for a successful weekend.

Blue Chips Take Dru Joyce Classic

2023 North Coast Blue Chips- 2019 Tru Joyce Classic Champions

With their 59-36 win over previously #1 ranked Orangemen Elite at the Dru Joyce Classic this past weekend, Coach Marlon Barnes’ North Coast Blue Chips squad has grabbed the top spot in the Buckeye Prep Power Rankings. The Blue Chips’ 6-0 run included wins over Ohio Phenom Academy (63-25), 716ers Elite (70-22), All-Ohio Turf (62-40), Ohio Basketball Club (55-53), Michigan Heat (59-50) and Orangemen Elite in the championship game.

According to Coach Barnes, his squad “finally came together and played as a unit” over the course of the weekend.  The Blue Chips were down in a couple of games, including a 9 point deficit against the Ohio Basketball Club with 2 minutes left in the game; however, Barnes’ team did not panic and eventually fought back to get the win. Although Barnes describes the win as a total team effort, he went on to point out the standout play of LA Hayes, Cody Head, Tyler Williams and Marlin Barnes, Jr.  Next up for the Blue Chips is a Made Hoops event in 2 weeks. Congratulations to the Blue Chips for their title run.

MYF All-Star Saturday All-Star Game Videos

As we pointed out in an earlier story, the talent level at the 2019Metropolitan Youth Foundation All-Star Saturday middle school game was big time! As evidence, below are 2 links to highlight videos that clearly depict the level of basketball displayed by some of the top players in the state.  What should be remembered is that the players in the videos are only 7^th and 8^th graders!  Arguably, this may have been the best all-star gamer in the event's 23-year history. Enjoy!

Video #1

Video #2