Buckeye Prep Takes 7th Grade Championship

Sean Taylor's 7th Grade Buckeye Prep team held off a determined Ohio Varsity squad to claim a 38-37 win and the championship of the All-Ohio Super Sixteen tournament. Although Ohio Varsity jumped to an early lead, Taylor adjusted with a full court zone press that lead to some turnovers and buckets which allowed them to trim the margin. At halftime, Varsity was up 22-21. The final outcome of the game was decided when Kevin "Sticks" Fisher stepped to the free throw line with 9 seconds left with the score knotted at 37-37. After sinking 1 of 2 freebies, Fischer put Buckeye Prep ahead for good. Buckeye Prep was led by Kevin Fisher, Jason Lewis and Trey Avery. The main guys for Ohio Varsity were Tyrone Cherry, a 5'9 guard from Groveport, Loyd Chapman, a 5'3 PG from Reynoldsburg and Tony Anderson, a 5'11 c from Berry Middle School. The MVP of the tournament was Kevin Fisher, and the All-Tournament team consisted of Jalen Lewis, Isaac Anderson, Chris Cook, Tyrone Cherry and Loyd Chapman.

All-Ohio Super Sixteen-Saturday

Jerry Watson's All-Ohio Super Sixteen tourney tipped off today at the USA Sports Academy in Columbus, Ohio, and although the tournament could not be billed as an elite national-level event, Watson managed get a few elite programs in each of the five divisions (7th-11th) to make their way to Columbus. In addition to All-Ohio Red, some of the big time programs in the event included New York's Westchester Hawks, Chicago's D-Rose All-Stars, Indiana's Eric Gordan Elite-Fastbreak, Ferrari, King James Shooting Stars, Spiece Gym Rats and CBIZ. In total, 67 teams participated in this year's event. Oh yea, if exposure was your thing, several scouting services were seen checking out the action. I saw Brian Snow (Rivals), Chris Johnson (Hoop Scoop & Ohio High), John Stovall (ESPN & Prep Spotlight), Kurt Stubbs II (Ohio High School Hoops), Chaz Wolf (High Major Scoop) and Ty Kish (City League Hoops) in the house. Several D-II and NAIA coaches were also scouting players today.

The freshman division kicked off the afternoon start with a matchup between All-Ohio Red and CBIZ. By the time the final horn sounded, Red's talent was simply too much for CBIZ, as Quintin Roger's squad started the day with a 58-44 win. Standout performers included Marc Loving, Nigel Hayes and Cha Cha Tucker. The King James Shooting Stars got out of the gate quickly with a 48-26 victory over Team Toledo. Leading the way for King James were Maurice O'Field (11 points) and Tony Farmer (9 points). Randy Clarkson's Ohio Varsity team notched and impressive 61-41 win over the Westchester Hawks. Ohio Varsity was led in scoring by Jack Gibbs (16 points) and Wendell Davis (12 points). Ferrari started the day with a 63-44 win over CBIZ on the strength of Derrick Randolph's 13 points and Jermaine Morgan's 12 points. Dylan Kauffman led CBIZ with 18 points.

In U-17 action, All-Ohio Red shook off another slow start to pull out a 57-56 win over the Buckeye Ballers. Red needed a last second three ball from Trey Burke to avoid the upset. The Buckeye Ballers rolled into town with 2012 stud Kenny Kaminski, who was on a mission to prove he was the top player in the class in Ohio. Kaminski's play was impressive and will surly help his case. King James defeated the Spiece Gym Rats despite the fact they were playing with only 7 players and without their starting back court and top player in Jakarr Sampson. Leading the way for King James were James Price who finished with 16 points, Marcus Crider who added 14 points, Brock Ammons with 12 points and Darious Carter who kicked in 10 markers. Eric Gordan got by NPBC by a score of 68-46. All-Ohio White defeated Ohio Elite 52-41. All-Ohio was led by DaMarkeo Lyshe (12 points) and Chauncy Orr (10 points).

The second round of games in the junior division saw All-Ohio Red defeat the Spiece Gym Rats 74-39. Trey Burke led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Stevie Taylor with 17 points, George Fant with 13 points and Brandon Neel with 9 points. All-Ohio White claimed a big win over King James 47-41. Chester McFadden was the high man with 16 points, followed by Dwayne Basemore with 10 points and Chauncy Orr with 9 points. White was aided by a late game technical foul on a King James' assistant coach. A home town grudge match broke out between the Running Rebels and Hidden Gems, with the Rebels earning the 50-45 victory. Nate Spears led the Rebels with 13 points, followed by Cameron Harris who contributed 12 points. For Hidden Gems, Chris Hamilton finished with a team-high 11 points and Trey Ware and Marquise Taylor who both added 8 points.

Later in the day, the U-15 Ohio Varsity defeated TNBA West 63-54. Jack Gibbs paced Varsity with 16 points, followed by Aaron Jackson's 14 points and Randy Clarkson's 13 points. At half time, Columbus Nitro was giving King James all they could handle, as they took a 25-24 lead into the locker room. Bloom Carroll's Issac McGlone was seen puting in work, as he had double digits at half time. All-Ohio Red crushed the Spiece Gym Rats 61-29, and were led in scoring by Marc Loving (13 points) and Nigel Hayes (10 points). The U-15 Ferrari squeaked by the Ohio Shooting Stars 64-58.

In the night cap, the U-17 All-Ohio Red finished the day 3-0, with a 83-51 win over the Columbus Storm. Stevie Taylor got on track and led All-Ohio with a team-high 21 points. George Fant and Elijah Macon both added 13 points, followed by Nate Anderson with 9 points and Trey Burke with 8 points. Both Macon and Fant played above the rim all night and treated the fans to some rim rattling dunks. The D-Rose All-Stars survived a scare from TNBA to claim a 66-58 win and locking up first place in pool play. De De Delany dropped an impressive 26 points to lead D-Rose, followed by Julian Lewis who finished with 13 points. For TNBA, Matt Solven finished with a team-high 15 points. Ed Lyshe's All-Ohio White squad dropped a tough one against the Spiece Gym Rats by a score of 57-54. Both Brandon Muncie and Evan Blackman led Spiece in scoring with 11 points apiece. Chauncy Orr and Isiah Boddie led All-Ohio with 11 points, followed by Kyle Schrimil's 8 points.

Other News & Notes:

The Westchester Hawks (17s) arrived in Columbus shorthanded, as they were without the services of their dynamic back court of Jabari Hinds and Chris Martin. Word has it the Orlando Berry's U-16 All-Ohio Purple squad scared the D-I Greyhounds out of the tournament, resulting in a forfeit in their first game. Purple went on to finish 3-0 on the day and reported strong guard play from Orlando Berry Jr., Josh Lemons, Tommie Krehagen and Jalen Lowe. Indiana Elite's Chris Harrison-Docks was running with All-Ohio Red's U-16 squad this weekend. In the middle school division, Sean Taylor's Buckeye Prep squad mowed through the field to finish 3-0. Jason Lewis and Kevin "Sticks" Fisher were standouts for Buckeye Prep. To see pictures of the event visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page.

Ulis Represents Ohio in Elite Camp

While I was in Houston, Texas for the second session of Nike's new EYBL this past weekend, I discovered that John Lucas was holding his annual John Lucas International Middle School Combine at Bellaire High School. Having heard great things about this elite camp in the past, I took some time to run by the event to get a feel for what was going down. This is the third year for the Lucas camp and once again, only the top 7th & 8th graders were selected to participate. Although the camp was made up of mostly Texas kids, because of the reputation of the event, elite level kids from as far as Washington D.C. and the Bahamas made their way to the Houston suburb.

Although most of the players in attendance were much too young to appreciate the mark John Lucas made on the NBA, it was evident that Lucas' no nonsense style got their attention during the 2-day event. In terms of the format, roughly 60 kids were divided into six teams of 10 players each. The camp tipped off on Saturday afternoon with a welcome, followed by stretching and skills and drills stations. The eight skill stations were intense and focused on skill development, and were as much a part of the overall rankings and evaluation as were the 5 games each kid played. After an inspirational presentation by super scout Van Coleman, the kids were given a demonstration of the camp offense each team would be running, and later that afternoon the first series of games began.

Make no mistake, invitations to this event were not handed out to just anybody. With the help of local scout Jim Hicks, founder of RCS Sports in Houston, the top 30 Houston-area kids were identified and selected through Camp Right Way, a qualification camp of sorts. In addition to selecting the top local kids, nominations were sought on a national level for truly elite kids from across the company. There are a couple of unique features to this camp, including the fact the John Lucas himself gave each and every player in attendance a personal and verbal evaluation of their game at the conclusion of the event. Unlike some elite camps, Lucas purposely did not want to know who the "top kids" were in advance of the camp; rather, he wanted the player's game to determine who the eventual top kids really were. Also, this camp was not as much about exposure as it was honing basketball skills and increasing basketball IQs. Also, unlike most camps of it's kind, there was no all-star at the conclusion of the camp.

Despite the camp's focus on development, attention was being paid to the players who stood out and separated themselves during the event. Although I had to get back to the Nike event, I did inquire from the scouts and other observers who the top performers were. From what I heard, Lima's Tyler Ulis, arguably Ohio's top 8th grader, represented the Buckeye State well. According to Clay Dade, founder of the Jr. All-American Camp, Ulis' advanced game was on full display, as he showed an impressive skill package, poise beyond his years, and a high basketball IQ. Below is a list of standout players according to Jim Hicks and Clay Dade.

Top Players: (Top 10 in Bold)

6'0 Costa Anderson-Atlanta, GA

5'8 Nicholas Bennett-Houston, TX
5'9 James Blackman-Ft. Wayne, IN

6'5 Joe Burton Porter, TX

6'3 Jonathan Carson-Milwaukee, WI
6'4 Jordan Cornish-Slidell, LA
6'7 Jackson Davis-Lexington, KY
6'2 Trey Dilworth-Pllugerville, TX
5'8 Brandon Etienne-Houston, TX
6'3 Austin Grandstaff-Rowlett, TX
6'8 Dakari Johnson-Lexington, KY
6'5 Kejuan Johnson-Atlanta, GA (7th Grade)
6'6 Jalen Lindsey-Franklin, TN
5'6 Jerron Love- Bronx, NY
6'2 Kelly Oubre-Houston, TX
5'4 Jay Prince-Houston, TX
6'2 Christian Sanders-Houston, TX
6'5 Marvin Saunders-Bahamas
5'9 Johnnie Schuler, Jr-Washington, DC
6'6 Melvin Swift-Houston, TX
5'11 Alonzo Trier-Rowlett, TX
6'5 JC Washington-Houston, TX
5'7 Jarred West-New Orleans, LA
6'3 Justice Winslow-Houston, TX
5'4 Tyler Ulis-Lima, Ohio

According to James Ulis, Tyler's father, "the event was an excellent training and development type camp. The camp was well run and the staff was very knowledgeable." Ulis was most impressed with the fact that, "the kids were held accountable, team play was emphasized, and the camp was very competitive." As a final note, Ulis was glad he took his son to the event and would definitely recommend the camp to other parents. To see the pictures I took at the event, visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page. Finally, see the comment section of this story for additional information.

Nike EYBL Session Two: Day Two

Day two proved to be another day of very competitive play. All-Ohio Red got back on track with a 83-77 win over a fiesty Carolina Ravens in the morning session. Trey Burke was on his game and finished with a game-high 22 points. Stevie Taylor finished with 20 points, followed by Tommie McCune with 13 points, Nate Anderson with 10 points and Brandon Neel who added 9 points. Ohio's second representative, the King James Shooting Stars, notched their first win of the day with 52-50 squeaker against Team Takeover. The main man for King James was 6'7 Marcus Carter who dropped a team-high 10 points, followed by Jakarr Sampson (9 points) and Marcus Crider (8 points). The leading scorers for Takeover were Mikael Hopkins and James Robinson, both of whom finished with 11 points. Duke bound Michael Gbinije added 10 points.

The Family stubbed their toe in the morning session with a 60-67 loss to the Arizona Stars. Arizona was paced by Judd Welfinger and Tyler Russel's 12 points. Carlton Brundage led The Family with 13 points, followed by Dominigue Pointer with 12 points. The Arkansas Wings held on to beat the Charlotte Royals 70-65. Although the Royals had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line down 65-68 with 3 free throws, they failed to convert the freebies. The leading scorers for Arkansas were Darian Griswald with 21 points and Aaron Ross with 13 points. The top guy for Charlotte was Chad Frazier with 21 points and Keith Bedford with 18 points. Boo Williams knocked off the Jackson Tigers, and a Marcus Teague-led Spiece defeated Seattle Rotary by 1 point.

In the late session, the battle for Ohio jumped off between All-Ohio Red and the King James Shooting Stars. The difference in the highly contested game was 6'8 Jakarr Sampson (team-high 18 points) and the front court of 6'7 Darius Carter and 6'7 Marcus Crider. Although All-Ohio's guards, Trey Burke and Stevie Taylor, combined for 42 points, versus Ricky Johnson and Nyles Evans' 8 points, Red had no answer for Sampson and the length of King James' posts and wings. Trey Burke led All-Ohio with 25 points, followed by Stevie Taylor with 17 points. At the end of the game, All-Ohio was sitting at 1-2 for the weekend and 5-3 overall. Click on the link to see footage of the game.

The New Jersey Playaz, who actually had a full squad, got by BABC 58-54. New Jersey was led in scoring by 6'9 Desmond Hubert who finished with 10 points, followed by Kyle Anderson (9 points) and Vaughn Gray (7 points). Michael Carter-Williams dropped a game-high 17 points, while 6'6 Andrew Chrabascz added 8 points. Houston Hoops defeated Portland's ICP 61-56. Everett Pleasant was the big dog for Houston with 21 points, followed by 6'8 TaShan Thomas who contributed 12 points. Portland was led by 6'9 Austin Kuemper's 16 points and 6'1 6'1 Miles Gatewood's 13 points.Team Florida notched a win over the Georgia Stars 73-41 on the strength of Scottie Wilbikin's 18 points. Also for Florida, Will Cummings finished with 12 points followed by Chris Bryant who added 11 points. Alonzo Nelson led Georgia with 10 points and Tony Parker offered 6 points.

The Drew Gooden Soldiers beat the Birmingham Storm 76-71. Jabari Brown was again the high man for the Soldiers as he finished with a game-high 21 points. Nick Johnson had 15 points, followed by Kiwi Gardner's 14 points, Kyle Wiltjer's 11 points and Josiah Turner's 6 points. To see the pictures I took at the event, visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page.

Nike EYBL Session Two: Day One Report

The second session of the inaugural Nike EYBL tipped off in Houston, Texas tonight and the competitive play that was evident in Hampton was on display. Right out of the gate a ridiculously talented MAC Irvin Fire hooked up with D-One Sports out of North Carolina and left no doubt who was the most talented team. Very early it was clear the the Fire's guards where going to have their way. Although D-One had a pair of high major prospects with 6'10 Quincy Miller and 6'4 Qudduss Bello, the much publicized tandem was simply no match for MAC Irvin and the bench full of elite players. The Fire's rosters is laced with as at least 5 players in the Rivals Top 150, including Mike Shaw, Sam Thompson, Wayne Blackshear, Andre Henley and George Marshall. Oh but that's not it, Already this spring Mycheal Henry has emerged as one of the most productive players on the squad while Jamie Crockett, a recent Depaul comit, has already opened some eyes this spring. Tonight, the Fire easily defeated D-I 55-71 to open the weekend 1-0. The leading scorers for MAC Irvin were Mychael Henry (17 points) and Jamie Crockett (12 points). Quincy Miller dropped a game-high 20 points while Bello finished with 13 points.

All-Ohio Red started the weekend slow, as they lost to Seattle Rotary 77-66. Although they led at times in the game, All-Ohio was eventually done in by a slow start, un-timely mistakes, too many turnovers, foul trouble and an outstanding performance by Tony Wroten. All-Ohio was still in the hunt late, but with out post play from Tommie McCune and Geaoge Fant, both of who fouled out of the contest, Seattle pulled ahead to claim the win. Wroten was on his game as he led all scorers with 29 points, including at least five treys. Gonzaga pledge Gary Bell, Jr contributed 8 points. For All-Ohio Red, Stevie Taylor stepped up his play in the second half and eventually finished with a team-high 20 points, while Trey Burke and George Fant both added 19 points. There is no time for All-Ohio to ponder what might have been, as they must face off against Austin Rivers and Each 1 Teach 1 at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon, followed by instate rival King James Shooting Stars at 6:30pm.

Other News and Notes:

Team Florida defeated Fiends of Hoop 64-50. The high man for Team Florida was Rashon Rembert with 18 points followed by Will Cummings' 11 points. For FOH, Brett Kingma finished with a team-high 10 points.-The Arkansas Wings had no answer for the Gaucho's guards and their full-court pressure, as they dropped their opener 88-77. The Alabama Challenge defeated Houston Hoops by double digits. I'm not sure of the outcome, but I noticed that the New Jersey Playaz rolled into town with a short bench. I only counted 5-6 players in uniform during warm ups. Of course New Jersey brought Mile Mack, Myles Davis and Kyle Anderson Jr., but if they only had 6 players it could be a long weekend. Despite the fact that a lot of writers made the easy drive and attended the Adidas May Classic in Bloomington, IN., there were several big time scouts in the building including, Dave Telep, Jerry Meyer, Van Coleman, Reggie Rankin and Vince Baldwin were seen pacing the sidelines. The NBA was represented as JR Smith was checking out the action. Look for another update sometime late Saturday night. To see pictures of the event visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page.

Nike EYBL Resumes in Houston

This weekend in Houston, Texas, the second session of the Nike EYBL tips off with much anticipation. All I can say, if the second edition of league play is anything like the first session in Hampton, Virgina, look for some very competitive play and exciting story lines to emerge. Two Ohio teams, All-Ohio Red (4-1 after session 1) and the King James Shooting Stars, will be making the trip to the Lone Star State. Although King James will head to Houston with their initial roster in tact, All-Ohio will make the trip with some new faces. Returning for All-Ohio are Trey Burke, Stevie Taylor, Cheatum Norrils, Nate Anderson and Bowling Green, Kentucky's George Fant. However, new to the squad are Cincinnati's Brandon Neel, Saginaw, Michigan's Tommie McCune and Columbus' Kyle Shriml. 6'3 Neel is one of the top wings in the state and will try and fill the void left by Treavon Jackson's departure, while 6'7 WF McCune is a scoring swing man who is expected to contribute scoring from the perimeter. All-Ohio will be without Elijah Macon who will not make the trip for the second consecutive weekend, and of course, as noted in a previous article, Treavon Jackson has moved on to the West Virgina Wildcats. Despite the roster change, All-Ohio Red head coach Benji Burke has high expectations for his team this weekend. "Our goal is to go 3-1 this weekend and finish 7-2 in league play and atop our division," said Burke. Burke continued, "I think we can go deep, we have several top 150 guys and I don't think we will miss a beat. The biggest challenge will be consistency," added Burke. All-Ohio Red will have to get off to a fast start to reach it's goal, as right out of the shoot they face off against a Tony Wroten-led Seattle Rotary squad with multiple high major prospects. Wroten is a consensus top 10 player nationally and is off to a great start this season despite the fact he is still recovering from a serious knee injury. In addition to Seattle, All-Ohio will battle against the King James Shooting Stars, the South Carolina Ravens, and Team Takeover. King James has some ground to make up this weekend after finishing the opening weekend a disappointing 1-4. With highly rated players such as Louisville bound James Price, Jakarr Sampson, Marcus Crider, Tony Farmer (2013) and Ricky Johnson, the expectations are high for the northern Ohio-based team to rebound. In addition to All-Ohio Red, King James will play Team Takeover on Friday night, Michigan's The Family (which they lost to in the semi-finals of the King James Classic a couple of weeks ago), and a tough Marques Teague-led Spiece Gym Rats on Sunday. By all accounts, the new Nike League is the real deal. According to All-Ohio Director Jerry Watson, "the new league is the greatest thing to happen to summer basketball in a long time." In terms of the merits of the league, Watson feels that because "the league requires preparation and scouting other teams in your division, as well as a shot clock and the college three point line, kids are better prepared for the college game." Drew Joyce, director of the Shooting Stars, will be attend this weekend for the first time, but is already a fan of the league based on what he has heard so far. In his opinion, "the idea (the league) is right," and although "they will tweak somethings after the season," the league is already meeting expectations. To see the current league standing and schedule, click on the link. Also, visit the site this weekend as I try to report whats happening in Houston.