U-14 SMAC Primetime-Team Profile

SMAC Primetime-U-14

As I have mentioned before, Ohio's class of 2016 is absolutely loaded, and may be one of the best classes we have seen in many years. By most accounts, Team Lima, All Ohio Elite and the Cincinnati Lakers are the top eighth-grade teams in the state; however, the Cleveland based SMAC Primetime has been making some noise recently and deserve a little ink. Below is a team profile of Primetime.

From what I hear, this team has tremendous chemistry and a solid core of talent. So far this season, SMAC has sought out and competed against some tough competition around the Buckeye state. Specifically, while playing in the Bearcat Classic in Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago, SMAC defeated the Toledo Ruff Riders, All-Ohio Purple, Nova Village and the Ohio Crush in the semi-finals before losing to the Cincinnati Lakers in the finals. In addition, recently, SMAC participated in the King James Shooting Stars Classic, finished first in their pool and advanced to the Gold bracket where they were later bounced from the tournament after a loss to #1 ranked Team Lima.

Devin Stover-6'1 SG/WF Cleveland

SMAC's starting 5 includes: Devon Stover, (6'1" SG/WF lefty), Tyler Tupa (5'8 PG), Justin Layne (6'1 PF), Ben Seaman (5'9 PG), and Mark Kostelac (6'7 C). SMAC is coached by SMAC Director, Doni Moody. We first got a glimpse at Stover last year at our Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase, and his solid play that day got him noticed by a couple of the scouts who were in the gym covering the event. 6'7 Mark Kostelac already has the size to become an impact player; he just needs to continue to gain strength and improve his skill set. I hope to get a closer look at SMAC before the end of the summer.

Ohio Middle School AAU Rankings

Team Lima Black-8th Grade

14 & Under

1)    Team Lima Black

2)    All-Ohio Elite

3)    Cincinnati Lakers

4)    db Hoops Jackson

5)    TNBA East

6)    Dayton Heat

7)    VCC Warriors

8)    King James Shooting Stars

9)    SMAC Primetime

10) All-Ohio Red

Knocking at the door:  Cincy Gators, Nova Village & Cincinnati Bulldogs

Next Level Sports-7th Grade

13 & Under

1)    Next Level Sports

2)    Ohio Hoopsters/Cardinals

3)    Murphy AC Knights

4)    Cincinnati Elite

5)    Cincinnati Lakers

6)    Columbus Crusaders

7)    Team Lima Kings

8)    db Hoops

9)    Dayton Pilots

10) Cincinnati Friars

T10) Cincinnati Royals

All-Ohio Purple-6th Grade

12 & Under

1) All-Ohio Purple
2) Ohio Hoopsters
3) Excell
4) SMAC
5) Murphy AC
6) King James Shooting Stars
7) Dayton Metro
8) Pickerington Wildcats
9) Cincinnati Sparks
T10) Dayton Nets/Buckeye Prep
T10) Dayton Pilots
Knocking at the door: BTC Trojans, All-Ohio Red & Buckeye Prep

Ohio AAU Team Ranking

Below are John Stovall’s Ohio AAU Rankings:

15 & Under

1.  King James 1 (Cincinnati Knights)

2.  All Ohio Red

3.  Ohio Basketball Club

4.  All Ohio Black

5.  King James 2

6.  Ohio Varsity

7.  DB Hoops

8.  Team Work

9.  All Ohio White

10.Ohio Gaters

-King James 1 safely out in front. AOR a solid second. The arguments start there. 

16 & Under

1.  All Ohio Red

2.  Team Work

3.  King James

4.  Ohio Basketball Club

5.  Ohio Varsity

6.  Shining Star

7.  Ohio Phenoms

8.  Ohio Gators

9.  Northwest Ohio Basketball Club

10.DB Hoops

-Top 4 are very close. King James may be the most talented but needs to get a big win over a big time opponent.  

17 & Under

1.  All Ohio Red

2.  Ohio Basketball Club

3.  Team Work

4.  King James

5.  Martin's Wolverines

6.  Ohio Phenoms

7.  Shining Star

8.  Hidden Gems

9.  DB Hoops

10.Northwest Ohio Basketball Club

-Very close at the top. AOR picked because of more wins over slightly better competition. High quality all the way through. Top 6 could beat almost anyone.

John Stovall

Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase All-Stars Nationally Ranked

Alegevon Eichelberger Jr-6'5 PF Saginaw, MI.

For those of us who follow middle school basketball closely, we leaned a long time ago that people in the business of basketball are watching kids at a much earlier stage than ever before.  In fact, 7th and 8th graders often receive interest from college coaches, including actual offers in some cases. As is the case with the Buckeye Prep Report, a number of scouting services are covering events in search of the next crop of elite players. In fact, I just happened to visit our friends at Nations Elite Prospects, and discovered their rankings of the top 100 eighth  graders (2016) in the country. Of the 100 players listed in the rankings, 9 players have previously been selected as all-stars at our Buckeye Prep Elite Showcases.

Trevell Beck-6'5 PF Cleveland

Number 8 on the list is Michigan's Alegevon Eichelberger Jr., a 6'5 PF from Saginaw, MI, who has attended several of our showcases and tournaments. Eichelberger has excelled at every event we have seen him, and the big man is already drawing significant interest from several high major college programs. Right behind Eichelberger at 18th is Cassius Winston, a 5'8 PG from Detroit, who took home Top Five honors at our fall showcase last September. The top Buckeye alum is Trevell Beck, an athletic 6'5 WF from Cleveland.  Beck attended our spring showcase last year and quickly shot near the top of Ohio's 2016 list of elite players. Below is a link to all of the Buckeye Prep alums who made the list, as well as the full list of top 8th grader. Look for most of the ranked players at our fall showcase on September 22nd and 23rd. Rest assured, we will make sure our friends at Nations Elite Prospects know what goes down in September!

Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase Alums

Nations Elite Prospects

Buckeye Prep Top 30

Weekend Recap

VCC Warriors-2016

In the 8th grade division of Ohio Youth Basketball's Dayton Metro Tournament this past weekend, the Columbus-based VCC Warriors went 5-0 on their way to the tournament title. In the championship game, the Warriors easily got by Dayton Metro (77-49) to collect the hardware. The leading scorer in the championship game was Dantz Walton who finished with a team-high 18 points and 5 rebounds. Right behind Walton in scoring was Jordan Kinchen (12 pts & 2 stls), Houston Smith (12 points), Matthew Moyer (11 pts & 9 rbs), Seth Towns (10 points), Hayden Audsley (8 pts & 8 rbs), Tyrell Carter (6 pts) and Tyus Ferguson (4 steals). The Warriors are coached by former Ohio State coach Dave Spiller, former Ohio State player Brian Brown and Fred Moyer.

U-14 All-Ohio Elite continued their hot spring with a big time win at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. After going 2-0 in pool play, All-Ohio Elite ran off 4 more wins against the Michigan Titans, MBA Select, Mac Irvin Fire and Speice Gym Rats-Strine to claim the championship. Team Lima Black was cruising along undefeated until they ran into the Speice Gym Rats-Strine in the quarter-finals, and All-Ohio Red lost in the same round to Speice Hustle. In the junior-to-be division, All-Ohio Red lost in the championship game to the Louisville Magic. The Ohio Basketball Club was downed by The Family in the semi-finals of the senior division, and All-Ohio Red lost to the same team but one round earlier.

Jerrantae McCombs & Deonte Lesperance

One of the best games I've seen all spring featured a 6th grade match up between Ed Lyshe's Buckeye Prep squad and the Dayton Pilots at the Dayton Metro Tournament. Not only did the game include multiple ties and lead changes, but it took 2 overtime periods to produce a winner. In the end, the Dayton Pilots would out last Buckeye Prep to get the 54-52 win. The leading scorers for the Pilots were Deonte Lesperance (5'4 SG Huber Heights) who finished with 16 points and Jerrantae McCombs (6'2 C from Huber Heights) who added 13 points.  Buckeye Prep was paced by Kristian Pachac (16) and Chase Rankin (10). Pictures. In the 6th grade championship game, Dayton Metro beat the Ohio Tar Hills for the title.

6th Grade King James Shooting Stars

Congratulations to the 6th grade King James Shooting Stars for winning the championship of TNBA's All-American Cage Classic at Garfield Heights HS in Cleveland. Finishing the tourney 6-0, with wins over Elite Skills Navy and Murphy AC; King James defeated Mr. Basketball Acadamy by about 20 points in the final game to claim the championship. Some of the standouts for King James included Yael Hill and Nico Cagliuso (sp?). Congratulations to Coach Trevon Chesney, Phalon Ferguson and the players and fans for taking home the gold! In the 7th grade division of the same tournament, TNBA West Red defeated Murphy AC in the chmpionship game, and The Sho handled Murphy AC Kalish to take the 8th grade crown. For the final results in all of the divisions, vist the TNBA website.

Bulldogs Claim Eddie Ford Title

U-14 Cincinnati Bulldogs-Eddie Ford Spring Classic Gold Division Champs

The weekend before last, Coach Rob Greene’s U-14 Cincinnati Bulldogs squad went undefeated on their trek to the Gold division championship of the Eddie Ford Spring Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. In pool play, the Bulldogs cruised to multiple 20+ point wins.  In the championship game, the Bulldogs took down Elite Sports Center out of West Virginia.  For the tournament, the Cincinnati-based team was led in scoring by T.C. Wells (6’2 PF/C), Phillip Dozier (6’1 PF), and William Greene (5’7 SG). Buckeye Prep is familiar with all three players as they have each excelled at prior Buckeye Prep Elite Showcases. In fact, Wells has been building a case as the most athletic and most explosive player in  the 2016  class.

T.C. Wells-6'2 PF/C Fairfield

Although Wells paced the team during the tournament, and reportedly put on a dunking contest in front of the college coaches, the Bulldogs’ success can be attributed to team play. “What I love about this team, is that everybody believes in one another,” said Coach Greene. In addition to a full slate of AAU tournaments, the Bulldogs are getting in extra work in a U-16 league in Cincinnati. In addition to a 3-1 league record, the Bulldogs are 17-4 overall.

The Bulldogs’ roster, starting with the starting 5, include: Wells, Dozier, Greene, Kobie Johnson, Hunter Lampley, Shawn Brown, Perez Rankin, Sam Hansen, Jordan Anderson, Keneen Brown, Joey Smith and Lucas Buddemeyer.  Despite the fact they have a couple of players on Buckeye Prep's list of top 30 players in the state, the Bulldogs are still looking for statewide respect. With solid guard play from Lampley and Greene, and elite athleticism with Wells and Dozier, there is no reason this team should not be competitive with the big boys in this class. All I can say, the Ohio AAU State Tournament is going to be a monster! Congratulations to Coach Greene and his team for repping the Buckeye state in Louisville.