OBC Wins Early Bird Super Showcase

OBC Wins Championship

Congratulations to OBC's 8th grade squad for going undefeated to claim the championship of the Early Bird Super Showcase in Clevland.  On their trek to the title, OBC defeated All-Ohio, Ohio Hoopsters and SMAC U.  In the championship game, OBC defeated SMAC U for a second time in the tournament 80-60.  OBC's 7th grade squad had a big day on Saturday, but after 4 starters were ill on Sunday and could not play, the team fell short if its goal of winning it all.

March Madness-Final Day Report

CP3 All-Stars & Team Rio Team Pictures

As promised, the final day of the 2014 March Madness tournament featured some juicy early-season clashes. Early on Sunday morning, I got my first look at CP3, as the faced off against a rugged Rens squad in the first 7^th grade semi final game. As you would expect in any situation where the number one ranked team in the country is playing on the road in a hostile environment, the partisan crowd was in a frenzy early as Rens got out of the gates highly motivated and playing well. The game was tight early as Rens clearly was not intimidated by the much more heralded CP3. In fact, midway through the first half, the score was knotted at 14. With only seven minutes left in the opening period CP3 was only up 2 points (16-18). With 2:45 seconds left in the half, CP3 started to flex their muscles and extended the lead to 10 points (31-21). As evidenced by their blowout victory over the Metro Flyers in the quarterfinals, Rens plays with a lot of toughness and it was on display early as they battled the top rated team in the nation.

The closer Rens kept the score the more excited and vocal the partisan crowd became. Moreover, several times early in the game, things got a little chippy as Rens was determined to avenge an earlier loss to CP3 at the AAU Nationals last year. By half time, CP3 was up by more comfortable 39-23. The story of the first half was the 14 points logged in by Michael Green who drained 4 treys to lead the team with 14 halftime points. I wish I could say that Rens came back to make this game a close, but that was not the case, as CP3 would go on to collect a relatively easy win to advance the semi finals. Michael Green continued his hot shooting in the second half, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Behind him was Chaz Gweyn who added another 16 points.

In the second 7^th grade semi final game, Team Rio hooked up with a scrappy CIA Bounce. As was the case the first semi-final game, the underdog CIA Bounce started the game playing well, and at the half, the game was tied at 18. As Team Rio's superior talent started to kick in, they eventually pulled away from CIA Bounce to claim the 39-56 victory and ticket to the championship game against the CP3 All-Stars.

When the schedule was released over a week ago, most fans assumed that CP3 and Team Rio would meet in the championship game of this tournament. Team Rio had already won multiple championships over the winter, while CP3 has only played in one tournament prior to this event. With an upgraded roster this year, including the addition of nationally ranked Scottie Lewis, Northeast basketball fans felt the team Rio had a legitimate chance to not only win in Scranton, but to win both an NYBL and AAU championship.  

Team Rio drew first blood with three-ball by AJ Hoggard. One possession later, a Michael Green trey tied the game at 3. Both teams opened up in the zone defenses and were methodical as they worked the ball around looking for an open shot. The start of the game reminded me of 2 prizefighters trying to feel each other out early before attempting knockout punches. By 9:52 Mark, CP3 was only up 7-6. A 7-0 run by CP3 at about 6:43 Mark put them up 15-8. Team Rio scored with five minutes 20 seconds left in the game to cut the lead to 11-15. By halftime, CP3 had extended their lead to about 17-28. Team Rio scored first to start the second half, and right about then, both teams started trading buckets for about the next two minutes. At the 9:16 Mark, CP3 was still comfortably ahead 36-25. About midway through the second half it started to appear as though CP3 was going to coast to an easy victory until Team Rio battled back late in the second half to close the deficit to 35-40 with three minutes left in the contest. Five points is as close as Rio would get however, as CP3 stepped on the gas and grabbed the championship and the $1000 American Express prize money by a final score of 49-39. The story of this game was the play Wendell More who grabbed a boat load of rebounds and took advantage of easy put backs.

Wendell Moore, Scottie Lewis & Michael Green

In the final analysis, the same things that made CP3 hard to beat last year will make them a tough out again this year as well. The team passes the ball extremely well; they enjoy excellent guard play and great rebounding and scoring in the post. At the end of the day, Wendell Moore was simply more productive in the paint, both offensively and defensively, than the Team Rio post players. Also, I was really impressed with the guard play of Kobe Langley, as well as the three-point marksmanship for Michael Green. Although Greene was more of a catch and shoot threat last year, his game appears to have developed and he's now putting the ball on the floor and either getting to the rack or driving in dishing. Green’s deep ball threat creates driving lanes for the wings and space for the bigs.

In terms of their game plan, CP3 did an excellent job of doubling and trip teaming Scottie Lewis, rendering him virtually ineffective offensively close to the bucket. Although Team Rio has good length in the post with Lewis and Bryan Antonio (6’1 PF Matawn, NJ), they simply don't have the bulk or the size necessary to rebound and score on a consistent basis with teams that have legitimate post players. Team Rio is a 6’5 post player away from being as good as any team in the country. Even with their shortcoming, when it's all said and done, they lost to the best team in the country by only two points, and Scottie Lewis did not have his best game offensively. With that said, Lewis was the ultimate rim protector as he blocked or altered numerous CP3 shots.

Qaadir Maneri, Andrew King & DJ Bailey

Sunday morning also featured a couple of very competitive six grade games. First up, Team Nation matched up with Team Izod. Although Team Nation jumped out to a 5-2 lead, Team Izod battled back to go ahead 10-8 with 1:40 a minute left in the first half. The score remained close throughout the first period as both teams were successfully knocking down shots. At the half, Team Nation was ahead 20-22. In the second half, Team Izod seized control of the game, a 31-23 lead with 7:43 left in the game. This game would eventually come down to the last possession. In fact, with only 22 seconds left, the game was tied at 38. A pair of Team Nation free throws with one second left on the clock put them ahead for good at 40-38. Qaadir Maneri (5’10 P/SG Bronx, NY) came up big for Team Nation to the tune of a game-high 15 points. Zion Bethia led Team Izod with 10 points.

Later that day in the 6^th grade division, Ripp City and the New York Gauchos went at it. This game would be another close one. At the break, Ripp City was ahead 23-29.  The Gauchos would make a late run to cut the lead to 44-45 with 3:29 left in the game.  However, in the end, Ripp City was able to hold off the Gauchos by a final score of 48-49. The standout performers in the game for Ripp City were Andrew King, (6’4 C Coatesville, PA) and Deuce Turner (5’9 SG Coatesville, PA).  DJ Bailey (4’11 PG Bronx, NY) had another solid game for the Gauchos.

All-Ohio Red-5th Grade Champions

In the 5^th grade division, All-Ohio Red advanced to the championship game with a lopsided victory over Philly United. The game was as close as 5-6 early in the first half, but eventually, All-Ohio would extend a 31-10 halftime lead to a 40-12 blowout win. With the win, All-Ohio, a 10^th place finisher at the 2013 AAU Nationals, would faceoff against the 4^th place New York Gauchos. I did not get a chance to watch the entire 5^th grade championship, but I did note the fact that All-Ohio took a 21-42 lead into the half, and would go on to claim the title with a 62-50 win.  The difference in the game was the size of All-Ohio, both on the perimeter and in the post. Even before the game I questioned how the smaller Gauchos guards would defend the much bigger and stronger Seth Wilson, let alone who was going to try and contain Noah Peeples who had dominated in the paint the entire tournament. Bottom line, All-Ohio was simply to big for the Gauchos. Jaden Hameed had a breakout performance with a game-high 19 points. Noah Peeples had 14; Noah Rittinger added 11 and Seth Wilson finished with 10 points.

All-Ohio Red-4th Grade Champions

All-Ohio’s 4^th grade team made the trip to Scranton and also enjoyed a lot of success over the weekend. The 4^th grade championship game pitted the same two programs as the 5^th grade championship game, and the younger Gauchos were determined to get payback for their 5^th grade brothers. Early on, it looked like All-Ohio would run away with another easy victory, as they raced out to a 5-0 lead. However, the Gauchos would mount a 7-0 run to take 9-5 advantage.  Unlike the 5^th graders, the Gauchos enjoyed a significant size advantage in the paint and they took full advantage of their size early. By the 5:40 mark, New York was rolling with a hefty 17-6 lead. All-Ohio responded with a run that would trim the lead to a more manageable 19-13. At the break, the Gauchos were only ahead by 5 points (23-18). Ohio got on the board first to start the second period (20-23). Later, a Derrick James trey pulled Ohio to within 1 point at 23-24, and All-Ohio regained the lead on a Shawn Jones’ trifecta. The lead would change hands several times before a 7-0 Ohio run would break New York’s back and give them a 40-34 lead. Final score: All-Ohio Red 45, the Gauchos 38. The come back was sparked by the outstanding play of Shawn Jones and Derrick James both of whom hit big shots at crucial times in the game. James finished with over 20 points, while Jones added another 7 points. Anthony Sellers was one of the leading scorers for the Gauchos.

New York Gauchos-6th Grade Champions

After a very competitive super pool, where the tp four teams in the 6^th grade division took turns beating each other up, the last 2 teams standing for the championship game were Ripp City and the New York Gauchos. This appeared like it was going to be a blowout for the Gauchos as they raced out to an early 15-0 lead. Ripp City would eventually get their act together, but it was still 20-7 with only 5:25 left in the first half. The score still seemed out of hand at the break with New York up a comfortable 22-10. With such a big lead, the Gauchos got a little to casual, tried to run some time off the clock, and were already picking out sizes for the championship hoodies. Ripp City refused to pack it in, and after a furious comeback, forced overtime with the game tied at 39. The Gauchos would refocus in the extra period and claim a 45-49 win.

I have to send a shout out to ESPM for winning the 7^th grade Silver division championship in dramatic form. With only about 7 seconds left in the game, ESPM got a steal and a layup as the clock expired. The final score was 32-34. Mike Renwrick (6’3 C Philly) scored a team-high 10 points to lead his team.  All-in all, there was some great talent at the top of each division, and this event gave a lot of teams some good early-season work.

March MadnessTop Performers

Photo Gallery

March Madness Tournament-Day One Report

Elijah Everett, Seth Wilson, RJ Davis Noah Peoples & Daniel Rodriquez 

As is the case with most AAU type-tournaments, day one is all about pool play blowouts as number 1 seeds dominated 4^th seeded teams.  However, Brian Klasky’s first year March Madness tournament in Scranton, PA featured a super pool in the 6^th grade division that kicked off the tournament with some very competitive games.

Case in point, late on Saturday, Team Izod faced off with the New York Gauchos in what turned out to be an east coast grudge match. By the time I arrived at the court, the game was tight with the Gauchos up 29-27 in the first half. By the beginning of the second half, Izod had knotted the game at 29. From there, the Gauchos controlled most of the second period and was leading 48-41 when they decided to run some clock with a 7 point lead at about the 4:50 mark.  Despite a Team Izod run late, the Gouaches would hang on to capture a 50-48 win. RJ Davis (5’1 P/SG White Plains, NY) was the high man for the Gauchos finishing with a game-high 19 points. Elijah Everett (6’4 C Orange, NJ) paced Team Izod with 11 points, while Zion Bethea (5’7 WF South Orange, NJ) added 10 points. Everett is a great looking post prospect with good length and the ability to defend and rebound.  He’s lean, but with time, growth and continued development, Everett could develop into a legitimate DI post player.

 

Zion Bethea

It’s important to note that earlier in the day, Team Nation seized control of the 6^th grade super pool with wins over the Gauchos and Team Izod to finish 2-0 on the day. Look for two of these 3 teams to make the finals late on Sunday. Also, the 7^th grade Metro Flyers got a big opening day win. Daniel Rodriquez started strong as he paced the Flyers with 12 points.  Of course all of the number 1 seeds (CP3, Team Rio, CIA Bounce, Rens) cruised to easy victories on Saturday. 

Later in the day, I caught a good 5^th grade game between All-Ohio Red and Chester Select. Although All-Ohio was much more talented at every position, the smaller but scrappy Chester squad gave them all they could handle for most of the game.  In fact, Chester was leading most of the first half until All-Ohio mounted a 10-0 run to take 26-22 lead to close the first half. Early in the second period both teams traded buckets.  However, about midway through the half All-Ohio started to extend the lead and never looked back.  They would go on to win it 41-59.  All-Ohio was lead in scoring by Noah Peeples (5’6 C Akron) who finished with a game-high 22 points, followed by Seth Wilson (5’4 PG Cleveland) who added 16 points and Trey Woodard who finished with 10 points. 

 

Noah Peeples & Seth Wilson

All-Ohio is a well-constructed team with great guard play from Seth Wilson and Noah Rittinger (5’2 PG Charleston, WV) and solid post play from Peoples and Jaden Hameed (5’5 SG Northfield, OH). The team is blessed with skilled guys, size and athleticism.  Wilson is the workhorse who is too big and strong for most guards, while Peoples is a wide body who already understands and embraces post play. Hameed is playing out of position in the post, but he gets it done because of his strength and aggressiveness.

Sunday’s bracket play action should include big time match-ups in the 7^th grade division between heavyweights like CP3, Team Rio National, Rens and CIA Bounce. I’m very interested in seeing the additions to CP3 as well as the newly constructed Team Rio squad. If they meet in the finals, two of the best NYBL teams will represent the league.

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Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase-Recap

A sure sign that the AAU season is right around the corner is the tip off of the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase. On Saturday, approximately two hundred and seventy 2^nd-12^th graders gathered at Central Crossing High School in suburban Columbus, Ohio to participate in the annual event. As is the case every year, the players rolled in from all over the county, including Canada, Baltimore, Philadelphia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan.

For the first time ever, the event included a 2^nd-5^th grade division which numbered about 80 kids.  In terms of the format, the showcase kicked off with a skills and drills warm-up session in the morning, followed by a presentation by former Ohio State standout Lawrence Funderburke. After that, the regular showcase games jumped off, and the 1-day event culminated in all-star games in each of the 5 divisions.

Strom Cook, Seth Goodson & Isaiah Cummings

The Buckeye Prep Elite Showcases are well known for attracting talent, and this past weekend was no exception. Besides the players who would eventually go on to make all-star teams and who were obviously standout performers, some of the other standouts I saw included: Isaiah Cummings (6’2 PG Ontario, CN 2015), Storm Cook (5’10 PG Sidney 2017), Ryan Peaks (5’9 PG Columbus 2017) Seth Goodson (5’10 P/SG Gahanna 2018), Garrett Tipton (6’2 WR Teays Valley 2018), Logan Jones (6’6 C Mansfield 2018), Chance Barnett (6’0 WF Clear Fork 2018), Colin Woodside (6’4 C Lancaster 2018), Cameron Carlsise (5’11 SG Gahanna 2018), Tanner Holden (6’1 WF Wheelersburg, OH 2019), Korbin Spencer ( 5’10 PG Sandy Hook, KY 2019),  Ratez Roberts (5’11 PF Sidney2019), Teon Jennings (5’11 PF Columbus 2018), Caden Sanchez (6’7 C Columbus 2017), Deshon Parker (5’8 PG Dayton 2018), Antwun Johnson (5’10 WF Dayton 2018), Charlie Large (5'10 WF Hanging Rock, OH 2017) and Devon Baker (5’11 SG Dayton (2018)

Shawn Jones,, Derrick James & Zahree Harrison

As noted earlier, the showcase provided an opportunity to evaluate some very young players and they did not disappoint. Some of the young talent I intend to keep an eye on going forward include: Montez McNeil (6’2 C Baltimore 2020), Travonne Jackson (5’2 PG Columbus 2020), Kole Whitley (4’11 PG Sandy Hook, KY 2020), Zahree Harrison (5’0 PG Philadelphia 2020), Justin Powell (5’8 SG Louisville, KY 2020), Chris Scott (5’9 WF Huber Heights 2020), Ryan Kern (6’1 C Vincent, OH 2020), Jake Younkin (5’2 PG Loveland 2020), Shawn Jones (4’9 PG Dayton 2020), Derrick James (4’9 PG Canal Winchester 2021), Magnus Entenmann (5’6 PF Upper Arlington 2021), Cameron Smith (5’8 P/SG Dayton 2021), Jayden Ballard (5’5 WF Massillon (2021), Roman Newsome (4’10 SG Xenia 2021), Noah Peoples (5’6 C Akron 2021),  Noah Rittinger (5’2 PG Charleston WVA 2021), Christian Winborne (5’0 P/SG Baltimore, MD),  Jayden White-Hawkins (5’2 PG Columbus 2021), Garner Wallace (SG/WF Dayton 2021), Daaron Brown (5’3 PG Columbus 2021), Jaden Hameed (5'5 P/SG Northfield, OH 2021) and Sarmartine Bogues (4’4 PG Baltimore 2023).

Top Performers Pictures

All-Star Team Selection

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Bulldogs Capture City League Championship

Berwick Bulldogs-2014 Columbus City League Champions

In front of a packed house at Linden McKinley High School on Friday, the Berwick Bulldogs held off the AIMS Panthers to remain undefeated and collect a 41-37 victory and a Columbus City League Championship. Although Berwick lead for most of the game, the Panthers took a 2 point lead late in the third quarter. The outcome of the game was still in doubt until a pair of free throws by Nigel Harris (8^th grade) with 40 seconds left sealed the game. Jeremiah Francis (7^th grade), Berwick’s workhorse, had another dominate performance, but the win should be credited  to a total team effort. Teon and TheRon Jennings and N’Keely Elmore (8^th graders) paced Aims. Congratulations to Coach Sheri Bowman and the Bulldogs’ players and fans for a great season! Also, in a nail bitter, the Aims girls defeated the unbeaten Berwick Lady Bulldogs to clinch the Girls’ championship!

Nigel Harris