Based on the games and teams I saw, here's my 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic All Tournament Team
Ky Madden (MVP) - Arkansas Wings
Aaron Ross - Arkansas Wings
Adonis Thomas - Memphis Magic
Cody Zeller - Indiana Elite
Quinn Cook - DC Assault
Nigel Williams Goss - California Pump N Run
Jarion Henry - Dallas Showtyme
Roosevelt Scott - Minnesota Pump N Run
The Webcasts
Here are links to the games that I announced for Webcast America during the tournament. All are from the 17U division and the games were outstanding (if not my commentary).
Indiana Elite vs Arkansas Wings (tourney champs) - Super Pool opener for both teams.
Memphis Magic vs St. Louis Game Face- Super Pool D game
Minnesota Pump N Run vs Indiana Elite - Platnium bracket quarterfinal and one of the infamous power outage games.
The crew from Webcast America has 30 games from the tournament that can be viewed including the championship games. For a full list of the games, click here.
Showing posts with label 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic. Show all posts
2010 Best Buy Summer Classic Champions
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2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
To championship day at the 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic. A very hectic day thanks to last night's power outage that interrupted 1 set of games and postponed another entire set. In the top brackets, the Minnesota Pump N Run 16s were in the early quarterfinal and managed to get their game in.
I started with the conclusion of the Indiana Elite vs Minnesota Pump N Run 17U quarterfinal. The last 1:20 was added to the 2nd half so we play a 17:20 second half. Pump N Run ahead late but Jeremiah Davis with a pair of long 3s to keep Indiana Elite in it. A crazy sequence late. With 30 seconds left and PNR up 66-60, Davis hits the first of the 2 3s from about 25-30 feet. In the process, Shelby Moats gets called for pushing Zeller on the rebound. Zeller has the bonus and he makes 1 of 2 to cut the lead to 2. After PNR scores, Davis with another 3. Then Roosevelt Scott gets trapped on the inbounds pass and his return pass appears to go off an Indiana leg but instead Indiana gets possession under their own rim with about 10 seconds left. Cody Zeller catches the inbound under the basket but misses a contested layup with 5 seconds left that would have tied it. Tyler then tied up on the inbounds by Davis and the arrow goes to Indiana Elite. Yogi Ferrell catches and has a great look at a 3 at the buzzer and its no good. PNR moves on with a 69-67 win. 5 players in double figures for Pump N Run. Jonah Travis 15. Zeller with 20 but 12 of those were early in the game last night.
The Heat Elite 16s took on Team Eleate in the 16U quarters. 72-70 Heat up and shooting the 2nd of 2 free throws with 5 seconds left as they cling to a lead. Nobody on the lane for the Heat and somehow Josh Tismer is able to rebound his own miss. He gets fouled and makes 2 more freebies to clinch a 74-70 Heat win. Team Eleate coach would have made a sailor blush with his language regarding that play. Very upset with his team for giving up that rebound and rightfully so.
The Indiana Elite vs MN Pump N Run 15s semi proved to be very good, but who would have thunk that the Grassroots vs All Iowa Attack game would be even better. Nick Anderson was very hard to contain off the dribble for Grassroots. So despite the brilliance of Peter Jok (especially in the 2nd half), All Iowa Attack needed a pair of Jok freebies late in OT to win 71-66. Indiana Elite won the other semi 68-59 over PNR in a quality game.
Meanwhile the Heat Elite 16s gave the Atlanta Celtics all they wanted. Heat lead 17-15 midway through the 1st half before giving up a 9-0 run and you think the Celtics have flipped the switch and will run away. Hold the phone. The Heat come back and only trail 39-38 at the half. The Celtics did manage to finally win 83-68. Shaq Goodwin might be the #68 player in the nation, but the Heat's Zach Meyer (White Bear Lake) was an absolute monster inside going up against the bigger and more athletic Celtics frontline. He finished with around 25 points in the game and you could reasonable say he played the best game of anybody in that one. Solid performance by the PNR 16s in the other semi to beat a very solid Iowa Barnstormers team 65-58.
Then the 17U semis and California Pump N Run had a surprisingly comfortable victory over Minnesota PNR. Cali wins 75-60 as our local guys found it very difficult to score. Jonah Travis with his usual effort but going against big size like 6'11 mountain Kyle Caudill (former AZ State commit) makes his life very difficult and he had no help in this one. Roosevelt Scott showed that he can be a real defensive demon with his athletic ability as he forced numerous turnovers. Minnesota quickly got down 15 in the first half but fought back to get the game under double digits but never really threatened to take the lead.
Peter Jok and All Iowa Elite handle Indiana Elite 83-68 to win the 15U championship.
In the 16U game, the Atlanta Celtics are a machine. 12-1 start before MN PNR can score a field goal. Jordan Adams 27 points, Shaq Goodwin 12 points as they both played above the rim. Adams did most anything he wanted as there was no answer for him. PNR used 3 point makes to stay somewhat close, but long misses equaled quick runouts for layups going the other way. Celtics win 81-67 but that doesn't reflect the level of dominance. Carnell Sheppard with 17 points to lead PNR.
Arkansas Wings lead most of the way and defeat California Pump N Run 74-66 for the 17U title.
Coming up later, the all tournament team and links to the webcasts that I did during the tournament.
I started with the conclusion of the Indiana Elite vs Minnesota Pump N Run 17U quarterfinal. The last 1:20 was added to the 2nd half so we play a 17:20 second half. Pump N Run ahead late but Jeremiah Davis with a pair of long 3s to keep Indiana Elite in it. A crazy sequence late. With 30 seconds left and PNR up 66-60, Davis hits the first of the 2 3s from about 25-30 feet. In the process, Shelby Moats gets called for pushing Zeller on the rebound. Zeller has the bonus and he makes 1 of 2 to cut the lead to 2. After PNR scores, Davis with another 3. Then Roosevelt Scott gets trapped on the inbounds pass and his return pass appears to go off an Indiana leg but instead Indiana gets possession under their own rim with about 10 seconds left. Cody Zeller catches the inbound under the basket but misses a contested layup with 5 seconds left that would have tied it. Tyler then tied up on the inbounds by Davis and the arrow goes to Indiana Elite. Yogi Ferrell catches and has a great look at a 3 at the buzzer and its no good. PNR moves on with a 69-67 win. 5 players in double figures for Pump N Run. Jonah Travis 15. Zeller with 20 but 12 of those were early in the game last night.
The Heat Elite 16s took on Team Eleate in the 16U quarters. 72-70 Heat up and shooting the 2nd of 2 free throws with 5 seconds left as they cling to a lead. Nobody on the lane for the Heat and somehow Josh Tismer is able to rebound his own miss. He gets fouled and makes 2 more freebies to clinch a 74-70 Heat win. Team Eleate coach would have made a sailor blush with his language regarding that play. Very upset with his team for giving up that rebound and rightfully so.
The Indiana Elite vs MN Pump N Run 15s semi proved to be very good, but who would have thunk that the Grassroots vs All Iowa Attack game would be even better. Nick Anderson was very hard to contain off the dribble for Grassroots. So despite the brilliance of Peter Jok (especially in the 2nd half), All Iowa Attack needed a pair of Jok freebies late in OT to win 71-66. Indiana Elite won the other semi 68-59 over PNR in a quality game.
Meanwhile the Heat Elite 16s gave the Atlanta Celtics all they wanted. Heat lead 17-15 midway through the 1st half before giving up a 9-0 run and you think the Celtics have flipped the switch and will run away. Hold the phone. The Heat come back and only trail 39-38 at the half. The Celtics did manage to finally win 83-68. Shaq Goodwin might be the #68 player in the nation, but the Heat's Zach Meyer (White Bear Lake) was an absolute monster inside going up against the bigger and more athletic Celtics frontline. He finished with around 25 points in the game and you could reasonable say he played the best game of anybody in that one. Solid performance by the PNR 16s in the other semi to beat a very solid Iowa Barnstormers team 65-58.
Then the 17U semis and California Pump N Run had a surprisingly comfortable victory over Minnesota PNR. Cali wins 75-60 as our local guys found it very difficult to score. Jonah Travis with his usual effort but going against big size like 6'11 mountain Kyle Caudill (former AZ State commit) makes his life very difficult and he had no help in this one. Roosevelt Scott showed that he can be a real defensive demon with his athletic ability as he forced numerous turnovers. Minnesota quickly got down 15 in the first half but fought back to get the game under double digits but never really threatened to take the lead.
Peter Jok and All Iowa Elite handle Indiana Elite 83-68 to win the 15U championship.
In the 16U game, the Atlanta Celtics are a machine. 12-1 start before MN PNR can score a field goal. Jordan Adams 27 points, Shaq Goodwin 12 points as they both played above the rim. Adams did most anything he wanted as there was no answer for him. PNR used 3 point makes to stay somewhat close, but long misses equaled quick runouts for layups going the other way. Celtics win 81-67 but that doesn't reflect the level of dominance. Carnell Sheppard with 17 points to lead PNR.
Arkansas Wings lead most of the way and defeat California Pump N Run 74-66 for the 17U title.
Coming up later, the all tournament team and links to the webcasts that I did during the tournament.
Day 2 of the 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
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2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
So after a 15 hour day in the sweltering heat of the Jefferson main gym and the activity center, I slacked off and managed to get some rest at Dacha de Czar and only managed 9 hours in the gym today (short of expectations but more on that later). But upon arrival we find out that the main gym is even more of a sauna than yesterday (thank you mother nature).
Fury Blue opens my day with a 54-51 win over Grassroots Canada. Despite no Myck Kabongo for Canada, still another nice resume win for Fury Blue. Game 2 was a stubborn Wrath team falling 64-59 to DC Assault. Dylan Stewart 16 points and a great day as the 1 athlete who could matchup. That prompted one of the Meanstreets coaches (playing in the next game) to ask me who was looking at him. Needless to say, he had to jump on the radar screen for somebody today.
At this point, the main gym is unbearable and almost unplayable with the floor resembling a slip and slide. But its the game of the day with Memphis Magic taking on Indiana Elite in a round of 16 game that could easily be a final. Andre Hollins (Rivals #150) goes off in the 2nd half for 26 points on my sheet. Cody Zeller another productive day of 21 points. Back and forth game and Indiana looked like they'd pull away. Memphis has a chance to go full court with 5 seconds left down 3. Their inbound pass is tipped away and goes out of bounds under the basket with 1 second left. So Memphis is a BLOB play away from tying the game. But their inbound goes to a big who nails a 15 footer at the buzzer. That doesn't help and Indiana hangs on for the 75-74 win.
Fury Blue then easily def Grassroots MN in another round of 16 game. With Seantrel Henderson playing along side Jordan Hughes and Louis Cox et al, that's a bad loss on paper for the seniors. Thankfully Seantrel didn't slip due to the humidity and get injured. Simply put, I think he's making a really foolish mistake by spending anytime on a basketball court (either at this or at the Pulley Pro-Am) as he's likely putting millions of dollars on the line. Hopefully a responsible adult who he respects will make sure he understands that.
Then its off to spend some time flipping between courts to watch the 16s play their round of 16 games. With the Memphis/Indiana game running so late, Pump N Run and PrymeTyme had already won their games. WOTN and the Iowa Barnstormers rolled to easy wins in their games. James Harrington of the Barnstormers (Indiana State offer) gave Heat Red fits in the win. Heat Elite really struggled to beat the CS Bulldogs squad. Team Eleate showcased 2014 point guard Jeremy Lieberman. I can see why people are high on him. He's not the pure point guard that Tyus Jones is, but he's a better athlete and a better shooter. They pulled away to easily beat Old Gold. Finally, the Atlanta Celtics put on a dunk fest against California Pump N Run and Team Detroit took care of the SW MN Stars. Stars 6'7 forward Kyle Kilgore (Adrian) had a couple of nice moments in the game. He's a slightly more athletic version of Joey King but not as skilled or strong.
Then a really good one between tNBA and the PNR 15s. Tubby Smith on hand to watch Darrion Strong, but one couldn't help but be impressed by tNBA lefty point guard Grant Schaeffer. tNBA held a 10 point lead in the 2nd half but PNR was able to force overtime and then win by 2. tNBA isn't flashy and they don't have any big names, but a very united team squad that gives team fits. Think of a 15U version of the Wrath.
I missed the end of the game to go call the PNR vs Indiana Elite quarterfinal game. A shame because the clock got reset and I could have seen much more of it. A back and forth 1st half with Cody Zeller dominating early but Shelby Moats showed up inside. Then just before halftime, the whole west part of Bloomington loses power. The gym goes dark and after a delay to determine that we won't get things done tonight, everybody can go home.
The 810 PM games will resume at 8 AM from the point of stoppage on the same courts. Then the 920 PM games will be played. Then the regular schedule of semifinals and finals will resume.
Fury Blue opens my day with a 54-51 win over Grassroots Canada. Despite no Myck Kabongo for Canada, still another nice resume win for Fury Blue. Game 2 was a stubborn Wrath team falling 64-59 to DC Assault. Dylan Stewart 16 points and a great day as the 1 athlete who could matchup. That prompted one of the Meanstreets coaches (playing in the next game) to ask me who was looking at him. Needless to say, he had to jump on the radar screen for somebody today.
At this point, the main gym is unbearable and almost unplayable with the floor resembling a slip and slide. But its the game of the day with Memphis Magic taking on Indiana Elite in a round of 16 game that could easily be a final. Andre Hollins (Rivals #150) goes off in the 2nd half for 26 points on my sheet. Cody Zeller another productive day of 21 points. Back and forth game and Indiana looked like they'd pull away. Memphis has a chance to go full court with 5 seconds left down 3. Their inbound pass is tipped away and goes out of bounds under the basket with 1 second left. So Memphis is a BLOB play away from tying the game. But their inbound goes to a big who nails a 15 footer at the buzzer. That doesn't help and Indiana hangs on for the 75-74 win.
Fury Blue then easily def Grassroots MN in another round of 16 game. With Seantrel Henderson playing along side Jordan Hughes and Louis Cox et al, that's a bad loss on paper for the seniors. Thankfully Seantrel didn't slip due to the humidity and get injured. Simply put, I think he's making a really foolish mistake by spending anytime on a basketball court (either at this or at the Pulley Pro-Am) as he's likely putting millions of dollars on the line. Hopefully a responsible adult who he respects will make sure he understands that.
Then its off to spend some time flipping between courts to watch the 16s play their round of 16 games. With the Memphis/Indiana game running so late, Pump N Run and PrymeTyme had already won their games. WOTN and the Iowa Barnstormers rolled to easy wins in their games. James Harrington of the Barnstormers (Indiana State offer) gave Heat Red fits in the win. Heat Elite really struggled to beat the CS Bulldogs squad. Team Eleate showcased 2014 point guard Jeremy Lieberman. I can see why people are high on him. He's not the pure point guard that Tyus Jones is, but he's a better athlete and a better shooter. They pulled away to easily beat Old Gold. Finally, the Atlanta Celtics put on a dunk fest against California Pump N Run and Team Detroit took care of the SW MN Stars. Stars 6'7 forward Kyle Kilgore (Adrian) had a couple of nice moments in the game. He's a slightly more athletic version of Joey King but not as skilled or strong.
Then a really good one between tNBA and the PNR 15s. Tubby Smith on hand to watch Darrion Strong, but one couldn't help but be impressed by tNBA lefty point guard Grant Schaeffer. tNBA held a 10 point lead in the 2nd half but PNR was able to force overtime and then win by 2. tNBA isn't flashy and they don't have any big names, but a very united team squad that gives team fits. Think of a 15U version of the Wrath.
I missed the end of the game to go call the PNR vs Indiana Elite quarterfinal game. A shame because the clock got reset and I could have seen much more of it. A back and forth 1st half with Cody Zeller dominating early but Shelby Moats showed up inside. Then just before halftime, the whole west part of Bloomington loses power. The gym goes dark and after a delay to determine that we won't get things done tonight, everybody can go home.
The 810 PM games will resume at 8 AM from the point of stoppage on the same courts. Then the 920 PM games will be played. Then the regular schedule of semifinals and finals will resume.
Day 1 of the 2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
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2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
Whew, what a long day. 15 hours in the gym and 12 sets of games. I had a chance to take in a good chunk (if not a full game) of all 11 Super Pool teams in 17U and the Atlanta Celtics in 16s. Here's what caught my attention.
Gotta start with 12oz pop for $1. The people have spoken and the tournament director has listened. Outside of the games, that's gotta be the best part of this tournament. (I'm a fair guy, if I'm going to complain about $2, then I have to praise bringing the price back down).
Best game I saw was the Dallas Showtyme vs Grassroots Canada game late in the day. Back and forth and Jarion Henry wins it 67-65 with a driving layup with 5 seconds left. No Myck Kabongo for Grassroots Canada.
I called about 3/4 of the Memphis Magic vs St. Louis GameFace game right after that (that Henry game winner kept me late). GameFace had a 14 point lead late in the 1st half and ended up losing by 8. I also called the Indiana Elite vs Arkansas Wings game. Disappointing loss by Indiana Elite, 52-44, in that one. Links to my call of those games (and all other games I do during the tournament, including the championship games in 16U and 17U will be posted when available.
Now the players.
Best Player I Saw All Day: Adonis Thomas - Memphis Magic. #18 in the country is for real. When Magic got the lead late, he had enough ball skills to be trusted handling to close the game out. Can finish and shoot the 3.
Can't Touch Them
Ky Madden (Arkansas Wings) and BJ Young (St. Louis GameFace). Very similar big scoring guards who are better slashers than shooters. Both were able to generate offense whenever they wanted.
Matchups of the Day: Andre Hollins defense vs BJ Young. Hollins did a pretty good job against Young and showed that he can be a defensive stopper.
Aaron Ross (Arkansas Wings) vs Cody Zeller (Indiana Elite). Ross is an athletic wing who often had Zeller guarding him on the perimeter. Zeller did a fine job defending away from the basket.
Bigs
Cody Zeller - Indiana Elite. As advertised. Runs the floor, is a rebounding machine and showed he has some handles and shooting range.
Marshall Plumlee - Indiana Elite. Very disappointing day. Only 3 points, all on free throws, in the game I called vs Arkansas. Thought he would be more dominant.
Hunter Mickelson - Arkansas Wings. Made me think of Kevin Noreen as he's a thin face up 4 who can shoot it.
Utah Pump N Run doesn't have the name value of the Arkansas Wings or Indiana Elite in their pool, but they were really scrappy and finished 1-1 like everybody else in the pool. Via tiebreaker they finish ahead of Indiana Elite. Who would have seen that coming?
Minnesota Pump N Run got great balance (as usual) as they pulled away for an easy win over Memphis Select. Octavious Ellis only 1 breakaway dunk in that game for Select. 21 points for Cedric McAfee and a hot start. Roosevelt Scott and Kyle Noreen did nice work slowing him down after that start.
Good to see Quinn Cook play again. Nice to see a point guard with a true point guard mentality. DC Assault didn't play well against Memphis Select and only won by 7 but took out MN PNR to win the pool.
In non pool play, gotta like Jaleel Williams for the Texas D1 Ambassadors. This big athletic wing is going to make somebody very happy at the D1 level and he had a bunch of coaches watching tonight.
Pool play is complete, here are your brackets.
17U Platinum
California PNR vs MN Fury Gold
Utah PNR vs winner of Memphis Select and Mean Streets Blue
Memphis Magic vs winner of Indiana Elite and Texas D1 Ambassadors (WOW in round of 16)
WOTN vs MN PNR
Wrath vs DC Assault
Grassroots MN vs winner of Fury Blue vs Grassroots Canada (upset alert since Fury Blue seems to upset every other big name they play?)
Dallas Showtyme vs winner of St. Louis GameFace and All Iowa Attack
WI Starz vs Arkansas Wings
Grassroots with Louis Cox, Jordan Hughes, Kevin Thompson and Seantrel Henderson makes me interested to see them play DC Assault. But they'll have to play a full 36 minutes in that game. Grassroots is notorious for just showing up and then trying to flip the switch. They'll also give away games late (see last Saturday when Kevin Thompson hits 3 straight 3s but they blow a late 9 point lead and lose to Joe Hanstad and ECI in OT).
Quarterfinals are on the 2 show courts at 8:10 and 9:20.
16U Gold
MN PNR vs Indiana Elite
PrymeTyme vs tNBA
IA Barnstormers vs MN Heat Red
WOTN vs WI Starz
MN Heat Elite vs CS Bulldogs
Old Gold vs Team Eleate
Atlanta Celtics vs California PNR
SW MN Stars vs Team Detroit
How about a tough opener for the Celtics and then a possible game with Team Detroit in the quarters.
Round of 16 games are 2:20-5:50 with 1 quarterfinal at 8:10 and the rest at 9:20 in the activity center.
15U Gold
I don't have full brackets since many of the pool games were at Kennedy, but a couple of things stickout.
A possible quarterfinal with tNBA and MN PNR Maroon would be very good.
Another possible quarterfinal is Dakota Pride vs All Iowa Attack-Moore which would be a nice battle.
Gotta start with 12oz pop for $1. The people have spoken and the tournament director has listened. Outside of the games, that's gotta be the best part of this tournament. (I'm a fair guy, if I'm going to complain about $2, then I have to praise bringing the price back down).
Best game I saw was the Dallas Showtyme vs Grassroots Canada game late in the day. Back and forth and Jarion Henry wins it 67-65 with a driving layup with 5 seconds left. No Myck Kabongo for Grassroots Canada.
I called about 3/4 of the Memphis Magic vs St. Louis GameFace game right after that (that Henry game winner kept me late). GameFace had a 14 point lead late in the 1st half and ended up losing by 8. I also called the Indiana Elite vs Arkansas Wings game. Disappointing loss by Indiana Elite, 52-44, in that one. Links to my call of those games (and all other games I do during the tournament, including the championship games in 16U and 17U will be posted when available.
Now the players.
Best Player I Saw All Day: Adonis Thomas - Memphis Magic. #18 in the country is for real. When Magic got the lead late, he had enough ball skills to be trusted handling to close the game out. Can finish and shoot the 3.
Can't Touch Them
Ky Madden (Arkansas Wings) and BJ Young (St. Louis GameFace). Very similar big scoring guards who are better slashers than shooters. Both were able to generate offense whenever they wanted.
Matchups of the Day: Andre Hollins defense vs BJ Young. Hollins did a pretty good job against Young and showed that he can be a defensive stopper.
Aaron Ross (Arkansas Wings) vs Cody Zeller (Indiana Elite). Ross is an athletic wing who often had Zeller guarding him on the perimeter. Zeller did a fine job defending away from the basket.
Bigs
Cody Zeller - Indiana Elite. As advertised. Runs the floor, is a rebounding machine and showed he has some handles and shooting range.
Marshall Plumlee - Indiana Elite. Very disappointing day. Only 3 points, all on free throws, in the game I called vs Arkansas. Thought he would be more dominant.
Hunter Mickelson - Arkansas Wings. Made me think of Kevin Noreen as he's a thin face up 4 who can shoot it.
Utah Pump N Run doesn't have the name value of the Arkansas Wings or Indiana Elite in their pool, but they were really scrappy and finished 1-1 like everybody else in the pool. Via tiebreaker they finish ahead of Indiana Elite. Who would have seen that coming?
Minnesota Pump N Run got great balance (as usual) as they pulled away for an easy win over Memphis Select. Octavious Ellis only 1 breakaway dunk in that game for Select. 21 points for Cedric McAfee and a hot start. Roosevelt Scott and Kyle Noreen did nice work slowing him down after that start.
Good to see Quinn Cook play again. Nice to see a point guard with a true point guard mentality. DC Assault didn't play well against Memphis Select and only won by 7 but took out MN PNR to win the pool.
In non pool play, gotta like Jaleel Williams for the Texas D1 Ambassadors. This big athletic wing is going to make somebody very happy at the D1 level and he had a bunch of coaches watching tonight.
Pool play is complete, here are your brackets.
17U Platinum
California PNR vs MN Fury Gold
Utah PNR vs winner of Memphis Select and Mean Streets Blue
Memphis Magic vs winner of Indiana Elite and Texas D1 Ambassadors (WOW in round of 16)
WOTN vs MN PNR
Wrath vs DC Assault
Grassroots MN vs winner of Fury Blue vs Grassroots Canada (upset alert since Fury Blue seems to upset every other big name they play?)
Dallas Showtyme vs winner of St. Louis GameFace and All Iowa Attack
WI Starz vs Arkansas Wings
Grassroots with Louis Cox, Jordan Hughes, Kevin Thompson and Seantrel Henderson makes me interested to see them play DC Assault. But they'll have to play a full 36 minutes in that game. Grassroots is notorious for just showing up and then trying to flip the switch. They'll also give away games late (see last Saturday when Kevin Thompson hits 3 straight 3s but they blow a late 9 point lead and lose to Joe Hanstad and ECI in OT).
Quarterfinals are on the 2 show courts at 8:10 and 9:20.
16U Gold
MN PNR vs Indiana Elite
PrymeTyme vs tNBA
IA Barnstormers vs MN Heat Red
WOTN vs WI Starz
MN Heat Elite vs CS Bulldogs
Old Gold vs Team Eleate
Atlanta Celtics vs California PNR
SW MN Stars vs Team Detroit
How about a tough opener for the Celtics and then a possible game with Team Detroit in the quarters.
Round of 16 games are 2:20-5:50 with 1 quarterfinal at 8:10 and the rest at 9:20 in the activity center.
15U Gold
I don't have full brackets since many of the pool games were at Kennedy, but a couple of things stickout.
A possible quarterfinal with tNBA and MN PNR Maroon would be very good.
Another possible quarterfinal is Dakota Pride vs All Iowa Attack-Moore which would be a nice battle.
2010 Best Buy Summer Classic Preview
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2010 Best Buy Summer Classic
Its the 2nd annual Best Buy Summer Classic at Bloomington Jefferson July 13-15th. All pool games are on Tuesday with bracket play on Wednesday and Semifinals/Championships on Thursday.
Here's what to watch for. All player rankings are from the pre-July 2010 Rivals national rankings unless otherwise noted. We'll start in 17U with the 11 teams in the 4 Super Pools.
Super Pool A (Dallas Showtyme, Grassroots Canada, California Pump N Run)
Dallas Showtyme features one of the top players in Texas in 6'8 small forward Jarion Henry. He's ranked #83. #127 ranked 6'6 F Jalen Jones has an offer from UTEP.
Grassroots Canada is arguably the top program in Canada. They feature #11 ranked Myck Kabongo. He's a 6'2 PG from powerhouse Findley Prep. He'll attend Texas next year.
California Pump N Run (AKA Pump N Run Elite) is the top team in the Double Pump organization. 6'5 forward Amir Garrett is ranked #65 and has an Arizona offer. 6'5 2012 wing Jordan Tebbutt is out of Oregon and is ranked #41 in that class.
Super Pool B (Indiana Elite, Arkansas Wings, Utah Pump N Run)
Indiana Elite is absolutely stacked and my pick to win the tournament. Top player is #35 ranked Cody Zeller. The 6'10 forward blew up at the Adidas Invite last week and picked up a UNC offer this weekend which makes sense since he has a brother playing there. Speaking of brothers, #99 ranked Marshall Plumlee joined his brothers Mason and Myles by committing to Duke this weekend. Plumlee is a 6'11 Center. 5'10" Kevin "Yogi" Ferrill runs the point. He's the #22 ranked player in the 2012 class. #118 ranked Jeremiah Davis is a 6'3 SG who has Indiana hot on his trail. Why? Partly 6'6 Austin Etherington plays on this team too and he'll play at Indiana next year. Just for icing on the cake, we'll throw in 6'9 F Vinny Zollo who once committed to Kentucky before a coaching change. He has Notre Dame and Cincinnati after him.
The Arkansas Wings are a Nike program. They finished 6-8 and in 8th place in brutal Division D of the Nike EYBL. That means they missed out on qualifying for The Peach Jam (where Howard Pulley Blue is the #3 seed), Nike's premier event. We'll see if they come in to this tournament look for redemption. #19 ranked Ky Madden is a 6'4 G that leads the way. #97 Hunter Mickleson is a 6'10 center who has committed to Arkansas. 6'7 wing Aaron Ross is ranked #139 and he too has committed to the Razorbacks.
Utah Pump N Run is Utah's top program. They knocked off powerhouse Dream Vision at the end of April so don't sleep on this group. 6'5 Eli Robison was named the Utah 4A MVP. 6'1 Sam Orchard and 6'2 Mike Brown were named all state in their classes.
Super Pool C (Minnesota Pump N Run, Memphis Select, DC Assault)
Memphis Select feature 2 top 150 players. 6'3 Cedrick McAfee is ranked #56. 6'8 F Octavious Ellis is ranked #138.
DC Assault is one of the east coast's top programs. #23 ranked Quinn Cook is one of the nation's top point guards. He played in the 2008 Timberwolves Shootout with DeMatha. He'll attend Oak Hill Academy next year. He's currently playing in the u17 FIBA championships is Hamburg, Germany. His backup is #98 ranked 6'2 Jerome Seagears. He has offers from Florida and Cincinnati just to name 2.
Then the locals. 6'6 F Jonah Travis and 6'8 F Shelby Moats lead the way up front with Estan Tyler running the point. It would be very interesting to see PNR's physical style against Indiana Elite.
Super Pool D (St. Louis GameFace, Memphis Magic)
The Memphis Magic feature #18 ranked Adonis Thomas. He's with Quinn Cook at the FIBA championships and should just make the Tuesday night game. #150 Andre Hollins is a 6'2 G with Mississippi hot on his trail. He's a lockdown defender. Forwards Nino Johnson and Ryan Rhoomes are 2 more to watch. Not sure if #32 ranked 5'10 Chris Jones or #93 in 2012 6'1 Cameron Golden will join this group to fill the guard spots.
St. Louis GameFace features #33 BJ Young. He's a 6'4 G that has Indiana hot after him. He's really blown up this summer. Questions around whether he'll qualify or not, but if he does, expect his interest to skyrocket.
The other 27 17U Teams
27 other teams fill 9 3-team pools in the basic 17U bracket. Pool E features Heat Elite and the WI Starz. Fury Gold in a very balanced pool F with Old Gold (IL) and the 2nd Grassroots team. WOTN has a Belgium team in their Pool. Hard to know what to expect there. MN Wrath lead pool H with the top Select team. The top Grassroots team, Midwest Elite (Kansas City) and Team Eleate (CA) make up a very difficult pool I. I want to see if #44 ranked Demarques (Que) Johnson from 2012 plays for that Team Eleate group. Mean Streets Blue is the 2nd Mean Streets team but they may have a 7'2 guy in the middle. Heat (no) Sprang is also in that pool. Pool K has the Texas D1 Ambassadors with 2nd Comets and Select teams. 6'6 F Mark Nwakamma is coming off foot surgery. 6'6 W Jaleel Williams may make us think of Rodney Williams. 6'2 G Jake Kocher is a deadly shooter. Watch Levi Abercrombie for Select in this pool as well. Pool L has Team Game Point also from Texas. They were just in the same super pool as the Arkansas Wings in Tulsa. Derrick Fain and Charlie Alexander are 2 to watch. Fury Blue has them in their pool. The last pool has M33M also from Memphis with Team GetShook and All Iowa Attack. Looking for #106 6'4 G Bobby Parks Jr for M33M. He too has a UTEP offer.
My Pool Winners. Grassroots Canada, Indiana Elite, DC Assault, Memphis Magic to win the Super Pools. Heat Elite, Fury Gold, WOTN, Wrath, Mpls Gamblers (top Grassroots team), Mean Streets Blue, Texas D1 Ambassadors, Fury Blue, M33M to win the regular pools.
The Rest
In 16U, you have to take a look at the Atlanta Celtics. They won last year's Adidas Super 64, this year's Real Deal in the Rock, Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and just won the Adidas Invite last week. Disgustingly good. They feature 2 more Oak Hill Academy players. #30 Jordan Adams is a 6'2 guard. #68 Damien Wilson is a 6'6 forward. #60 ranked Shaq Goodwin is a 6'8 forward. And they appear to have just picked up #7 ranked Jarnell Stokes, a 6'7 PF from the Memphis Select. He played with them in Indianapolis last week. They be a force in the 17U division (which they wanted to play in). No easier pick than to pick them to win the 16U tourney.
Team Indiana 16s might have a say in that. They feature #13 ranked Hanner Perea. Peter Jurkin is a big center ranked #37 by ESPN. #21 ranked D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera also is with this group but he'll miss July due to injury.
Look for #87 ranked Anthony January, a 6'6 F, to play with California Pump N Run.
6'6 F Andrew Wiggins should be playing up with the Grassroots Canada 15s. He's one of the top 14s in the nation and played here at the Augsburg Tournament over the holidays.
I'm also happy to announce that I'll be doing some webcasting of the games in association with Webcast America. I'll have more details as they become available. But you can check out some of the previous work here.
Here's what to watch for. All player rankings are from the pre-July 2010 Rivals national rankings unless otherwise noted. We'll start in 17U with the 11 teams in the 4 Super Pools.
Super Pool A (Dallas Showtyme, Grassroots Canada, California Pump N Run)
Dallas Showtyme features one of the top players in Texas in 6'8 small forward Jarion Henry. He's ranked #83. #127 ranked 6'6 F Jalen Jones has an offer from UTEP.
Grassroots Canada is arguably the top program in Canada. They feature #11 ranked Myck Kabongo. He's a 6'2 PG from powerhouse Findley Prep. He'll attend Texas next year.
California Pump N Run (AKA Pump N Run Elite) is the top team in the Double Pump organization. 6'5 forward Amir Garrett is ranked #65 and has an Arizona offer. 6'5 2012 wing Jordan Tebbutt is out of Oregon and is ranked #41 in that class.
Super Pool B (Indiana Elite, Arkansas Wings, Utah Pump N Run)
Indiana Elite is absolutely stacked and my pick to win the tournament. Top player is #35 ranked Cody Zeller. The 6'10 forward blew up at the Adidas Invite last week and picked up a UNC offer this weekend which makes sense since he has a brother playing there. Speaking of brothers, #99 ranked Marshall Plumlee joined his brothers Mason and Myles by committing to Duke this weekend. Plumlee is a 6'11 Center. 5'10" Kevin "Yogi" Ferrill runs the point. He's the #22 ranked player in the 2012 class. #118 ranked Jeremiah Davis is a 6'3 SG who has Indiana hot on his trail. Why? Partly 6'6 Austin Etherington plays on this team too and he'll play at Indiana next year. Just for icing on the cake, we'll throw in 6'9 F Vinny Zollo who once committed to Kentucky before a coaching change. He has Notre Dame and Cincinnati after him.
The Arkansas Wings are a Nike program. They finished 6-8 and in 8th place in brutal Division D of the Nike EYBL. That means they missed out on qualifying for The Peach Jam (where Howard Pulley Blue is the #3 seed), Nike's premier event. We'll see if they come in to this tournament look for redemption. #19 ranked Ky Madden is a 6'4 G that leads the way. #97 Hunter Mickleson is a 6'10 center who has committed to Arkansas. 6'7 wing Aaron Ross is ranked #139 and he too has committed to the Razorbacks.
Utah Pump N Run is Utah's top program. They knocked off powerhouse Dream Vision at the end of April so don't sleep on this group. 6'5 Eli Robison was named the Utah 4A MVP. 6'1 Sam Orchard and 6'2 Mike Brown were named all state in their classes.
Super Pool C (Minnesota Pump N Run, Memphis Select, DC Assault)
Memphis Select feature 2 top 150 players. 6'3 Cedrick McAfee is ranked #56. 6'8 F Octavious Ellis is ranked #138.
DC Assault is one of the east coast's top programs. #23 ranked Quinn Cook is one of the nation's top point guards. He played in the 2008 Timberwolves Shootout with DeMatha. He'll attend Oak Hill Academy next year. He's currently playing in the u17 FIBA championships is Hamburg, Germany. His backup is #98 ranked 6'2 Jerome Seagears. He has offers from Florida and Cincinnati just to name 2.
Then the locals. 6'6 F Jonah Travis and 6'8 F Shelby Moats lead the way up front with Estan Tyler running the point. It would be very interesting to see PNR's physical style against Indiana Elite.
Super Pool D (St. Louis GameFace, Memphis Magic)
The Memphis Magic feature #18 ranked Adonis Thomas. He's with Quinn Cook at the FIBA championships and should just make the Tuesday night game. #150 Andre Hollins is a 6'2 G with Mississippi hot on his trail. He's a lockdown defender. Forwards Nino Johnson and Ryan Rhoomes are 2 more to watch. Not sure if #32 ranked 5'10 Chris Jones or #93 in 2012 6'1 Cameron Golden will join this group to fill the guard spots.
St. Louis GameFace features #33 BJ Young. He's a 6'4 G that has Indiana hot after him. He's really blown up this summer. Questions around whether he'll qualify or not, but if he does, expect his interest to skyrocket.
The other 27 17U Teams
27 other teams fill 9 3-team pools in the basic 17U bracket. Pool E features Heat Elite and the WI Starz. Fury Gold in a very balanced pool F with Old Gold (IL) and the 2nd Grassroots team. WOTN has a Belgium team in their Pool. Hard to know what to expect there. MN Wrath lead pool H with the top Select team. The top Grassroots team, Midwest Elite (Kansas City) and Team Eleate (CA) make up a very difficult pool I. I want to see if #44 ranked Demarques (Que) Johnson from 2012 plays for that Team Eleate group. Mean Streets Blue is the 2nd Mean Streets team but they may have a 7'2 guy in the middle. Heat (no) Sprang is also in that pool. Pool K has the Texas D1 Ambassadors with 2nd Comets and Select teams. 6'6 F Mark Nwakamma is coming off foot surgery. 6'6 W Jaleel Williams may make us think of Rodney Williams. 6'2 G Jake Kocher is a deadly shooter. Watch Levi Abercrombie for Select in this pool as well. Pool L has Team Game Point also from Texas. They were just in the same super pool as the Arkansas Wings in Tulsa. Derrick Fain and Charlie Alexander are 2 to watch. Fury Blue has them in their pool. The last pool has M33M also from Memphis with Team GetShook and All Iowa Attack. Looking for #106 6'4 G Bobby Parks Jr for M33M. He too has a UTEP offer.
My Pool Winners. Grassroots Canada, Indiana Elite, DC Assault, Memphis Magic to win the Super Pools. Heat Elite, Fury Gold, WOTN, Wrath, Mpls Gamblers (top Grassroots team), Mean Streets Blue, Texas D1 Ambassadors, Fury Blue, M33M to win the regular pools.
The Rest
In 16U, you have to take a look at the Atlanta Celtics. They won last year's Adidas Super 64, this year's Real Deal in the Rock, Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions and just won the Adidas Invite last week. Disgustingly good. They feature 2 more Oak Hill Academy players. #30 Jordan Adams is a 6'2 guard. #68 Damien Wilson is a 6'6 forward. #60 ranked Shaq Goodwin is a 6'8 forward. And they appear to have just picked up #7 ranked Jarnell Stokes, a 6'7 PF from the Memphis Select. He played with them in Indianapolis last week. They be a force in the 17U division (which they wanted to play in). No easier pick than to pick them to win the 16U tourney.
Team Indiana 16s might have a say in that. They feature #13 ranked Hanner Perea. Peter Jurkin is a big center ranked #37 by ESPN. #21 ranked D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera also is with this group but he'll miss July due to injury.
Look for #87 ranked Anthony January, a 6'6 F, to play with California Pump N Run.
6'6 F Andrew Wiggins should be playing up with the Grassroots Canada 15s. He's one of the top 14s in the nation and played here at the Augsburg Tournament over the holidays.
I'm also happy to announce that I'll be doing some webcasting of the games in association with Webcast America. I'll have more details as they become available. But you can check out some of the previous work here.
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