 | Always a crowd pleaser, Belmont Shore point guard Brandon Jennings has been the marquee player this week in Las Vegas. Chris Williams/Icon SMI |
By Ryan Canner-O'Mealy, Special to SI.com, RISE
LAS VEGAS -- It only took three plays in Brandon Jennings' final game on Wednesday night for him to prove why he's the nation's most exciting player to watch -- and also one of the best.
In the first half, the Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) point guard pulled off the dime of the tournament, feeding a trailing Renaldo Woolridge with a perfect one-handed, between-the-legs pass that Woolridge finished with a monster jam.
Later, Jennings did it himself. One play after drilling a long three-pointer, he got the ball on the break and skied through the air for a highlight-worthy one-handed jam. Plays like those helped Jennings' Belmont Shore squad advance to the final eight in the Reebok Summer Championships with an 86-72 win over Grassroots Elite AAU.
Jennings finished one rebound shy of a triple-double with 24 points, 10 assists and nine boards. And despite all his breathtaking offensive moves, for the showman Jennings, it was his pass to Woolridge that topped his list.
"I like the assist best because it was a little more flashy," he said. "I like to add a little flash to the game. The fans come to see a show, so I try to give them one."
The Arizona-bound playmaker certainly did. His performance had Wildcats coach Lute Olson smiling from the front row.
Upset survivors
Most of the big-name teams advanced to Thursday's championship round, but several, including the Atlanta Celtics Black at the adidas Super 64, barely survived upsets. The Celtics trailed Houston Select Black by three with less than 1:30 left but rallied behind super rising junior Derrick Favors of South Atlanta (Ga.). Favors made a three-point play following a putback to tie the game at 58 with 56 seconds left. He then watched as teammate Noel Johnson of Fayette County (Ga.) hit the game-winning basket with 26 seconds left as the Celtics escaped with a 62-58 win.
"That was tougher than we thought it would be," said Favors, who finished with 18 points. "But it woke us up and now we can try to win the championship."
Standing in the way of that is a potential rematch with Pump N Run Elite, led by Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.), Jerime Anderson of Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) and Travis and David Wear of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Pump N Run defeated the Celtics, 88-74, during pool play on Monday, and Favors & Co. are eager for revenge. "I want to beat them this time," he said. "I'm tired of losing to them." It's the matchup everyone wants to see, and if both teams win quarterfinal and semifinal matchups on Thursday, it will happen.
Triple threat comes up short
One team didn't avoid an upset was DC Triple Threat. Two days after winning the Create or Finish Cup, an opening round tourney featuring eight of the best teams at the Reebok event, the Triple Threat fell to the Smyrna Stars, 76-60.
Despite having a major edge in star power, thanks in large part to future Georgetown Hoyas Jason Clark and Chris Braswell, Triple Threat lost an early lead and never led after halftime.
The team seemed to come unglued after a few borderline calls went against it, the most extreme example of a week filled with constant complaining from players, coaches and fans.
The harassing of officials has been the most disturbing trend of the week, and there was no bigger culprit than Triple Threat and its coach. It's easy to see how a team can lose its composure with its leader showing such a lack of poise.
While Triple Threat was whining, the Stars were balling. Led by Justin Brownlee's 19 points and Markeith Cummings' 17, the Stars earned a surprise berth in the championship round.
Overall, four of the eight teams selected to play in the Create or Finish Cup advanced to the quarterfinals. They were Belmont Shore, Illinois Wolves Carpenter, King of the Court and Southeast Elite.
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