|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
Powers dominate holiday action
Since there are scores of holiday tournaments around the nation, it's quite difficult to determine which are the very best. Among the post-Christmas events, our choices are Bobby Jacobs' Slam Dunk to the Beach at Cape Henlopen High in Lewes, Del.; John Rhodes and Dan D'Antoni's Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach, S.C., Convention Center; and Tim Stevens' Glaxo Wellcome Holiday Invitational at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. We personally attended two days each of the 20th anniversary Beach Ball Classic and 29th Glaxo Wellcome Holiday Invitational, while Prepstars.com colleague Michael Kruse was at the entire Slam Dunk to the Beach tourney. All three of these events had very strong fields, and each was won by an unbeaten (and there aren't many now) national power. Let's start with the Slam Dunk to the Beach, where supreme showman Jacobs assembled a sensational array of teams that were divided into the prestigious eight-team Slam Dunk to the Beach bracket, a strong eight-team National Power bracket, and three other not-so-powerful brackets. Note that the Delaware event featured eight teams currently ranked among USA Today's Top 25 teams in the nation, with seven of the eight playing in the Slam Dunk to the Beach bracket (!), which we'll focus upon below. As for individuals, eight of our national top 30 seniors, plus several elite junior, sophomore and even freshmen prospects, performed in Lewes. Willowridge takes Slam Dunk Unsurprisingly, the winner of the Slam Dunk to the Beach bracket for the second consecutive year was Sugar Land (Texas) Willowridge, now 19-0 and ranked No. 2 by USA Today. Its lineup includes 5-foot-11 1/2 point guard jet T.J. Ford (ranked No. 22 in the senior class), who signed in November with Texas; versatile and athletic 6-4 wing guard Daniel Ewing (No. 30), a Duke signee; 6-3 wing guard sharpshooter Kenny Taylor (No. 129), who inked with Baylor and was chosen tournament MVP; and unsigned 6-8 1/2 senior power forward/center Curtis Walker, unranked in our national top 200 but a potential high-Division I prospect. En route to the title, Willowridge first defeated Baltimore Southern (USA Today No. 14) 74-64 as 6-2 Southern star Melvin Scott (No. 26), a North Carolina recruit, was held to 10 points. Next fell Compton (Calif.) Dominguez (USA Today No. 11) by a 57-38 count. Dominguez's unsigned 7-1 superstar, Tyson Chandler (No. 6), was suffering from the flu and didn't play. Ewing also was ill, but he was able to contribute 13 points and five assists. In the final, Willowridge faced Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick (USA Today No. 8), which, led by unranked and underrated 6-7 Wichita State recruit Jamie Sowers, had stunned Midwest City (Okla.) High (USA Today No. 12) 69-63 in the semifinals despite missing 6-9 Villanova signee Marcus Austin (No. 131) due to illness and touted 6-10 sophomore center Grant Billmeier because of New Jersey transfer rules. The bubble burst for St. Patrick, as Willowridge emerged with a comfortable 61-43 triumph. The key individual matchup actually came in the first round, when Dominguez topped Montgomery (Ala.) St. Jude 61-50 as Chandler and unsigned 6-8 St. Jude super Ousmane Cisse (No. 3) from Mali played to a virtual standoff before Cisse fouled out on a very cheap call. NBA scouts and college coaches were in abundance to see Chandler amass 14 points (5-8 FG), eight rebounds and six blocked shots, while Cisse totaled 17 points (just 7-for-21 from the field), six boards and four rejects. Interestingly, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Louisville's Denny Crum, both recruiting Cisse hard, sat side-by-side during the game. Previously, Chandler and Cisse had gone head-to-head in early July at the Nike All-America Camp in Indianapolis, with Cisse coming out on top on that occasion. Ballard corrals Beach Ball Louisville Ballard entered the Beach Ball Classic, which offered a single 16-team field for the first time, unranked in USA Today's national Super 25 prior despite an unblemished mark. Now, however, the 13-0 Bruins are ranked No. 6, after wins in Myrtle Beach over Albany (Ga.) Westover 78-65 in the opening round, Horsham (Pa.) Hatboro-Horsham 66-45 in the quarterfinals, better-than-advertised Philadelphia Simon Gratz 54-52 in the semifinals, and national No. 17 Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 71-67 in the title contest. Ballard didn't have an easy draw by any means. Westover went on to beat both Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's (USA Today No. 25) and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Dillard, while well-coached (by Walt "Ozzie" Ostrowski ) Hatboro-Horsham stunned St. Raymond's 56-55 in the first round, and Simon Gratz bested Dillard and Houston Westbury Christian in the tournament. Mater Dei had to play all of the title game and most of the semifinals (a 58-56 overtime win over Glynn Academy from Brunswick, Ga.) without flu-stricken 6-11 center Jamal Sampson (No. 36), a California signee. With Sampson, the Monarchs whipped strong Cincinnati Western Hills 87-65 in the quarterfinals, but without him in the final, Mater Dei had no matchup for unsigned 6-9, 245-pound Ballard insider Brandon Bender (underrated at No. 60), who parlayed 24 points and 17 rebounds in the final into tournament MVP honors. Besides Bender (who says he's most interested in West Virginia, Louisville, Kentucky, Alabama and Connecticut), the Beach Ball Classic All-Tournament Team included sensational 6-1 Latta (S.C.) High junior point guard Raymond Felton (named Most Outstanding Player), who has North Carolina No. 1 on his collegiate list; 6-11 Glynn Academy super Kwame Brown (No. 7), who signed with Florida; 6-5 future UCLA combination guard Cedric Bozeman (No. 40) from Mater Dei; unsigned 6-1 Ballard wing guard Adam Chiles (top 250); 6-6 St. Raymond's wing guard Julius Hodge (No. 5), an N.C. State recruit who is capable of playing much better than he did in Myrtle Beach; unsigned 6-5 Westover small forward Greg Tinch (No. 51), an explosive leaper who is interested in Seton Hall, Colorado, Louisville (where he'll visit January 12), Florida State and Mississippi; 6-11 Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic center Jordan Collins (No. 90), another N.C. State signee; 6-8 Western Hills power forward Danny Horace (No. 125), a steal for Miami (Ohio); unsigned 6-4 Simon Gratz small forward Michael Cuffee (top 225); unsigned 6-8 Westbury Christian power forward Chris Rhodes (top 300); and 6-0 Socastee (S.C.) High point guard Nick D'Antoni (top 350), a William & Mary recruit who hit nine three-pointers and scored 36 points in a 30-point consolation loss to otherwise disappointing DeMatha. The Beach Ball Classic's Hustle Award went to unsigned 6-2 Mater Dei wing guard Ricky Porter (top 300), while the Sportsmanship Award was given to unsigned 6-6 Jamaica (N.Y.) Archbishop Molloy small forward John Sikiric (top 350), who apparently will go high in the Major League Baseball draft. We also were impressed by unsigned 6-4 Westbury Christian wing guard Stanley Asumnu (top 225), who is hearing from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Baylor and others; 6-7, 265-pound Archbishop Molloy insider Wendell Gibson (No. 175), a Hofstra signee; 6-6 Dillard combo forward Kelvin Brown (No. 148), who has committed to South Florida; 6-6 Hatboro-Horsham small forward Pat Carroll (top 300), a St. Joseph's recruit; 6-8 Westbury Christian sophomore forward Ndudi Ebi; and the Mt. Vernon (N.Y.) High duo of 6-2 wing guard Ben Gordon (too high at No. 44), who signed with Connecticut, and 5-11 junior wing guard shooter William Cherry. We must devote a few more lines to both Raymond Felton and Kwame Brown. Felton, unquestionably one of the very best junior guards in the nation if not the best, carried an otherwise challenged Latta team to shocking victories over famed DeMatha (78-73 in the first round) and Western Hills (69-67 on the final day) with 33 and 30 points, respectively, despite being constantly double-teamed. Even when Latta was ripped 61-40 by Glynn Academy, Felton tallied 26 points, but his teammates were 6-for-48 from the field! He also had 16 steals and 12 assists in his three Beach Ball Classic outings. Remember his name, because he's the real deal. Brown had two excellent showings and two other games in which he scored less than 10 points and grabbed fewer than 10 rebounds. NBA scouts are watching him closely because of his superb athleticism and ballhandling ability, but his inconsistent performances provide evidence that he needs a couple of collegiate seasons under his belt before seeking to play for pay. Oak Hill romps in Glaxo Wellcome At the Glaxo Wellcome Holiday Invitational, it was obvious from the start that nationally top-ranked (and now 16-0) Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy was the class of the field, especially since Rockville (Md.) Montrose Christian (USA Today No. 15) was placed in (by request?) the four-team U.S. Challenge bracket rather than the eight-team Holiday Invitational bracket that contained Oak Hill. Sure enough, Oak Hill's Warriors weren't seriously challenged in wins over Newport News (Va.) Warwick (70-50), Raleigh (N.C.) Leesville Road (79-68, but the halftime lead was 15), and previously unbeaten Virginia Beach (Va.) Salem (70-43 in the title game). Although big-time 6-8 Georgetown signee Harvey Thomas (No. 28) has left Montrose Christian and apparently is transferring to a school in Memphis, Montrose won the U.S. Challenge via victories over Chapel Hill (N.C.) East Chapel Hill (52-36 in the first round) and Wake Forest-Rolesville (N.C.) High (62-53 in the final). For loaded Oak Hill, 7-0, 300-pound Senegalese center DeSagana Diop, who is considering North Carolina, Virginia, Miami (Fla.) and the 2001 NBA draft, gained the MVP award by dominating Salem with 20 points, 15 rebounds and five (or more?) blocked shots. Talented Salem junior point guard John Gilchrist drove persistently and was nearly always frustrated. He wound up with six points (2-15 FG!), three assists and two turnovers, while unsigned 6-1 teammate Antonio Johnson (top 250), a wing guard scorer, connected on just 3-of-17 from the field. Johnson, who shot the lights out while racking up 32 points in the Sun Devils' 76-62 semifinal triumph over Durham (N.C.) Mount Zion Christian Academy, was selected Most Outstanding Player in the Holiday Invitational in spite of his miserable showing in the championship game. Also meriting mention for their fine play in the Holiday Invitational were Oak Hill's 6-2 point guard driver Billy Edelin (No. 59 and a Syracuse signee) and 6-6 1/2 , 300-pound junior low post Mario Boggan (who scored 31 points vs. Leesville Road); 6-5 Mount Zion junior point guard Jarrett Jack; 6-7 small forward Anthony Richardson (No. 16 and a Florida State signee) and 6-2 junior wing guard Shawan Robinson (despite 1-for-14 from the field in a 59-50 third-place-game loss to Mount Zion) of Leesville Road; 6-9 Virginia power forward/center recruit Elton Brown (No. 33) of Warwick; and 6-8 Charlotte (N.C.) West Charlotte junior power forward Curtis Withers. Brown had 22 points (9-28 FGs) and 11 rebounds against Oak Hill (and Diop) on the opening night. In the U.S. Challenge, the MVP award went to 6-7 1/2 Montrose Christian combo forward Levi Watkins (ranked too low at No. 64), who had 26 points and 11 rebounds in the finals vs. Wake Forest-Rolesville. Big 6-9, 300-pound junior center Eric Williams of the losers earned the Most Outstanding Player award by contributing 27 points and 11 rebounds against Montrose Christian and 23 and 12 in a 68-37 first-round trouncing of Duluth (Minn.) East. For Duluth East, heralded 6-11 Minnesota recruit Rick Rickert (No. 20) fouled out versus Rolesville with 14 points (5-19 FG), 12 rebounds and five blocked shots, but he came back with a vengeance the following day to torch East Chapel Hill with 33 points (15-23 FG), 10 rebounds and nine rejects in East's 58-52 overtime win.
Regional NotesOther notable performances in prep holiday events include those identified below. Two players are listed for each geographic region. EAST SOUTH MIDWEST SOUTHWEST WEST Brick Oettinger is talent evaluator for the Prep Stars Recruiter's Handbook and recruiting columnist for the ACC Area Sports Journal. For more information on either publication, call 1-800-447-7667.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
