Thursday may have been the best day yet at The Hoop Group Elite Camps. Some of the top teams in the eastern part of the United States showed why they deserve that title. All four of the Elite Eight games in the National Division began at 10:10am, with teams from five states still remaining: three from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland, one from New Jersey, one from New York, and one from Ohio. The two Maryland squads faced off, and Bishop McNamara came out victorious over Good Counsel, in a matchup of WCAC foes. Meanwhile, one the other side of the bracket, two Pennsylvania squads, Academy of the New Church and Neumann-Goretti met for the right to play in the semifinals. In the end, it was Neumann-Goretti that walked away as the winner in the contest. Boys & Girls (NY) and Middletown (OH) met to determine who would face the ANC/Neumann winner in the Final Four. The Boys & Girls squad continued its fantastic run, after previously knocking off North Catholic (PA) and Gonzaga (DC).  St. Patrick’s (NJ) and Roman Catholic (PA) were the teams in the other quarterfinals game, and it was a much anticipated game between two of the best teams on the whole East Coast. Although Roman did not have its star, Villanova-commit Maalik Wayns ‘09, St. Pat’s was without two of its best players, class of 2011 phenom Michael Gilchrist and North Carolina-commit Dexter Strickland ‘09. Despite the buildup, the game was not all that close, as the Celtics dominated from start to finish, making it so that each team in the Final Four was from a different state. Before I get to the semifinals, here is a list of the standout players that I saw on Thursday, as well as some school lists:

Anton Dickerson ‘09, Boys & Girls (NY)
Devante Cutler ‘`0, Boys & Girls (NY)
Mike Taylor ‘11, Boys & Girls (NY)
Tyreek Duran ‘10, Neuman-Goretti (PA)
Daniel Stewart ‘10, Neuman-Goretti (PA)
Andre Gillette ‘09, Neuman-Goretti (PA)
Markus Kennedy ‘10, St. Patrick’s (NJ)
Paris Bennett ‘09, St. Patrick’s (NJ)
Kyrie Irving ‘10, St. Patrick’s (NJ)
Lasan Kromah, ’09, Eleanor Roosevelt (MD)
Andre Marhold, ’09, North Mecklenburg (NC)
Kyle Galliard, ’09, North Mecklenburg (NC)
Duane Johnson, ’09, Penn Wood (PA)
Recardo Gaddy, ’09, Good Counsel (MD)
Rashad Whack, ’09, Bishop McNamara (MD)
Lawrence Smith, ’09, Bishop McNamara (MD)
Bill Edwards, ’09, Middletown (OH)
Egheosa Edomwonyi, ’09, Hun (NJ)
George Harper, ’10, Academy of the New Church (PA)
Jarrell Eddie, ’10, Cannon School (NC)
Steve Rennard, ’10, St. Joe’s Metuchen (NJ)
Kyle Stockmal, ’09, Watertown (MA)
Cory Stockmal, ’09, Watertown (MA)
Julio Rosario, ’09, Cardinal McCarrick (NJ)
Kyle Wehner, ’09, Manasquan (NJ)
Gary Lawrence, ’09, Chestnut Hill Academy (PA)
Ian Umpierre, ’09, Edison Academy (NJ)
David Laury, ’09, The Nia School (NJ)
Brian Neller, ’09, Christian Brothers Academy (NJ)
Bobby Harris, ’09, Eastern Regional (NJ)
Steve Suida, ’09, Malden (MA)
Josh Heyliger, ’12, Hill School (PA)
 

SCHOOL LISTS-

Derrick Gordon ‘11, St. Patrick’s (NJ): Florida, Maryland, Syracuse, Villanova, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Marquette, and West Virginia

                                  Favorite: Florida
                                   

Chase Plummer ‘10, St. Patrick’s (NJ): Miami, LaSalle, and St. Joseph’s

                                  Favorite: Miami

  

Tyreek Duran: Louisville, Georgetown, Virginia, Maryland, Providence, Robert Morris, Houston, and Miami

                         Favorite: Georgetown

                         Note- he said that Miami is “recruiting [him] the hardest.”

  

Anton Dickerson: Quinnipiac, Hofstra, Robert Morris, LIU, Duquesne, and George Washington

                              Favorite: Quinnipiac

Today was a great day for players to shine, as numerous NCAA head coaches were in attendance, including Billy Donovan of Florida, Dan Leibovitz of Hartford, Chuck Martin of Marist, Derek Kellogg of UMass, and Michael Rice of Robert Morris to name a few. In front of many of these coaches, St. Pat’s advanced to the title game by knocking off Bishop McNamara (MD). The other Final Four game was much more interesting as Boys & Girls seemed to have the game in hand, leading 54-39 at the half over Neumann-Goretti.  The boys from Philly would not go down without a fight and stormed back into the game. Just nine minutes into the half, Neumann-Goretti had taken the lead (72-71) and complete control of the game. The game went back and forth for a while, remaining close all along. Neumann was up 82-77 with 2:45 left and seemed to have all the momentum, but Boys & Girls would not go down, as Dickerson and Taylor brought the team back. With just 60 seconds left, the game was knotted up 86-86. At the fifty second mark, Mike Taylor fouled Lamin Fulton, and sent the N-G youngster to the line, where he hit one of two, giving his team an 87-86 lead. With 13 ticks left, Dickerson hit two shots at the line, the second of which would end up as the winning shot in the team’s 90-87 victory. All six guys played well for Neumann-Goretti, but it was Tyreek Duran who really stood out. The rising junior had a great game, but it didn’t match that of Anton Dickerson who poured in 35 points for Boys & Girls, and Mike Taylor added 21 in his own right. The win by Boys & Girls set the stage for an NY-NJ game for all the marbles.

In the battle for supremacy at the 2008 Hoop Group Elite Team Camp – National Bracket, the first half was almost as even as it gets, as St. Patrick’s went into the break at the half leading 35-33. In the first 16 minutes of play it was again Dickerson who was leading the way for Boys & Girls, as he was the only player on his team with 10+ points. For the Celtics, Paris Bennett had 12, Kyrie Irving had 11, and Markus Kennedy had 10. For the first ten minutes of the second half, it was all St. Patrick’s, as the team ran out to a 53-44 lead.  By the 5:45 mark, Kevin Boyle’s group had climbed out to a seemingly safe 61-46 lead. The Celtics, though, could not hang on. An 11-0 run in about two minutes by Boys & Girls cut the lead to four. Paris Bennett and Kyrie Irving teamed up to seal the deal, and the comeback bid by Boys & Girls was stopped short. The Celtics went on to win the crown, beating Boys & Girls by a score of 73-62. In the victory, Kyrie Irving scored 29 points, while Paris Bennett added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Markus Kennedy dropped in 13. For Boys & Girls, Mike Taylor was the leading scorer with 19 points (including some deep 3’s). Anton Dickerson had 18 along with Devante Cutler’s 11. The title at The Hoop Group Elite Camp gave the team its second championship of the summer, having won the Hoop Group Showcase just a few weeks ago. My MVP award winner for the camp would have to be 6′6 forward Paris Bennett of St. Patrick’s, a rising senior.
 

The American Division was dominated by two schools from New Jersey – The Nia School and Edison Academy.  Both schools defeated Massachusetts teams (Malden HS and Watertown HS) in the semifinals, setting up a great matchup in the championship.  Both teams played well in the highly contested battle which was back and forth for most of the game.  A basket at the buzzer forced overtime.  Edison Academy was a little stronger in the overtime and ended up with a 66-60 victory.  Both championship games were fantastic and were a great finish to two great days.
 

The 2008 Hoop Group Elite Team Camp was a wonderful event that drew hundreds (yes, you read the correctly) of college coaches from all levels over just two days. The Hoop Group is not even close to done, though, as it will have numerous events throughout July and August.