by Alex Schwartz

Saturday was a great day at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, Florida. The U17 pool play wrapped up, the U16 championships were played, and the U17 playoffs got underway. That meant that just the best of the best was left playing once the later afternoon rolled around. The story of the day was not about who won championships, or which coaches were watching which players, though of course that was discussed too. Rather, the talk of the day was the NJ Celtics, basically a grouping of players from St. Patrick's (NJ). See below for more info, but first check out the school lists that I collected that day.

Doron Lamb ’10, Oak Hill Academy (VA), NY Gauchos: Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Arizona, Clemson, Marquette, St. John’s, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, and Florida
                                  Offers: All
                                  Favorites: None
                                  Notes- Lamb stated, “I’m going to visit Kansas and Oklahoma. I’m going to visit those schools definitely. I’m going to sit down with my parents and narrow [my list] down during the school year.” Doron informed me that he plans to commit “during the school season.” Regarding school, I asked Lamb what his first year at Oak Hill was like, and he responded, “It was great. Basketball was great. [We have a] god coach [and] good program. . . . We are the best school in the country. We’re going to win the national championship next year, definitely. With the players [Dayton-commit PG Juwan Staten ’10 and SF Roscoe Smith ’10] we have coming in, definitely.” The other thing I asked Lamb was how he explained the fact that the Gauchos were able to beat All-Ohio Red twice this year. “We just play defense. If you talk on defense, you can beat anyone. . . . We don’t worry about scoring. If you play defense, you can beat anybody.”

Jerian Grant ’10, DeMatha (MD), DC Team Takeover: Providence, Notre Dame, Marquette, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Villanova, and Georgetown
                                 Offers: Providence, Notre Dame, Marquette, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State
                                 Favorites: None

David Nyarsuk ’10, Patterson School (NC), Charlotte Royals: Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana, New Mexico, Cincinnati, and Kentucky
                                     Offers: None
                                     Favorites: None

Chase Plummer ’10, St. Patrick’s (NJ), NJ Celtics: Boston University, Marist, Canisius, UMBC, Robert Morris, Drexel, La Salle, Siena, and George Mason
                                       Offers: Boston University, Marist, Canisius, UMBC, and Robert Morris
                                       Favorites: None
                                       Note- Plummer remarked, “I’m planning on making a decision before the season.”

Marcus Blake ’10, American Heritage (FL), Team Breakdown: Stetson, Auburn, Northeastern, Columbia, and Western Carolina
                                 Offers: Stetson
                                 Favorite: Auburn

Matt Miller ’10, Mount St. Joseph (MD), Baltimore Stars: Holy Cross, Bucknell, Quinnipiac, Navy, UMBC, Radford, UNC-Wilmington, Delaware, and Seton Hill (DII)
                                Offers: Seton Hill
                                Favorites: UMBC, Radford, and UNC-Wilmington
                                Note- Since Seton Hill is the only offer Miller—who has a 3.1 GPA—has, but is also the only DII school on his list, I inquired if he was really considering it, and he answered, “A little bit, yeah.”

Greg Williams ’10, Princeton (OH), Cincinnati Royals: Toledo, Miami (OH), Xavier, and Ohio
                                     Offers: None
                                     Favorites: “I was going to make a list after the summer.”
                                     Note- Williams noted that there are a few more schools recruiting him that he could not think of.

Jordan Downing ’10, Hopewell (NC), Charlotte Royals: Winthrop, Wright State, Davidson, Virginia Commonwealth, Liberty, UNC-Greensboro, and Wichita State
                                         Offers: Winthrop, Wright State, Davidson, Liberty, and UNC-Greensboro
                                         Favorites: “Right now I would say my top three is Winthrop, Wright State, and Davidson.”

Jordan Russell ’10, Lebanon (OH), Cincinnati Royals: None
                                      Offers: n/a
                                      Favorites: n/a
                                      Notes- Regarding his dream school, Russell stated, “I’d like to go to North Carolina, but that’s solely for academics.” Jordan, who has a 4.1 GPA and scored a 30 on the ACT, said, “I’d like to [play in college],” and told me he would “possibly” consider the Ivy League.

Tim Steele ’10, Colerain (OH), Cincinnati Royals: Cincinnati State (JuCo)
                             Offers: Cincinnati State
                             Favorites: n/a
                             Note- Steele stated that he would “probably” be interested in attending Cincinnati State.

Brad Beal ’11, Chaminade (MO), St. Louis Eagles: Kansas, Illinois, Florida, Purdue, Duke, Missouri, Minnesota, Wake Forest, and Arizona
                          Offers: Kansas, Illinois, Florida, Purdue, Missouri, Minnesota, and Wake Forest
                            Favorites: None
                            Notes- Beal told Mark Watson of Blue Devil Nation that he plans to attend camps at Florida, Purdue, and Illinois. Beal was the captain of the USA Development Team that went to Argentina and won the gold medal, and I asked him what that was like. “As one of the leaders, I was real excited because [the] coach depended on me  . . . to help the team win the gold medal, so I did what I had to for us to win games.”

Marquis Rankin ’11, Vance (NC), Team United: Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisiana Tech, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Duke, Ohio State, Alabama, Syracuse, Marquette, and Oklahoma
                                        Offers: Wake Forest, Clemson, Louisiana Tech, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and Ole Miss
                                         Favorites: None
                                         Note- Rankin—who said of what it was like to have three UNC coaches at his game, “I just come out play”—is not sure when he will commit or if he will stay in-state.

Kentavious Caldwell ’11, Greenville (GA), Georgia Blazers: Florida State, Clemson, Oklahoma State, Florida, Georgia Tech, and Georgia
                                                  Offers: None
                                                  Favorites: Florida State, Florida, and Clemson
                                                  Note- Since the two Peach State schools on the list were the final ones he list, I asked Caldwell if he wants to go out-of-state, and he replied, “It doesn’t matter.”

Damarcus Harrison ’11, Christ School (NC), South Carolina Ravens: BYU, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, and College of Charleston
                                              Offers: BYU and College of Charleston
                                              Favorites: None
                                              Notes- Harrison, who is transferring to Christ School from Greenwood (SC) and reclassifying to 2011, noted that there were other schools on his list that he could not think of, and told me he was “not really” considering C of C. Damarcus said the following on why he is reclassifying:  “The other high school I went to wasn’t really getting me seen and I didn’t play that many games. It’s going to help me get my SAT scores up, and I get more exposure at this prep school.” In addition, Harrison informed me that C of C is "not really" a school he is considering.

Justin Miller ’11, Rock Bridge (MO), St. Louis Eagles: Missouri State, Creighton, Wichita State, Virginia, Missouri, SMU, UMKC, and Central Michigan
                                 Offers: None
                                 Favorites: None
                                 Note- Miller stated that there were some other schools recruiting him that he was unable to think of.

Isiah Hill ’11, Howe Academy (IN), Spiece Indy Fastbreak: Purdue, Cincinnati, IUPUI, IPFW, Dayton, Ohio State, and Detroit
                          Offers: None
                          Favorites: Detroit, Dayton, and IUPUI

Jacksonville Lee Bulls Big-Time Duo
Marquette-bound guard Aaron Bowen ’10 is a key component of this Florida-based team, but the duo of Florida-commit Patric Young ’10 and Stacey Poole ’10, is unbelievable. Poole and Young easily form one of the best wing/post tandems in the nation. The Jax Lee Bulls, behind the play of those two, demolished the South Carolina Ravens in U17 Gold Play (interestingly, the SC Ravens beat the Albany City Rocks by 34 and Jax Lee beat them by just 3, while both lost to DC Team Takeover, yet the City Rocks beat them).
Stacey Poole, the son of the former Florida Gator and NBA player by the same name, is big-time prospect. Poole was actually second in scoring at the NBAPA Top 100 Camp, which is where hi s stock exploded. Poole, a 6’5 wing, is athletic, pretty quick, gets to the cup, and scores the ball. Although he did not really shoot the rock during this game, it is clear that Poole’s offensive repertoire is very impressive. Let’s not forget about the defensive side of things though, as Stacey is a quality defender. He had steals leading to fastbreaks on a number of occasions. It was then that he also displayed his ability to dish the ball to teammates. I did not put Poole in Northstar Basketball’s Class of 2010 Terrific 35, or even in the list of those that just missed (three players were on it). Rather, he was under Others Considered, but believe me, when I post my updated rankings, that will not be the case, as he is a top 35 player.
As for Patric Young, he was indeed in my Terrific 35, coming in at number 15, and although that may be a few spots too high, the 6’8 power forward, is going to be a very good college player. Built similarly to Dwight Howard—that’s what his peers at NBAPA Top 100 Camp actually dubbed him—Young is more than just a physical specimen. Patric blocks shots on the defense end, and also does a good job of rebounding the basketball. Offensively, he certainly knows how to use his size, strength, and athleticism to his advantage, as he can put the ball in the cup as well. While Young may be a bit undersized—he really is more of a center—he is doing quite fine as of now, and is a great get for Billy Donovan and Co. in Gainesville.

Team STAT vs. Spiece Indy Fastbreak U16 Silver Championship
This was the home-state team's game from start to finish, as Team STAT dropped Spiece Indy Fastbreak to win the Silver Bracket championship at the U16 age level. Although the team from the Hoosier State fought back to make it much more of a game, the Floridians came away as the victors. Despite that, there were actually more players on Spiece who stood out to me in the affair.
First and foremost, Ryan Taylor '11 of Lawrence North (IN) put on a show, despite playing with an ankle injury. The skilled, athletic forward scored with ease and carried his team throughout the game. Taylor, who has already committed to Louisville, is a big-time prospect with a bright future, as he can still develop even more. PJ Boutte '11 is an undersized point guard, but is a fine talent. A smart floor leader who can distribute the rock, Boutte is most certainly deserving of DI looks despite his size. He has a nice overall offensive game and is pretty quick. Isiah Hill '11, is a mammoth of a man, and he's only going into his junior year of high school. At 7'0, 290 pounds, Hill is plain gigantic. He did not play much, but when he did, he was solid. Hill does need to shed some weight and also change his physique, but as they say, you can't teach height. Once Isiah gets in the weight room and works on his game more, he could become a very fine player, and actually has a shot to be a high-major player due his size.
For Team STAT (aka Each 1 Teach 1), it was a pair of quality 2011 prospects that led the team to the crown. Cameron Brown is a talented player at 6'5.5, and he can put the ball in the hoop. One of the tallest players on his team, Brown is a nice-looking forward who has some potential. Corbin Jackson, at 6'3, has solid size for a guard, and is another player who can score the basketball.

Team United vs. Cincinnati Royals U17
While watching the Team STAT/Spiece game, I received a text message informing me that three North Carolina coaches were on hand watching Team United play the Cincinnati Royals in the other gym. I looked into it a bit—neither team had a roster in the book—and found that it was 6’1 point guard Marquis Rankin ’11 who the defending national champions were watching. I made my way over to the court about midway through the first quarter to watch the game, which also featured Virginia Tech-pledge Jarell Eddie ’10, a teammate of Rankin with Team United.
Although Team United was clearly the favorite in the U17 Bronze first round game, the team from Ohio was not only in the game from start to finish, but led much of the way. It was a grouping of five Royals that propelled the team throughout. Greg Williams ’10 and Tim Steele ’10 were the main men for the underdogs, who could really shoot the ball from beyond the arc. Jordan Russell ’10 did not really score the ball, but he helped the team and has the look of a nice prospect, as does Tyler Knabb ’10. Jordan Murphy ’10 was another player who was filling it up in the team’s upset bid. Despite having maybe just one of two Division I players, the Royals hung in the game throughout, before eventually falling to Team United.
Speaking of the victors, on this day, it was not Rankin who was the standout. Rather, it was Akil Mitchell ’10. The wing can shoot the rock, but he can also get to the cup, and frankly, can flat-out score the ball. A layperson watching this game with no knowledge of the players, would have assumed it was Mitchell that UNC was watching. Akil is not a big-time ACC player, but he is definitely deserving of mid-major to mid-major plus looks. Jacoby Davis ’10 was another lesser known player from Team United who looked very good and was a main part of the team’s win. As for the big-name, Rankin, who was solid, but unspectacular, though he had some flashes here and there. The 2011 guard missed part of the game due to cramps, but told me afterwords that he was doing better. He has an outstanding frame for a player his age and size, and is a quality athlete too. Jarell Eddie did not disappoint, as he and Mitchell led the team to victory. A big, strong wing with stellar athletic ability, Eddie can score the ball and is a nice pickup for the Hokies.
Although it was Rankin that I—and Roy Williams, along with two assistants—came to see, a handful of other players had nice showings as well, which is why these tournaments are so great.

NJ Celtics vs. Team Final U17
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this was truly one of the greatest basketball games that I have ever seen in person. The affair had everything you can want in a game: star power, an upset, a buzzer beater, overtime, amazing performances, and a big-time crowd of coaches and spectators. I personally saw coaches from the following schools on hand: LSU (Trent Johnson), Princeton (Sydney Johnson), UNC- Wilmington, Virginia (Tony Bennett), Virginia Tech (Seth Greenberg), George Washington, Providence, Elon, St. Peter's, Pitt (Jamie Dixon), UMass (Derek Kellogg), Florida International, Wagner, Temple (Fran Dunphy), Kentucky (John Calipari), Kansas (Bill Self), Villanova (Jay Wright), UPenn (Glen Miller), UConn (Jim Calhoun), Syracuse, Seton Hall (Bobby Gonzalez), Marquette, Texas, La Salle (John Giannini), Georgia Tech (Paul Hewitt), Robert Morris, Oklahoma (Jeff Capel), Duke, Indiana, North Carolina (Roy Williams), Rutgers (Fred Hill), Seton Hall, Texas A&M (Mark Turgeon) and Notre Dame (Mike Brey), along with many that I probably missed. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of fans, coaches, scouts, etc. watching this game, whether at courtside, from the balcony, or in the stands. The atmosphere was really amazing.
The NJ Celtics were basically a team of players from St. Patrick's (NJ), but without two key players: Michael Gilchrist '11 and Western Kentucky-pledge Derrick Gordon '11, the team's best and third best players. The squad did have one player from another school on the roster in UPenn-bound Steve Rennard '10 of St. Joseph's Metuchen (NJ). The main players on hand for the Celtics were Kyrie Irving '10, Chase Plummer '10, Kevin Boyle, Jr. '10, Josh Daniell '10, Jarrel Lane '11, Chris Gibson '10, Rich Dobin '10, and Rennard. Team Final featured Trevor Cooney '11, George Harper '10, Syracuse-commit Dion Waiters '10, Tyreek Duren '10, and Rakeem Christmas '11. Oh, and the best player on St. Pat's—arguably the best player in America too—Michael Gilchrist. That's right, St. Pat's was not only without its best player (there are certainly some that would say Irving is the Celtics' best), but was actually playing against him. Team Final was missing St. Joseph's-commit Daryus Quarles '10 and former St. Pat's player Markus Kennedy '10, a future Villanova Wildcat, had parted ways with the team for good before the tournament. Team Final clearly had the upper hand, even though Duren missed the latter parts of the game with what looked to be a foot injury.
Now, getting down to the actual basketball game. The Celtics managed to keep it close for about two and a half quarters, but then the Philly-based AAU team broke away and took a 42-31 lead with 3:15 to play in the third period of action. It looked as though the Celtics—who had miraculously beaten All-Ohio Red earlier in the day to advance out of pool play—had run out of gas, but that was not the case. Kevin Boyle, Jr. hit three threes in a two minute span to cut the lead to four, 43-39. Soon after, the coach's son nailed a fourth three, the second of which was from NBA range, making him four for his last six. The Celtics had 12 straight point off Boyle treys and trailed 47-42. At the end of the quarter, Kyrie Irving scored a bucket and it was 47-45 entering the fourth quarter, as the Garden State team closed the quarter on a 14-6 run. The first five points of the final quarter also went to the Celtics, making it a 19-6 run, and putting the score at 50-47.
With just under 4:20 to go, there was a major play in this game. Boyle threw a 25-foot lob to the 6'2 Irving, who got above the rim and slammed it up to put the Celtics ahead by seven points, 58-51. Team Final took a timeout, and the Celtics went crazy. The game was slipping away from Gilchrist and Co. Trevor Cooney, who had one of the best games I've ever seen from him, banged in a tough three-ball soon after to show that Team Final was still in it. From there on, Team Final crept back into the game, until it was tied at 64 with 100 seconds to go. The teams then exchanged buckets and free throws a bit, and Team Final came away ahead by one, 68-67, with 37.6 to go. The Celtics had the ball, but could not get a shot in the lane. Chase Plummer took an ill-advised three that was off the mark, and Dion Waiters was fouled with 7.6 to go. He connected on both ends of the one-and-one, and the Celtics were down 70-67 with under eight seconds and the ball on their own baseline. Kevin Boyle, Jr. then dribbled the ball up the court, stopped just inside the halfcourt circle, and pulled up for a three that was more than NBA range. Swoosh. The 5'10 point guard, who had the best game I've ever seen out of him, nailed a trifecta to send the game into OT even at 70.
In overtime, the teams went back-and-forth, with Boyle connecting on a trey to give the Celtics a 76-75 lead with 2:00 to go. Trevor Cooney then hit a long two and Team Final regained the lead. The NJ team had an 80-77 lead when George Harper was called for an intentional foul with 37.6 to play. Kyrie Irving calmly hit two free throws and the Celtics had a five-point lead, as well as possession. It was 84-77 with 35.7 to play. Harper, who actually had a very good second half, scored after grabbing one of his many offensive boards and the deficit was back down to five with 25.7 to play, but Team Final had no timeouts. Michael Gilchrist hit a three soon after to make it 85-82, and it was a one-possession ballgame. Irving was sent to the line with 13.6 and he made both shots. Team Final scored before the buzzer sounded, but it was not enough. In their second shocking upset of the day, the NJ Celtics defeated Team Final 87-84 to advance to the second round of U17 Gold Bracket play.
Kyrie Irving put on a performance that left people raving, as he dropped in 37 points, and went an unheard of 20/20 at the free throw line. Kevin Boyle, Jr. had folks talking as well, as he scored 26 points, connecting on six threes. All but two of Boyle's points came in the second half or overtime. Trevor Cooney paced Team Final with 21 points.
Yes, there is a book called The Miracle of St. Anthony, which is about the Celtics' archrival, but on this day, the story was about the miracle of St. Patrick's.

All-Ohio Red U17 Falls . . . Twice
When I spoke to JD Weatherspoon '10 on Friday, I discussed with him all the losses that All-Ohio Red's 2010 team has had in the past three years. It's  not like it took that long to talk about, as the boys from the Buckeye State had lost just eight times entering the AAU Super showcase. In 2007, the squad lost two games, to teams Weatherspoon could not remember. In 08, the team lost just one game, on a buzzer beater in the championship of the Pitt Jam Fest to DC Assault. This year the team had struggled a bit by its own standards, as not having Ohio State-bound Jordan Sibert '10 since the championship of the Boo Williams Invitational has clearly hurt them. JD said the team had lost five games in 09, two to the NY Gauchos (which Doron Lamb discussed above), one to the Shining Stars, one to Joe Jackson's team from Memphis, and another to a squad from Florida. That means that over the past three AAU seasons All-Ohio Red had suffered just eight losses, and from my understanding, the team had never lost twice at one tournament or twice in one day. Well, on Saturday, July 26th, that changed, as All-Ohio fell in pool play to the NJ Celtics, beginning the Garden State team's magical day, and later fell in the first round of bracket play to Rising Stars Gold. Jared Sullinger '10, Aaron Craft '10, Adreian Payne '10, Juwan Staten '10, and Co. had lost 1/4 as many games in eight hours as it had in the past three years combined. To say that the first upset was a shocker is an understatement, and to say that two in a row was unthinkable might not even be enough, but nonetheless, that's what happened.

Note- photos, from top to bottom, are of Stacey Poole, Marquis Rankin, and Kyrie Irving; all are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/