From NBE Basketball Report

The action in Orlando countinued strong on Thursday as they are now down to the final 32 teams for the 17-U AAU National championship and the championship game in the 16-U age group is set for Friday afternoon.

In the 16-U championship bracket, it will be BABC Sophs, led by the defensive prowess of Nerlens Noel taking on All-Ohio Red at 4 PM on the main court at the ESPN Wild World of Sports Complex. BABC got past Rising Stars Gold, 48-35, to earn their spot in the championship. With Noel acting as a goalie and blocking anything that comes near him, BABC has allowed just 36 points a game this week in Orlando. Georges Niang has also been outstanding and complimenting Noel inside, especially on the offensive end of the floor.

All-Ohio Red got past Arkansas Wings, 80-62, to advance to the championship game, which is a rematch of the 16-U AAU Super Showcase semifinal from earlier here in Orlando. That game was won by the boys from the Buckeye state, 47-42, but BABC will have Noel this time.

Alex Schwartz continues to gather updates from Orlando and details the performance of Omar Calhoun, Evan Nolte, Tavon Sledge, Kareem Canty and Tyquan Goard with detailed recruiting updates on Kadeem Jack, who is set to cut his list and one long-standing team is no longer in consideration, Chris Martin and Goard, all detailed below.

To read the rest of this article I contributed to for NBE Basketball Report, click Here. It is my player evaluations on Tavon Sledge '11, Kareem Canty '11, Omar Calhoun '12, Evan Nolte '12, and Tyquan Goard '11 as well as recruiting notes I got from Kadeem Jack '11, Goard, and Chris Martin '11.