2006 Spring AAU Recap
The past few months have seen the spring AAU season come and go with plenty of happenings. Many players have made statements in one way or another, while many others have intrigued us or shown that there are still some questions about their potential as we head into the all-important month of July. We’ve seen major tournaments with many great games and some loaded with great players, along with a few that surprised us in one way or another.
So with all of that said, let’s take a look back at the spring as we prepare for July. (Note: player listings for each description are alphabetical.)
Who Had A Great Spring?
Chris Allen (6’3″ Sr. PG-SG, Norcross (GA) Meadowcreek HS)
Jeff Allen (6’7″ Sr. PF, Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy)
Brandon Jennings (6’1″ Jr. PG, Compton (CA) Oak Hill Academy)
Kevin Love (6’9″ Sr. PF, Lake Oswego (OR) High)
Chris Allen simply makes things happen when he’s on the floor, and Michigan State fans will be happy since he committed there. Virginia Tech commit Jeff Allen came out of nowhere to have a terrific spring, dominating games at times. Jennings grew a few inches and was outstanding all spring, and has legitimately made a case for being the top player in the class of 2008. Love has continued to get better, and most importantly, he wins: his team won two of the biggest tournaments in the spring, the Kingwood Classic and Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.
Bad Impressions
Rick Jackson (6’7″ Sr. PF, Philadelphia (PA) St. John Neumann HS)
O.J. Mayo (6’5″ Sr. PG-SG, Cincinnati (OH) North College Hill HS)
Lance Stephenson (6’5″ So. SG, Brooklyn (NY) Lincoln HS)
Brandon Walters (6’9″ Sr. PF, Brooklyn (NY) Lincoln HS)
Jackson, who has committed to Syracuse, looked good at times but was inconsistent. Mayo played out of control at times and his image has taken a hit over the past few months. Stephenson has scored points, but has to learn shot selection as he has forced a lot of bad shots. Teammate Walters has been a non-factor all too often, mainly because he doesn’t rebound enough to make up for games where he doesn’t score much.
Players Who Emerged
Rashad Bishop (6’6″ Sr. SF, Jersey City (NJ) St. Benedict’s)
Adrian Bowie (6’3″ Sr. PG-SG, Rockville (MD) Montrose Christian School)
Anthony Crater (6’1″ Jr. PG, Flint (MI) Southwestern Academy)
Blake Griffin (6’8″ Sr. PF, Oklahoma City (OK) Oklahoma Christian HS)
Jeff Jordan (6’2″ Sr. PG, Wilmette (IL) Loyola Academy)
Patrick Patterson (6’8″ Sr. PF, Huntington (WV) High)
The Playaz aren’t as talented as in years past, but Bishop has had his share of good games for them. Bowie played well at both guard spots for his AAU team and recently committed to Maryland. Crater has emerged as one of the better point guards in the class of 2008 and can really shoot the ball. Griffin had a big month of April and should be the centerpiece of Jeff Capel’s first recruiting class at Oklahoma. Jordan has come a good way since he was talked about as possibly the least-talented player ever to participate at the Nike All-American Camp last July; he’s a solid mid-major prospect now. Patterson has emerged as one of the better post players on the east coast in the class of 2007.
Youth Movement: Best We Saw from the Class of 2009
Kenny Boynton (6’1″ PG-SG, Pompano (FL) Blanche Ely HS)
Derrick Favors (6’9″ PF, Atlanta (GA) South Atlanta HS)
Karon Johnson (6’8″ SF, Lenoir (NC) Patterson School)
Alex Oriakhi (6’8″ PF, North Andover (MA) Brooks School)
Durand Scott (6’3″ SG, New York (NY) Rice HS)
It’s early yet for these players, but they all impressed us a good deal. Boynton can really score the ball from the perimeter. Favors played with both the 15-under and 17-under Atlanta Celtics teams at different times and showed plenty of potential with both. Johnson impressed with his size and abilities at the small forward spot. Oriakhi has a mature body for his size, good mobility inside and a world of potential. Scott is athletic, has some combo guard abilities and can rebound from the wing.
Best Team
Without question, it’s the loaded Southern California All-Stars. They won the Kingwood Classic and blitzed the field at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. High-major prospects dot the roster all the way around, with arguably the top players in both the class of 2007 (Kevin Love) and 2008 (Brandon Jennings).
Best Tournament
This one is a tough call between the Kingwood Classic and Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. Both had a number of great matchups and tremendous talent.
Best Game
A few could qualify for this one, and we’ve narrowed it down to two. One is the title game of the 17-under at Rumble in the Bronx, where H Squad beat the Playaz at the buzzer in a close game throughout. The other is the title game of the 17-under Select at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions, where Rising Stars of America knocked off Blessed IJN in sudden death after two overtime periods.
Worst Game
Easy call: the 17-under semifinal between the Illinois Wolves and the D-1 Greyhounds at the King James Shooting Stars Classic. The Wolves held the ball for the final 12 minutes of the first half, with the Greyhounds not forcing them to do something with by staying in a zone. The halftime score: Wolves 7, Greyhounds 6. The teams combined for less than 70 points when it was all said and done.
One-on-One Matchup We’d Like to See
Blake Griffin against Kevin Love. This would be a matchup of two players who have simply dominated the paint for much of the spring, both with strong bodies and good post moves. While many of the top power forwards in this class have some combo forward skills or are athletic enough to play on the wing, these two really get it done with strength inside first and foremost. Love is the better prospect because of his feel for the game and face-up skills, but the way these two can dominate the paint is what would make this a terrific matchup to witness.
Serious Issue
One issue that is never-ending and really has to be taken care of is with team rosters at tournaments. At many events where rosters are available, there are often numerous incorrect uniform numbers or players not even listed, and that makes everyone’s job ten times harder. Instead of being able to just rely on the numbers, score sheets must be checked for accuracy, and we need to get school and year information on players not listed and try to figure out their height. It also leads to confusion when numerous people gather around a scorer’s table right before or after a game – all unnecessary.
This is a problem that seems to only get worse. One colleague suggested a rather dramatic idea: any team that has more than a certain number of errors or missing players (the cutoff number would be small) would lose NCAA certification for the next recruiting period, meaning they could not participate in NCAA-sanctioned events. There’s almost no way this would ever come to pass, but if it did, you can be sure this problem would go away more quickly than Brandon Jennings can get to the basket.
Additional Spring Notes
- It’s well-known that legendary coach Bob Hurley, Sr. of St. Anthony’s High School in Jersey City, NJ will be retiring in two more years. Right now his team has so much young talent, he might want to re-think that. He’s coached loaded teams before, but in a couple of years they could be as good as they’ve ever been.
- Although it’s still relatively early, the class of 2008 appears to be a little like this year’s NBA Draft: short on clear superstar talent but very deep overall. Right now, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans look like the top two players in the class, with a pretty good gap between those two and everyone else. But there’s a lot more basketball to be played with these guys as of yet, meaning there’s plenty of time for others to emerge.
- Jeff Capel took the Oklahoma head coaching position at a good time. The top travel team in the state, Athletes First, has several young players who may one day be Big 12-level talents. 6’8″ power forward Kyle Hardrick, a rising sophomore, has already committed to the school.
- Based on what we saw in April at the Charlie Weber Easter Hoop Fest, it looks like there’s some good young talent in Toronto. There were four teams there from Toronto, and a few teams had some underclassmen worth keeping an eye on over the next couple of years.
