So as you all know, I'm out & about recruiting on the AAU circuit now to tie up the loose ends from winter. Today, I stayed in the area to watch the Zero Gravity Thoroughbred Classic (or whatever it's called) in the Saratoga area. Main site was Skidmore, which is where I spent most of the time. What did I see? Not much new, but there was some good talent in spots. Very top-heavy - the best teams were way, way better than the bottom feeders. I paid most attention to 10th grade and varsity boys, with some varsity girls mixed in.
10th Boys
I only talked to one new person today, and it was in this age group. The City Rocks held off Bronx-based Castle Athletics in a chippy one in the finals. It was a team effort for the well-recognized squad, but Luke Hicks and Jalen Hawkins really made themselves stand out. Hicks certainly isn't rusty - he played varsity for state champs Shenendehowa this year, and their season lasted up through Friday in a close L to Wings. The 6'2" guard didn't see a whole bunch of run this year, playing behind the Huerter brothers and Petar Bebic, but he showed that the well isn't running dry in the land of the Plainsmen. He had a stretch where he scored 12 points (5/5 shooting) in 4 minutes during the later stages of the 2nd half. Hawkins also had his stretches of dominance in the backcourt. The lanky 6'1" guard representing Utica Proctor is the latest in a line of athletic Hawkins brothers, and at this age, he's the best. He's lightning quick and can get to the basket almost at will, but still plays under control and is willing to pull up for short or mid-range jumpers and floaters. He can hit from deep if it's given to him, and the athletic ability allows for him to be a tough on-ball defender. He had a couple impressive moments, coming from out of the play on transition D to pin a layup against the backboard on two separate occasions. Can't forget about Catskill standout Justyn Lacy, who also did a lot for the City Rocks despite catching a stray elbow to the face today, giving him a nasty fat lip. It's certainly a guard-heavy team, with Colonie's Josh Paszkowski and Berne-Knox-Westerlo representatives Zack Hilton & Justin Houck (a junior) contributing, among others I'm probably forgetting. The one true post player was Lansingburgh's Anthony Kempster, an athletic 6'6" big that works 15' and in. He didn't do a lot offensively, but did a good job rebounding, altering shots, and getting them second-chance opportunities. Before the finals, City Rocks had another close W in the semis, this one being over Mid-Hudson based Elite Hoops. Castle picked up their semifinal W over CNY Trailblazers, a team full of small schoolers. The program is based in the Oneida area, but they have Mohawk Valley reps from Little Falls (perhaps their best player, Todd Hubbell - physically strong point guard with great court vision) and Canajoharie, along with VVS, Canastota (Jake Purdy - 6'4"ish post player that is raw, but knows what he brings to the game and does well with it) and Madison. Really top-heavy - watched Castle jump up nearly 40 in the first half against a team - but it was good to watch in those top 4.
Boys Varsity
Another Albany area squad picked up a W over Castle to take home a title. This time, it was NYE Elite that secured the lead in the last few minutes and scored time after time against Castle's press late to hold them off. NYE features a lot of Green Tech kids, along with 2 of the 3 top players from this year's squad at Troy's Catholic Central HS. Arguably GT's top dog this year, senior Anquan McLean, did some things for NYE. Three guys on the squad that really flexed were Green Tech junior Dasier Lukes and a pair of CCHS senior guards, Raiquis Harris and Brian Brooks. Lukes, a 6'2" guard who loves to get to the rack, did so time after time in the finals, especially late against the press. He found holes in the defense and took advantage without forcing the issue, and he showed a great ability to finish in traffic. Harris does the same, and also can make the tough pass look easy and is as quick as they come. The 6'0" senior with a motor that doesn't stop signed his NLI to play ball at Division II Bloomfield College in the fall. His backcourt running mate, 6'1" Brooks, has a unique ability to excel in whatever style his team plays. He can kill people in the open court, but can do the same in a much more controlled, half-court pace. Brian's also a knockdown shooter and has a noticeably good attitude on the court. He's unsigned (coaches, hello!) but has been shown some real interest by Division II programs such as Dominican, Le Moyne, and Davis & Elkins. Post-grad prep may be an option for him - if you're a D2 program looking for a point guard, he's definitely worth a look. Castle won a close one over Not Even Famous in semifinals, a team full of Capital District seniors. The most noticeable presence on that team was Troy senior Zach Radz - a senior 2 guard with a pure stroke and the ability to put it on the floor & get to the basket. He's received Division I interest, but no offers yet - post-grad prep is certainly an option for him, and he's another one worth a look if you're a scholarship level school looking for a shooter. Cohoes explosive 6'2" senior Shelton Alston made his presence felt too, and showed he has a perimeter stroke to match the above-the-rim athleticism. Schuylerville 6'3" senior Dante Langley made things happen on the perimeter too, as well as Joey Shehadi, a widely talked about senior point guard from Burr & Burton Academy in southern VT. Word in the winter was that he was planning on attending Colby in the fall.
Varsity Girls
There were two separate divisions in this group, and they didn't play each other for the overall championship. Therefore, I only got to see one. Spartans Elite, a team with some of the top varsity players in the Albany area, put a queen-sized beatdown on Hudson River Titans, a team based in Mechanicville (I believe). It was so bad, the parents of Titans players wanted to take pictures with the Spartans Elite girls after. These were girls they had only watched before in sectional finals and events of the like. They boasted a scholarship-level lineup. Bethlehem junior Jenna Giacone is perhaps the most highly touted of them - the 6'0" point guard has major conference schools such as Boston College, Wake Forest, Miami, and plenty of others salivating. She's the real deal. Shenendehowa 6'0" sophomore wing Sydney Brown is every bit as impressive to me. She doesn't really have a flaw in her game - perimeter & post offense, perimeter & post defense, fundamentals, attitude, all top-notch. Also a Division I lock. Throw in Shaker 5'11" sophomore wing CeCe Mayo, who has all the physical tools and skill to be successful at the next level already. Many Division I schools are on her trail, such as VCU, St. Joseph's, and Fordham (to name a few). Add Catholic Central senior guard Madison Purcell (Le Moyne commit) and Bethlehem senior Gabby Giacone (yes, the Giacones are double trouble - Northeastern commit), and there's probably even a couple I'm forgetting. Yeah, that was a squad. Hudson River Titans, led by Mechanicville sophomore point guard Amanda Kenyon, didn't quit though. They at least gave a solid effort even when the game was 35 points out of reach. Caught the Spartans Elite team for a little while elsewhere, as they beat Castle Athletics soundly earlier in the day. Mayo, in particular, had herself a game in that one while I was there. At the same time, Niskayuna AAU girls team was beating JC Ballers pretty soundly. Niskayuna had a couple solid players - although it was mainly a Nisky team, a couple Guilderland girls jumped in along with Shaker junior Audrey Martino. Martino did some things in the first half, running the show and leading the way to a nice little cushion. JC Ballers was without their best player by far, Cohoes standout sophomore guard Nerea Brajac, who was sitting on the bench in street clothes, out with injury.
My opinion? It was an alright tournament. The brackets were very top-heavy, which led to a lot of blowouts. I'd rather see closer games, but it's something you run into everywhere with the watering down of AAU. The talent among those top teams was solid, though, as you can see above. Things ran much more smoothly than last year's ZG tournament in the Saratoga area, which I left midway through the day because I couldn't stand how half-assed it was. They got it together for this year. Officiating was alright. Typical AAU officials, and there was only one guy that I came across who really let things get out of control. If you replaced him with any other able-bodied human, I'd say the officiating wasn't half-bad. If I had a team, I'm not too sure if I'd send them to ZG tournaments, but I have a much more positive view of them while typing this now than I did at this time last year. That being considered, it was a success.
No comments:
Post a Comment