News » Event Reports

Circle City Classic

Richwoods(IL) vs. Franklin Central

Richwoods- 54
Bill Cole 6-9 Sr. PF (Illinois): 17pts (7-14fg), 2reb, 5ast
Justin Dehm 6-1 Sr. PG (Furman): 9pts, 4reb

Franklin Central-60
JaJuan Johnson 6-10 Sr. F-C (Purdue): 26pts (10-19fg, 6-6ft), 11reb
Casey Coons 5-10 So. PG: 10pts, 8ast

JaJuan Johnson had a monster game in leading his team to a 6 point victory over a good Richwoods team.  Johnson was the event’s top big man.  Bill Cole wasn’t a factor down low but did show off his perimeter skills by hitting a trio of 3-pointers.

Gary West Side vs. Warren Central

Gary West Side-56
DeShawn Clay 6-4 So. SG: 18pts (4 3-pointers), 7reb
Horace Bond 6-7 Sr. PF: 11pts (3-4fg), 6reb, 2blk

Warren Central-61
Walter Offutt 6-3 Sr. SG (Ohio St.): 18pts, 4reb

Warren Central’s Walter Offutt got his 18 points by attacking the basket.  He isn’t a shooter but is pretty effective at getting close and finishing.  He also penetrates and dishes well, but sometimes gets himself into trouble by driving too deep under the basket.  Will be a solid role-player at Ohio St.  Gary West’s sophomore DeShawn Clay is a solid mid-major (or better) guard prospect.  He is built well, has good athleticism, and a decent skill set as was evident by his 18 points and 4 trifectas.

Anderson vs. Lawrence North

Anderson-44
Kevin Perry 6-4 Sr. SF: 10pts, 8reb
Antwaun Boyd 6-3 Sr. SG: 13 pts, 5reb

Lawrence North-55
Damian Windham 6-5 Sr. SF: 19pts (9-13fg), 5reb
Stephen Van Trees 6-9 So. PF: 4pts, 10reb, 5blk

The big-name player in this game was Lawrence North’s sophomore Stephen Van Treese.  Van Treese only finished with 4 points, but Anderson did a great job of keeping the big man out of his game offensively and he didn’t get the touches to score more points.  It was still evident that he has a lot of skill and we don’t expect he’ll have many 4 point efforts in his career.  He did a great job on the boards and had some very impressive blocks.  Van Treese is a legit top-25 caliber player in the 2009 class and he has the potential to be one of the elite players when it’s all said and done.  The best player in this game though, was Van Treese’s big-body teammate Damian Windham.  Windham made few mistakes and showed the ability to handle the ball, hit jumpers, and get to the hole and score.  Anderson’s top player was Antwaun Boyd, who has a very strong frame and used it to penetrate Lawrence North’s defense.  Boyd also hit some nice outside shots and was a factor on the boards.

Lincoln Park(Chicago,IL) vs. Arlington

Lincoln Park-43
Michael Thompson 5-10 Sr. PG(Northwestern): 15pts, 4stl
John Montgomery 6-4 Sr. SF: 13pts, 5reb

Arlington-42
John Freeman 6-4 Sr. G-F: 13pts, 4ast, 4blk

This was one of the more fun games to watch at the event because the teams were evenly matched.  With Lincoln Park down 2 points with 3 seconds left, John Montgomery hit a big 3-pointer to give his team the 1 point victory.  Jeffrey Jordan’s (MJ’s kid) AAU teammate Michael Thompson was the top player in the game and should be a good pickup for Northwestern.

East Chicago Central vs. Pike

East Chicago Central-49
Kawaan Short 6-4 Jr. C: 9pts. 14reb.
E'Twaun Moore 6-3 Sr. G (Purdue): 6pts (2-3 3-pointers)

Pike-67
Cordell Passley 6-1 Jr. PG (Tennessee): 9pts, 7reb, 5ast
Kyle Riley 6-1 Sr. G: 14pts

This was one of the games that we looked forward to the most as it matched a top-20 sr. guard (Moore) against a top-20 jr. guard(Passley).  Unfortunately that matchup never materialized as E’Twaun Moore was fighting an injury and only played 12 minutes, and Passley didn’t start the game for Pike.  E’Twuan looked good in his limited action and hit a couple of deep threes, while Passley had only a decent game by his standards but did make some impressive passes.  Another player worth mentioning was Pike’s Kyle Riley who had a solid game including some crowd-pleasing dunks.

Dayton Dunbar vs. North Central High

We had to catch a late flight from Indy, but we did manage to catch the first half of this game.  It seemed Dayton Dunbar had a game plan for defending Eric Gordon and it seemed to work in the first half as they rotated numerous players on him and fouled him anytime he looked for his shot.  Gordon was held to only 12 points in the first half and nearly all of them came on free throws.  We got word later that Gordon exploded for 22 points in the second half and led his team to the 70-65 victory.  Indiana fans that haven’t seen him play yet should know that the hype that follows him is legit and he has the potential to be the best player in the history of their program.  He’s that good.