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Desert Duel Memorial Charity Basketball Tournament Outro

By: Jeff Meadows

www.hoopsreport.com's tournament awards.

Coach of the Tournament: Rafer Alston/New York Panthers

Although the New York Panthers posses a very talented squad, no one I mean no one picked them to win it all except themselves, so hats off to Coach Alston and the Panthers for the BIG win.

Tournament Best Defensive Player: Myles Mack 5’8 (PG) New Jersey Playaz/St. Anthony’s 2012

Throughout the tournament I watched Myles get steel after steel and frustrate opposing guards. In a Quarterfinals Wednesday afternoon game vs. the DC Assault (Gold), I watched Myles Mack strip the DC Assault offense 3 straight times (this was after he had gotten 4 steels prior).

Quote of the Day: “It feels very good to be back on top”. Gary Charles President of the New York Panthers

Desert Duel Memorial Charity Basketball Tournament Outro

The Desert Duel was an excellent tournament. It definitely did not have a feel of a normal tournament; it felt like it was a calibration, a national calibration of AAU/Travel basketball. There was no arguing amongst AAU coaches, no beefs between coaches and referees (great officiating led by NCAA officials Billy Kennedy & Marc Beasely); it just seemed that everyone was extremely pleased. It also felt very good to see one of the veteran's in the grassroots game (Gary Charles) win a “MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP” with what was probably his least talented championship team. “We’ve had such players as: Lamar Odem (LA Lakers), Jokim Noah (Chicago Bulls), Charlie Vilinuava (Milwaukee Bucks), Rafer Alston (Houston Rockets & Coach of the Panthers), Walley Zcerbiak (Timberwolves, Celtics & Cavilers), Steve Claxton (Warriors, Cavs, Spurs), Malik Allen (Nuggets), Danney Green (Cavs), Derrick Character (LA Lakers), Lance Stevenson (Round 2, Pick 10 in 2010 by Pacers) etc” said President of the New York Panthers Gary Charles “Our program is rooted and we want to make sure that we continue to mentor and develop successful young men on and off the court”.

Well, there you have it, I hope you enjoyed this festive event and article. Be sure to continue to log on to www.hoopsreport.com for upcoming "featue article": The Spring & Summer Recap (an overview of the spring & summer), and in September, www.hoopsreport.com will be posting our national top 100 rankings for the classes of: 2011, 2012 & 2013 so make sure you stay logged on.

This article is associated with the following player(s):
Mack, Myles

POSTED: 8-3-2010

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