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Memorial Day Classic Recap

Nashville, TN- The Georgia Blazers knocked off a tough New York Gauchos squad to take the championship of the 17U division at the Nike Memorial Day Classic.

5’9 Andre Young scored 15 points to lead the Georgia Blazers to a 63-61 win over the New York Gauchos in the championship game.  The Blazers trailed for most of the game, before a technical foul was charged to the Gauchos in the final minutes that gave the Blazers the lead for good. 

6’0 Jordan Theodore scored 16 points for the Gauchos, while Kemba Walker was held to just 11.

The Georgia Blazers needed a last second shot by Andre Young to get past Mean Streets in the first round of the Final 16, before beating Team Final and Seattle FOH to advance to the championship.

The New York Gauchos survived a shootout with their rival, the Metro Hawks, in the first round, before beating Boo Williams and Athletes First to make it to the title game.

Noteworthy Players

6’6 wing Scott Suggs of the St. Louis Eagles impressed with his ball handling, midrange and outside shooting and overall smooth play.  The tall guard prospect is receiving a lot of high major attention, including offers from Florida, Clemson, Mizzou, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Washington, and St. Louis.  We like the fact that he can shoot it off-the-catch and create baskets off-the-dribble, and he has the size to see over defenders and the length to get his shot off.  Look for him to crack the top-100 in the 2008 rankings.

6’11 big man John Brandenburg, also of the St. Louis Eagles, is looking like one of the best centers in the country.  He’s got a good body, runs the court well, blocks shots, knows his position, and is becoming a scoring threat.  Expect him to make a move up the rankings (he currently sits at 65).

6’5 shooting guard Sean Mosley (Team Melo) is a player that we like more every time we see him play.  He’s one of the most well-built guards in the country and although he’s not super quick, he is a good athlete and has good hops (as was evident by a couple of crowd pleasing dunks).  Mosley lets the game come to him and he rarely makes mistakes.  His shot is money from any range and he has developed a deadly rainbow fade-away jumper that he can hit nothing-but-net or off-the-glass.   He has top-25 potential.

6’0 Rotnei Clarke of Team Texas was one of the best players in the tournament.  In fact, he’s been one of the best players of every tournament that he’s played in recently and he’s beginning to hush all his critics.  The knock on Clarke has been that he’s too short and not athletic enough to play the two in college, and he’s a score-first guard instead of a point.  After watching him this week, we’re convinced that high majors that recruit him at the point can’t go wrong because he has all the tools to be a big-time player at the next level.  He’s known for his shooting, but Clarke might be the most underrated ball handler in the country.  He can handle with both hands and he’s deceptively quick, and considering he will keep defenses honest  because he’s a lights-out 3-point shooter, we see this guy creating points for teammates as well as himself at a big conference school next season.  Forget the stereotypes, this kid is a top-50 player… easy. 

Clarke’s backcourt sidekick Willie Warren (6’3 combo guard) was equally impressive in this event as he helped the undersized and undermanned Team Texas squad to the elite 8.  Warren was huge in the sweet 16 when he scored 29 points (23 after the break) to help his team beat the South Carolina Ravens, and then he posterized top-10 rising junior Xavier Henry on his way to 31 points in Team Texas’ elite 8 loss to Athletes First.  Warren is a super athlete that handles the ball and scores on every level.  He’s a borderline top-10 guy that we’ll keep a close eye on this summer.

Murphy Holloway of the South Carolina Ravens had a couple of monster games at the event, including a 26 point/15rebound effort on Saturday and a 19 and 11 game on Sunday.  The 6’7 combo forward is as strong and athletic as any player in his class.  While he gets most of his points close to the hoop, we did see him put the ball on the floor and take his man off-the-dribble and take the ball coast-to-coast a couple of times.  He’s a consistent outside shot away from becoming a legit three (instead of power forward) and reentering the top-25.  Before we had a chance to see him play over the weekend, we asked another member of the media that had seen him play how Murph was shooting the ball, and he said “He didn‘t take any jumpers, but he did posterize about 10 kids”.

6’1 point guard Sam Grooms (South Carolina Ravens) was one of the top floor generals at the tournament.  Grooms understands the game and drew rave reviews for his leadership.  The vocal guard has a good handle, is a capable shooter, and makes good decisions.  He’s one to watch as he’s as good a mid-major point guard prospect as you’ll find.

6’3 combo guard Dexter Strickland was having a good showing, but got elbowed in his quad in a game against Mean Streets on Sunday that put him out of the event.  We have a feeling that the outcome of the Metro Hawks-New York Gauchos game might have been different had the Hawks had Strickland in that game.  He’s an All-American caliber player that will land a scholarship at virtually any school he wants to play at (his list currently has Michigan State, Florida, UNC, UCnn, and Villanova).

6’5 combo guard Tyreke Evans (Team Final) played like a superstar at times.  In a game against the Charlotte Royals, Evans scored 23 first half points on his way to 27 for the game.  He has a near automatic rainbow-fadeaway jumper and he is one of the slickest and most creative ball handlers we’ve ever seen.  We dropped the talented guard to #6 in our latest rankings after his AAU team was a no-show at the King James Classic, but there is no doubt that Evans is one of the few players that could wind up #1 when it’s all said and done.  He’s simply a tremendous talent, and was the best player we saw at this event.

6’3 Frankie Sullivan of the Alabama Lasers played like he had something to prove when he dropped 35 points in a matchup against Tyreke Evans, and he had another solid game against Greg Monroe’s Louisianna Select squad when he scored 23.  Sullivan said he’s keeping his options open college-wise, but listed Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, UAB, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, and Virginia among the schools he’s interested in.

Others:

JaMychal Green 6’8 Alabama Challenge
Green played up to his rep as one of the best PF’s in the nation.  He’s a great athlete with a long wingspan and was good for 20/10 type games everytime he stepped on the court.

Terrence Boyd 6’3 Athletes First
We’ve seen this guy play a lot of games during the last year and we’ve never been disappointed.  He’s strong, always goes hard, and puts up big numbers.  He’s a class of ‘09 kid with top-10 potential.

Xavier Henry 6’6 Athletes First
Henry has grown a little and improved his overall game a lot since last summer.  He’s been playing with the older guys for a couple summers now, and he has solidified his spot among the best in the 2009 class. 

Kyle Hardrick 6’8 Athletes First
Hardrick was putting up big numbers in the points column all weekend.  He’s still thin, but highly skilled for his size.

Daniel Orton 6’9 Athletes First
Orton wasn’t scoring the ball like his teammates, but the guy has the most upside because of his solid frame and 6’9 height.  He has a good shooting touch and was good for a handful of blocks each game.

Kelvin Martin 6’4 Georgia Blazers
Martin was one of the better looking wing prospect at the MDC.  He’s long and athletic and has solid perimeter skills.  He was a key player in the Blazer’s run to the championship.

Isaiah Thomas 5’8 FOH Seattle
Thomas has been a top player on the summer circuit for a while now, and the veteran guard had a couple of monster games here.  He helped FOH to the semis with his sharpshooting and leadership.

Chris Fouch 6’2 New York Gauchos
Fouch came up huge in the Gauchos matchup against the Metro Hawks.  He scored 28 points in that game and had his outside shot going all weekend.

Johnny O’Bryant 6’8 Jackson Tigers (15U)
O’Bryant was a beast in the 15U division where he finished contested dunks and showed off a couple of go-to post moves.  And he’s only class of 2011.  He’s going to be a top frosh in the country next season.