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Team Thad had plenty of motivation entering the Las Vegas Fab 48. The Tennessee-based club, particularly its head coach Norton Hurd, felt it should have won the Under Armour Association (UAA) Circuit title during July's second live NCAA evaluation period. Team Thad was a top seed, but finished in third place after a semifinal loss to Team Charlotte (N.C.).

Team Thad atoned for the upset loss by capturing the 17U Invitational title with a 77-61 victory over the New York Rens to win the Fab 48's 32-team bracket. Team Thad not only won the event's top division, it went unbeaten in pool play to finish the third evaluation period with a perfect 8-0 record.

The catalyst for Team Thad was uncommitted 2018 point guard Tyler Harris, a 5-foot-10 speed demon from Cordova (Memphis, Tenn.), who is one of the nation's fast-rising players this summer. He wasn't a household name on the grassroots circuit before July, but this tournament changed that. There wasn't a faster (under control) player with the ball in his hands at the three major Las Vegas tournaments than Harris, who went for 18 points and three assists in the title game victory over the NY Rens. He averaged 22.8 points per game over his final four games in the bracket and shoots the 3-pointer just well enough to set himself up to blow by defenders, set up teammates for athletic finishes or simply finish at the rim himself. Harris' unselfish style also rubbed off on his teammates, as he racked up many hockey assists, while his teammates got him the ball in transition, where he raced past the defense for easy lay-ins.

"I wanted to come here and play well, said Harris, who reported that Cincinnati, Virginia and St. Louis had become involved in his recruitment as of late. "I wanted to end my final AAU season the right way. After UAA finals, my recruitment has picked up a lot."

"Tyler stepped up his game in July," Hurd said. "He deserves all the attention he's getting...he's one of the top 10 point guards in the country."

Team Thad's title run was bolstered by the powerful inside play of 6-foot-6 2018 forward Robert Woodard (Columbus, Miss.), who joined the team for the Fab 48 after playing earlier in the summer for Mebo Elite Team Hood on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. He went for 13 points and eight rebounds in the title game, but had plenty of larger offensive outputs earlier in the bracket. Woodard, who is looking to cut his list of colleges by the end of summer, went off in the 72-63 first round win over Meanstreets EYBL (the only game in which Harris didn't score at least 18 points) with 23 points. He also had 15 points in the 62-58 semifinal win over defending Fab 48 champion Earl Watson Elite UAA, while Harris added 19.

Plenty of credit must also be given to 6-foot-4, 2018 shooting guard Tavin Lovan of Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.), who netted a game-high 25 points in the title game. Lovan is excellent in transition and does plenty of work on the offensive glass.

By knocking off the NY Rens (who failed to qualify for the Peach Jam on the EYBL circuit) in the final, Team Thad becomes the sixth consecutive Under Armour-sponsored grassroots club to win the Las Vegas Fab 48. The only independent winner was the Kansas City 76ers in 2011, while the Nike-sponsored Oakland Soldiers won the inaugural tournament in 2010.

Coming Out Party for Josh Christopher at Las Vegas Classic

For a majority of the spring and summer, 6-foot-4 2020 wing Josh Christopher was the leading player on Cal Supreme's 16U EYBL unit, but the coaching staff of the Los Angeles-based, Nike-sponsored outfit decided to move him up to its main club. The move paid dividends as Cal Supreme won the 32-team 17U Platinum Elite Division at the Las Vegas Classic with Christopher not just contributing, but actually leading the way.

The championship game versus the hometown Las Vegas Prospects went to overtime and Christopher settled matters with a spin move floater that gave his team a dramatic 60-59 overtime win. He led his team in scoring with 16 points and also had a clutch performance with 24 points, including three 3-pointers, in a 64-59 semifinal win over Dallas-based RM5 Elite, another EYBL club.

The quarterfinals were an all-California affair and Christopher blocked a final 3-point attempt that helped secure his team's 68-66 victory over the Oakland Soldiers, the 2017 EYBL Peach Jam champion. Christopher finished with 19 points, while his older brother Caleb (a 6-foot-1 2018 prospect) also made some key defensive plays down the stretch. He finished with six points. Josh had 25 points in the 65-62 quarterfinal win over Dallas Showtime.

The Christophers are out of Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.), the same school older brother Patrick (who has played in the NBA) attended and Josh and quickly developing into one of California's best players regardless of class. He is stretching rapidly and quickly gets into his offensive move, which draws a ton of fouls. Like any young player, his shot selection could be better at times, but he has all the tools necessary to be a dominant player on the circuit and in high school basketball the next three years. Pro forward Solomon Hill and NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal (who both were part of Cal Supreme's coaching staff for the event) raved about his long-term potential.

According to club director Gary Franklin Sr., O'Neal's son Shareef was usually Cal Supreme's other big scoring gun in the games he played (he sat out at least three games at this event with a hand injury). The team also got quality games from 6-foot-6 2018 forward Kenyon Martin Jr. of Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) and a big defensive boost from 6-foot-11 2018 big man Fred Odhaimbo (Alemany, Mission Hills, Calif.).

The Las Vegas Prospects got some outstanding play during the tournament from 6-foot-3 guard Marvin Coleman II (Foothill, Henderson, Nev.) and 6-foot-6 2018 forward Moses Wood (Galena, Reno, Nev.).

Team Loaded (VA) Captures adidas Uprising Summer Championships

While the on-court exploits of social media sensation Zion Williamson and the off-court antics of Lavar Ball, the coach of the Big Baller Brand team which played in the event, got a majority of the attention, it was actually a fine Team Loaded team which won the 17U championship bracket.

Virginia-based Team Loaded defeated the New England Playaz, 54-52, in the title game after downing Compton Magic Elite (Calif.) in the semifinals, 80-59. The Playaz advanced to the title game courtesy of a 75-68 semifinal win over the Iowa Barnstormers.

In the championship game, Team Loaded had balanced scoring, with three players in double figures led by the 12 points apiece of Kiyon Boyd, a 6-foot-5 2018 small forward from H.D. Woodson (Fairfax, Va.), and Armando Bacot, a 6-foot-8 2019 power forward out of Trinity Episcopal (Richmond, VA.).

Christopher Doherty, a 6-foot-8 post out of Marlborough (Mass.), led the way for the Playaz with 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.

In the semifinals, Team Loaded downed the Compton Magic club that won the Creator's Cup earlier in the event behind 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists from 6-foot-3 2019 guard Jaelin Llewellyn of Virginia Episcopal School and 15 points and seven rebounds from 6-foot-10 2018 big man David McCormack of FAB 50 power Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

Team Loaded didn't have many individual statistical leaders from the event, but played a good brand of team ball and got positive contributions from nearly every player on its roster throughout.

Individually, 2019 La'Melo Ball of Big Baller Brand led all scorers with 33.5 ppg. The popular point guard and youngest brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball was also eleventh in rebounding with 10.8 per game and ninth in assists (5.5) while shooting 37 percent (40-108) from the field.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Team Thad, Cal Supreme, Team Loaded win Vegas Tourneys! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

This morning Lavar Ball had an issue with a ref, got her removed then walked out along with his team prior to the game ending....for the second time this month.
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Earl Watson Elite was facing a familiar foe in the title game of the Las Vegas Fab 48 17U Invitational Division in Splash City. Both California-based grassroots programs competed on the Under Armour Association (UAA) Circuit and were hungry to win a major Las Vegas title after coming up just a bit short in the UAA finals during the second live NCAA evaluation period earlier this month.

Earl Watson Elite was missing power forward Ira Lee (who spent his junior season at Prolific Prep in Northern California), while Splash City was missing its floor general Damari Milstead, who will be a senior at Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) in the fall. While EWE missed Lee's rebounding and intensity, it got off to a hot shooting start and without Milstead's scoring and setups, Splash City wasn't able to overcome the early offensive onslaught as Ryan Silver's program captured the title with a 65-50 victory.

Doing most of the early damage for EWE (which also beat Splash City during FAB 48 pool play 68-63) was 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jemarl Baker (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, Calif.), who set the tone by nailing four 3-pointers. Baker hit two right away to give his team a 14-5 lead and his third made it 21-5, as the program named after the current Phoenix Suns Head Coach (the former NBA point guard was a classmate of Silver at UCLA) was well on its way to victory.

Splash City, which made the UAA final and is coached by Jules Milstead (Damari's father), made it more competitive by the end of the first half, trailing 40-24, but just couldn't get the offensive run it needed to get back in the game.

"The reason we won is we came together as a team and started playing for each other," said Baker, a CAL commit who finished the title game with 20 points and was named FAB 48 MVP. "Not worrying about individual play or anything else, that the was difference. At the start of summer, I set out a goal to compete against the best to prove I was one of the best guards in the country."

EWE also got excellent scoring all tournament from guard Reed Farley, a 2017 prospect out of La Jolla High who is an excellent student and is starting to get serious D1 interest. He finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Zafir Williams (Poly, Long Beach, Calif.) and Adrease Jackson (Santa Margarita, Calif.), a pair of 2017 forwards, did the dirty work inside and combined for 18 points.

Six-foot-3 2017 guard Jad'e Smith (St. Joseph, Alameda, Calif.) led Splash City with 12 points. The program also got excellent play from 2016 forward Chris Seeley (Central, Fresno, Calif.) throughout the event, but he finished the title game with six points. Seeley saw his recruitment take off after he qualified academically with some excellent performances during the July live period and one EWE player was extremely happy to see that. Baker was teammates with Seeley two years ago at Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) before the bouncy wing moved back to Fresno.

"Chris got much better," Baker said. "I always knew he was going to get better."

Splash City defeated Each 1 Teach 1 in the semifinals by two points (62-60) after defeating Big Red 76-61 in the quarterfinals. Big Red, made up of players from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), advanced after it lost on the court in the round of 16 to UAA champion We R 1, 88-83, because that Delaware-based program had to catch an early Sunday flight. Milstead had 18 points in Splash City's UAA title game loss to We R 1, and it could have used some of that scoring in the Fab 48 title game.

EWE defeated Splash City during Fab 48 pool play, 68-63, in a game Baker had 26, with Milstead going for 25.

EWE defeated the Florida Vipers in its semifinal contest, 71-61, as Baker nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points. He made five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points in the 79- 60 quarterfinal win over the OSA Crusaders.

Adidas Uprising Summer Championships: Mass Rivals Wins 17U Title To Cap 21-0 Summer

The team concept always defeats individual play and while there is general complaints about a lack of quality coaching in grassroots basketball, Mass Rivals is exhibit A why that is simply not true. Vincent Pastore’s outfit captured the major adidas 17U division title with a 93-78 victory over North Carolina-based Garner Road. With its nationally-televised win, Mass Rivals finished as the team of the summer with an unblemished record behind its magnificent backcourt play and stellar defense.

Wabissa Bede, a 6-foot 2017 point guard out of Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.), is unsung nationally but results speak for themselves, as he finished the title game with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, six rebounds and five assists. Four players finished in double figures for Mass Rivals, including Bede's backcourt mate Makai Ashton-Langford. The 6-foot-2 2017 Cushing Academy standout had 14 points for a team that also captured the adidas Uprising Creators Cup, a mini-tournament within the Summer Championships created for the event's best 17U programs.

In Sunday morning's semifinals, Mass Rivals defeated Team Loaded VA, 64-51, as Bebe (12) and Langford (11) combined for 23 points in a balanced attack. It also was a revenge win of sorts as Team Loaded VA defeated Mass Rivals by two points in the 2015 final of the same event. In seven games this week in Las Vegas, Bebe averaged 13.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 4.0 apg, while Langford averaged 11.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 2.9 apg. Mass Rivals defeated D-I Minnesota in the Creator's Cup final, 67-61, as Bebe averaged 17.0 ppg in the three victories.

Garner Road, which defeated Juice All-Stars (N.Y.) in the 82-74 semifinals, was led in the 17U title game by 6-foot-1 2017 point guard Thomas Allen (Brewster Academy, Wolfeboro, N.H.) and 5-foot-11 2017 guard Jordan Ratliffe (Village Christian Academy, Fayetteville, N.C.). Both netted 18 points in a losing effort.

Las Vegas Classic: Seattle Rotary Guts It Out

To win one of the major Las Vegas Tournament to close the summer viewing period used to be the most prestigious resume-builder of the summer, but that is simply no longer the case. With USA Basketball commitments, shoe-company driven circuits and non-viewing events taking place seemingly every weekend, plenty of elite players view Vegas as they would any other event.

Some of the nation's elite players were in Chile for the FIBA Americas U18 Championships and some simply chose not to play, or played one game during the week only to sit out the next to the distain of the college coaches in attendance. It made for lackluster play at times, but also gave lesser-known players the opportunity to shine on a big stage.

With that in mind, Seattle Rotary's roster stepped up its game to capture the 17U Platinum Elite Championship after its two star guards from Garfield (Seattle), Jaylen Nowell and Daejon Davis, left Vegas for the Nike Skills Academy in Los Angeles. The boys from the Pacific Northwest took on a Howard Pulley (Minn.) team missing 6-foot-5 Gary Trent Jr. (who will spend his senior season at Findlay Prep in Nevada and who also departed for the Nike event) and was able to pull out a 76-75 victory in overtime. Seattle Rotary nearly gave the game away by missing four free throws in overtime, as Howard Pulley had plenty of chances, but a turnover with five seconds remaining doomed the latter's chances.

Seattle Rotary was led to victory by 6-foot-6 2018 forward Charles Elleby (Cleveland, Seattle), who scored plenty inside and hit a 3-pointer to finish with 15 points. Kevin Porter, a 6-foot-4 left-handed shooting guard who the University of Washington was intently viewing, added 14 points. P.J. Fuller, a highly-regarded 2019 shooting guard who played his freshman season at Garfield, added 10 points for Seattle Rotary.

In the quarterfinals on Sunday morning, Seattle Rotary defeated Houston Hoops (which played without injured standout Jarred Vanderbilt) 69-67. The game was clinched when Porter nailed two late free throws, while Fuller nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points. In the semifinals, they pulled away from the Oakland Soldiers down the stretch to record a 84-66 victory. Fuller again hit four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points. Seattle Rotary also got a big second half from athletic 2018 wing Khalil Chatman (Franklin, Seattle). He scored 12 points in the second half and finished with 14.

Howard Pulley's standout minus Trent was Minnesota commit Brad Davison, a 6-foot-3 guard out of Maple Grove (Osseo, Minn.). He netted 26 points in a losing effort versus Seattle Rotary. He also had three second-half 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in a 74-69 semifinal win over upstart California Stars Elite. That game was clinched on two free throws with 24 seconds remaining by 6-foot-4 2018 guard Gabe Kalsheur (De La Salle, Minneapolis). He also finished with 17 points.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Jemarl Baker leads Earl Watson Elite To Fab 48 Title! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

BTI Select (Calif.) came into the Las Vegas Fab 48 major division title game riding a wave of confidence because of its hot outside shooting Sunday morning leading up to its championship encounter with 1Nation (Mich.). After all, BTI shot the lights out in quarterfinal and semifinal wins over Canada Elite (46-45) and MWA Elite (86-81), respectively.

The upstarts advanced behind a 3-pointer by Abod Oses, a 6-foot-5 2015 prospect from San Gabriel (Calif.), with seven seconds remaining to knock off Canada Elite and by making 15 3-pointers in the win over MWA Elite. BTI didn't shoot quite that well versus 1Nation, but was in position to complete an incredible run through the championship bracket with the game tied at 38-38 with 11 minutes remaining.

Over the final 10 minutes of the second half, 6-foot-8 big guard Josh Jackson of 1 Nation took charge of the game on both ends to lead his team to a 56-49 win. Jackson grabbed some big-time defensive rebounds and on the offensive end created off the dribble or hit clutch jumpers -- even though the defense knew he was the focal point of 1Nation's attack.

Jackson, one of the nation's top rising seniors who spent his junior season at Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) with rumors swirling he may be on the move for his senior season, hit a 3-pointer to give 1Nation a 41-40 lead. After BTI's Miye Oni, a 6-foot-6 2015 prospect from Viewpoint (Calabasas, Calif.), hit a 3-pointer, Jackson answered with a conventional 3-point play to make the score 52-46. In between hitting three important free throws in the last two minutes, Jackson grabbed three defensive rebounds. In the second half alone, Jackson had four blocked shots and nine rebounds.

1Nation didn't win another any tournaments this summer and for Jackson, he joins an exclusive list of top nationally-ranked players who have led their travel ball team to a major Las Vegas summer tournament championship in recent years.

"They were a good team and we knew we had to play team ball," said Jackson, who finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks and was named Fab 48 most outstanding player. "It's an honor to join the names of players who have won championships. It's a great tournament and it's humbling to even be mentioned with those names."

For 1 Nation, the tournament win was vindication of sorts after the Canada Elite and MWA Elite teams BTI defeated in Las Vegas fared better on the Under Armour Association circuit. Team Canada advanced to the UAA championship game whereas 1 Nation lost in the opening round.

"It feels good, but it wasn't like we lost by a lot...they were close games," Jackson said.

Also having a big game for 1 Nation was 6-foot-5 2016 prospect Arguster Daniels from Kalamazoo Central (Mich.) with 15 points.

In the semifinals, Jackson had 20 points in a 66-65 overtime win over We R1 (Pa.), a team that also advanced to the semifinals of the Under Armour Association finals during the second July viewing period.

Adidas Uprising Summer Championships: Team Loaded VA Reins Supreme

After Team Loaded Virginia and Team Loaded North Carolina advanced to the finals of the adidas Uprising Creators Cup, a mini-tournament within the Summer Championships created for the event's top 17U teams, there was a good chance a travel program named "Team Loaded" was going to win the 17U Gold bracket.

That program turned out to be Team Loaded VA, which staged a big comeback to defeat the Mass Rivals, 76-74, in a ESPNU televised game.

The outcome wasn't decided until Wenyen Gabriel of Mass Rivals, a 6-foot-9 2016 power forward out of Wilbraham & Monson Academy (Manchester, N.H.), missed out on an opportunity to send the game into overtime at the charity stripe. Missing two of six free throw attempts was about the only thing Gabriel did wrong all week in Las Vegas, as he was one of the week's top performers in all three major Vegas tournaments. Gabriel, who was recently offered by Kentucky, finished with game-highs of 21 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Sacha Killeya-Jones, a 6-foot-11 2016 center out of Virginia Episcopal School, led four Team Loaded Virginia players with 17 points. Javin DeLaurier, a 6-foot-9 2016 power forward out of Saint Annes-Belfield (Charlottesville, Va.), added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Team Loaded VA, which trailed by double-digits for a majority of the championship game, easily defeated Kansas Pray and Play Players in its semifinal contest 92-65. Once again offensive balance was key as five players scored in double-digits. The Mass Rivals downed Team Loaded NC in its semifinal, 71-54. Great team defense and the 20 points, seven rebounds and four steals of Gabriel were the keys to victory.

Las Vegas Classic: Another Title For Georgia Stars

It was an impressive summer for the Georgia Stars. The grassroots program from the Peach State captured the prestigious Nike EYBL title at the Peach Jam in Augusta, Ga. and completed the championship double dip with a 77-63 victory over the Mac Irvin Fire (Ill.) in the 17U Platinum Elite title game of the Bigfoot Hoops Las Vegas Classic on Sunday afternoon.

Trent Forrest, a 6-foot-4 2016 prospect out of Chipley (Fla.), paced the Georgia Stars with 24 points in the title game. In the semifinals, everything 5-foot-10 2016 guard Nick Hopkins was throwing up went in. The Sprayberry (Marietta, Ga.) product nailed six 3-pointers en route to 27 points in the 84-60 win over the Oakland Soldiers. Wendell Carter, one of the nation's top 2017 recruits out of Pace Academy (Atlanta), added 17 points. Carter had 13 points and 13 rebounds in the title game.

Mac Irvin Fire received standout performances all week from Miles Bridges, a 6-foot-7 combo forward who attends Huntington Prep (Huntington, W.Va.) and is one of the nation's top 10 prospects in the class of 2016. The powerful and agile Bridges scored 26 points in the loss to the Georgia Stars. He went for 28 points in a 72-63 semifinal win over Seattle Rotary and was arguably the most impressive player we saw all week at all three NCAA-sanctioned events.

Before Sunday, it looked like that player was surely Marvin Bagley III, the 6-foot-10 rising sophomore from Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), but the gap between him and Miles (and anyone else for that matter) shrunk when his We All Can Go All-Stars 2018 club was shocked, 77-62, in the 16U Invitational semifinals by Wisconsin United at the Las Vegas Fab 48.

Wisconsin United lost in the Fab 48 16U title game, 43-42, to the Indy Hoosiers on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Zach Gunn, a 6-foot-6 rising junior from Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.).

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

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