by Doug Ferguson

The age of the internet has changed the way we live our lives in a myriad of ways. Everything from a household’s groceries to a college education can be acquired through a simple keystroke or mouse click. It is the revolutionary invention of the past hundred years and possibly ever.

One thing that has made the information super highway so great is constant evolution. Not only the evolution of the internet itself, but its ability to change how so many things operate and do business. We need look no further to find an example of this than the AAU tournament put together by the GBOA (Grassroots Basketball of America). The GBOA has put together a 64 team national tournament and broadcast its product via the world wide web. It is in the mold of the NCAA tournament with a north, south, east, and west regional ultimately concluding with a Final Four of sorts with its four winners. Right now however, it more resembles the NIT as it is missing the pizzazz of a lot of big name fire power. It is by no means a minor league event as I witnessed at the University of Illinois-Chicago this weekend for the north regional.

 This coming weekend, the action moves east to Half Hollow Hills High School in Dix Hills (NY) on Long Island.  Some of the top AAU programs in the Northeast are scheduled to appear and Brian Crownover, Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAA Insider, will be on hand Saturday and will report the goings-on for the NBE Basketball Report.

Here are Doug’s game reports from the action he took in last weekend.  In the finals, the SYF Players edged Team Detroit to take the GBOA North crown:

Quarterfinal #1
Illinois Bobcats 69 vs. Spiece Rising Stars 61

Controversy overshadowed some of this game including a dispute before the game even started between coaches of Spiece and tournament directors. Apparently Spiece had been placed 2nd in their pool to Rising Stars Gold (IL) despite beating them in head to head action (both teams finished pool play 2-1). The GBOA argued that their rules stipulated that point differential was the first tiebreaker for pool play and not head to head record. It seemed that officials in charge knew their setup was wrong and displeasure by the Spiece team was warranted. The ship had already sailed though as the schedule could not be tinkered with, leaving Spiece to play with the hand the had been dealt.

They came out appearing to have a chip on their shoulders. Their inside game was clicking early as Ed Hazlett had 6 of their first 8 points from less than two feet. Then everyone’s ears started to ring and it wasn’t do to a blow to the head. No it was from the screeching sound of the referee’s whistle like nails on a chalkboard kicking off an overall bad performance by an undermanned officiating crew on the day. The action was tight throughout the first half. The Bobcats Jeronne Maymon made the most of the ref’s quick whistles connecting on 7 of his 9 free throws on his way to 13 first half points. Near the end of the 1st half, Illinois guard Derrius Wallace darted into the passing lane to deflect a pass. He then made a spectacular, mid-air pass while leaping over a Spiece defender to a waiting Maymon who passed up an opportunity for a highlight reel finish by laying the ball softly off the glass and in with nary a defender in sight.

The Bobcats broke out to a double-digit lead early in the 2nd half sparked by a pair of Derrick Dockery 3’s. Their largest lead was 12 at about the 11:00 mark after Spiece’s Kenny Barlow picked up a flagrant foul for a seemingly accidental elbow. This was followed by a questionable delay of game technical on the Rising Stars after a made basket. Spiece again played inspired, if not down right mad after this, appearing feel they wouldn’t be held back by any barriers placed in their path. They couldn’t miss for about a 4 minute stretch and drew the score back to even. The game was decided in the final minutes on two crucial plays. First, Illinois big man Giovanni Coleman was left unchallenged on the left wing for an open three. It wasn’t pretty, but it bounced about the height of the top of the backboard and in putting the Illinois up four. After a couple of Spiece free throws brought it back to two, Derrius Wallace missed a three and Maymon snatched a precious offensive rebound and fought through a group of flailing arms for a backbreaking, and one layup. The game’s first, and most exciting game was all but over with 1:03 to go as the Bobcats went on to a six point victory.

Quarterfinal #3
Rising Stars Gold (IL) 69 vs. Free Mason 43

The Rising Stars of the Illinois Gold variety’s benefit from the blunder by the GBOA was playing a team whose best players wore jersey numbers 310 and 87 and brought their own gym shorts from home. This game went through the obligatory feeling out process before Free Mason found that they have no answer for Jerome Richmond, Jack Cooley, or Marcus Jordan. Richmond, and Illinois commitment, was the real star of this game. He may have had a triple-double if the Rising Stars’ starters weren’t on the bench for a good portion of the 2nd half. Cooley had 13 and 9 (a line we should get used to) and Marcus Jordan led all scorers with 15 as the rising stars cruised 69-53.

Semifinal #1
Illinois Bobcats 57 vs. Team Detroit 63

The Bobcats were extremely lucky to escape the day’s first game and came into the semifinal as the more talented team. Once again however, they came out extremely flat. Their interior defense struggled once again as starting center Aaron Nelson picked up 3 fouls in 3 minutes. It was obvious from the jump that Detroit’s perimeter game left a lot to be desired, but neither the coaches nor the players for the Bobcats recognized it until near the end of the first half when they were down 12.

In the 2nd half they started showing various zone looks and like a miracle from the heavens, the game was tied 8 minutes later. Then again seemed another coaching lapse as Illinois took out their starting guards (who were very hot) for a seven minute stretch and did not put them back in until there were two minutes and change on the clock. It was like he forgot he took them out. A couple of turnovers and poor defensive possessions later, Detroit was back up six. From then on, the turned up the stall on the tired Bobcat’s and it was a wrap. They hit 6 of 6 free throws down the stretch for the 6 point victory. Kevin Smith had 22 points and 8 boards for Detroit.

Semifinal #2
SYF Players 67 vs. Rising Stars Gold (IL) 56

The SYF Players quietly moved along in this tournament and became kind of a dark horse. They took on the more heralded Rising Stars and took it right to them from the opening whistle. Bad defensive scouting was a staple of this game as well, but in contrast to the first semifinal, it was good shooting rather than bad that was not stopped. SYF’s Scott Wood and DeShawn Clay absolutely stole the show in the 1st half. How Wood, who has committed to N.C.State, was left out of Saturday’s 3-Point Shootout is absolutely mind-boggling. He looked like he was practicing his moonwalk the way he was trotting backward down the court after made jumpers. His ability to shoot off baseline screens and curl into his shot will make him a perfect complement to the Wolfpack big men (provided they stick around that long). Clay displayed inside/outside ability on his way to 15 first half points.

Gold fought back valiantly in the second half to make a game of it behind offensive rebounding by Jack Cooley and Jerome Richmond, and scrappy point guard play at both ends by Cully Payne. The tail end of back to back buckets by Richmond brought the stars as close as 4 with about 4 minutes and change left. Failure to defend the perimeter shot came back to bite them again down the stretch as a Wood jumper put the Players up 6. A frustration based flagrant foul by Richmond put the final nail in the coffin as the SYF Players moved on to the finals with a 67-56 win.

Scouting Reports

Jack Cooley, 6′8 PF

Schools of Interest: Committed to Notre Dame

Strength: Overall size and brut strength lets him gain virtually any position on the floor he desires.

Area of Improvement: Overall offensive finishing skills

Skinny: When Mike Brey started out on the recruiting trail for reigning Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody, he saw something that most big time programs did not see. He saw a hard working big man with the brut strength to do the dirty work everyone else is not willing to do. In 2009, Harangody will be winding down his days in South Bend and he will need someone to fill his gargantuan shoes. Brey wasted no time in choosing Jack Cooley to be his replacement. When Cooley hits the hardwood alongside Harangody for the 2009 season, fans will be fortunate that there are numbers on the jerseys. The two are nearly identical all the way down to the flat top hairstyle. There games are very similar as well.

Cooley’s success as a player is all based on a combination of size and effort. He can often be seen chasing down a fast break he has no chance of defending for the minute chance his opponent misses and he can rebound or defend on a second opportunity. It seems like he gets his hand on EVERY rebound. He boxes out on every shot attempt, offensive or defensive. He also exhibits outstanding footwork in staying in front of his man defensively.

He needs to work on his offensive game as a whole. Most of his scoring is generated from his offensive rebounds. He can rarely generate his own shot, even from the post. As a result, the number of offensive plays called for him are few and far between. He can often be found in the wrong place offensively made noticeable by his teammates frequently waving him to the right spot on the floor. This may be a product of playing at a smaller high school where only very basic principles of basketball are taught. He also needs to work on his touch around the rim. He may never develop a dominant offensive game or an outside shot, but to become anything more than a role player at a major college level he must be able to finish non dunks around the hoop.

It appears that Mike Brey has started to recruit a certain type of player at Notre Dame. While Cooley is not a blue chip recruit, he can take comfort in the fact that he is further along at this point in his career than Harangody was. Cooley’s mother Phyllis said that “Notre Dame was a win/win situation for them. Most would agree. He couldn’t be in a better place.”

Cully Payne, 6′0 PG

Schools of Interest: Committed to DePaul

Strengths: Pass first point guard who is scrappy and limits turnovers

Area of improvement: Could stand to be more assertive offensively

Skinny: DePaul made a choice on who their point guard of the future was going to be a long time ago. They must have been very sold on the ability of Cully Payne seeing that the two made a commitment a few years ago when Payne was in the 9th grade. However, if you’re DePaul, what do you have to lose?

Cully Payne is a very efficient point guard who is very limited in his mistakes. He finds the open man more often than not, and has very little concern for scoring. He has a fairly accurate perimeter shot and should actually play to score much, much more than he does. He, like most left-handers, has the tendency to go to his strong hand a good percentage of the time. He always dribbles with his non-dribbling hand right up near the ball, as if it is cocked and ready to pass to the open man a moments notice. He makes the skip pass frequently and effectively. When he turns the ball over, it is normally on an errant pass, as he sustains his dribble very well. His defense is adequate, but lacks the quickness to stay with some point guards. However, his hustle and tough-mindedness makes up for some of those deficiencies and he is always diving for loose balls. He is best suited for a grind it out type team as opposed to run and gun.

There is nothing to say that Payne can’t be a very serviceable point guard at DePaul. It would help him immensely if the Blue Demons can surround him with some studs, because he is not the type to but a team on his back.

Jeronne Maymon, 6′6 SF/PF

Schools of Interest: Baylor, Indiana, Kentucky, Washington State, Marquette, Iowa State, Wisconsin-Green Bay

Strengths: Very athletic, versatile, and extremely durable

Area of Improvement: Would be absolutely deadly if he could shoot consistently from outside

Skinny: The Illinois Bobcats were very lucky that Jeronne Maymom chose them. So also will be the university chosen by this 6-6 swingman from Madison, WI. His versatility, strength and athleticism have him ranked in a lot of people’s top 50.

Maymon fits in the Tayshaun Prince mold of the versatile 3-man that brings skills in just about every aspect of the game there is. Offensively he can theoretically play four positions, though he is a natural 3. He brings the ball up the floor when asked. He hardly ever shoots the ball from outside unless his team is down a lot late. He probably would shoot more if he did not get to the hoop with such incredible ease. He almost never gets his shot blocked. His specialty is getting to the foul line where he gets nearly half his points and shoots a good percentage with a smooth stroke. He is an absolute iron man. He played 79 out of the 80 minutes his team played on this afternoon. He looked a little winded toward the end, but still was slicing through the lane to convert some easy lay-ups. He gets a lot of second chance points and has vice-grips for rebounding hands. He is an above average passer and often surprises teammates with his no-looks. He is pretty soft spoken and never argues with the refs (and it was definitely warranted in this tournament). In the GBOA he guarded the other teams best non point guard about 90% of the time showing decent weak side shot blocking ability. However he is definitely most disruptive defensively in the passing lanes where his long arms reek havoc on teams who “windshield wipe” in their half court offense.

Versatility is the key word here. He can do many different things for Baylor, Marquette, Indiana, WISCGB, or wherever he goes. Seeing Indiana and Marquette on his list is very interesting due to the recent coaching carousel. One thing that was very noticeable was his relationship with his parents. They seem very close with him and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they were pivotal in his choice of school.

Final Thoughts

The GBOA has a very cutting edge idea here. With freestyle rapping between games, a live host interviewing people during the game, and dunk contests simulcast over the internet all playing a part in the action. They have to work out the kinks though. To get the talent they need they need to first and foremost shell out the bread for a third official. Most top level tournaments have three referees and its absence in this one was glaring. Also, the facilities were so-so as were the timekeeper and scorekeeper. They had a 3-point contest and dunk competition (still can’t believe Scott Wood wasn’t in the 3-Point contest), a V.I.P section with Playstation 3, and many other “new age” ideas which made the tournament fun and very casual. In all likelihood, they will learn from their mistakes and prosper in the future.

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 5:31 pm and is filed under DePaul Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.