By Anthony Jaskulski

As the Hoop Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest kicked off its weekend of anticipated basketball from highly-touted recruits Friday, D-1 coaches could not be found in the scarce faces in the crowd.

Despite the small turnout from recruiting-hungry coaches of other levels, the early action of the tournament festivities did not disappoint, as the main floor of the Petersen Events Center became center-stage for many of the nations rising stars and top recruits.

The hectic schedule—which had three teams playing on all three courts of the Pete simultaneously—showcased such AAU teams as National Christian Academy, Cecil Kirk, South Jersey Select and the hometown team Pittsburgh Storm to start the weekend off.

Here is a look at the top action of the first day of the Pittsburgh Jam Fest.

Friday’s Top Games:
(All 17 and Under Boys Division)

National Christian Academy 68, Pittsburgh Storm 62

Boasting one of the premier recruits in the Jam Fest with Dante Taylor, National Christian Academy shut down Pittsburgh’s finest in the first game tipped off on the main floor Friday. Using a strong full-court press, that forced turnovers and led to easy baskets on the other end, NCA was led by Taylor, who finished the game with 20 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and two steals. The junior power forward stifled the Storm with strength and quick moves in the paint, and bringing a tough defense that led to hurried shots on the opposition. Taylor was backed by the impressive play of Wilbur O’ Neal, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. O’ Neal, a 2008 senior power forward/center rocked the opposition inside, gathering offensive rebounds, getting strong put-backs, and working the paint on both ends. The Storms highly-touted center Zeke Marshall was flummoxed by the intense defense of NCA, as the seven-foot junior finished with just six points and five rebounds, and fouled out halfway through the 2nd half.

Scouting Report:

Dante Taylor
Power Forward, 6’9, class of 2009.

Top Interest: Pittsburgh (high), Maryland (high), Cincinnati, South Florida, Louisville, Syracuse, USC

Strong Point: Finding or creating the best open shot or look available.

Area of Improvement: Needs more production on the defensive glass.

The Skinny:
Taylor showed the ability to handle the ball facing the hoop, as well as backing defenders down, working fundamental big man moves inside the paint. He has great court vision which leads to impressive passes and off-the-ball moves to get wide-open looks. Taylor impressed the crowd with a great back-to-the-basket, turnaround power step and jam late in the game, which shows the big man can be a versatile player, handling the ball and the strength to reach the basket. Taylor’s perimeter shot was as crisp as one could be for a power forward. His hustle and ability to finish the game is a superior asset for him on both ends of the floor, and proves he can be useful in clutch situations. Taylor blocked several shots and rotated perfectly on defensive traps, forcing uncharacteristic passes and turnovers for the opposition, and his quick hands helped swipe steals and catch any ball thrown his way.

He said it:

“I think my biggest strength is my quickness and rebounding, but I know my improvement needs to be putting my back to the basket and working more moves inside.”

Wilbur O’ Neal
Center, 6’6, class of 2008

Top Interest: Buffalo, Rutgers, George Mason

Strong Point: Creating room underneath and muscling up for offensive put-backs and rebounding.

Area of Improvement: Needs better footwork.

The Skinny:
O’ Neal showed great athleticism for a big man, and ran up-and-down the floor getting easy looks, and sending in nice passes for open layups. He showed great signs of aggressiveness, hitting the boards strong and battling for loose balls. His hustle and strength make up for his lack of size and footwork.

He said it:

“I am mostly being recruited by smaller schools, but I know I want to start at a JUCO and work on my game before I start out somewhere bigger. I want to get all the work I can get for my game so I can be ready.”

Cecil Kirk 72, South Jersey Select 51

The game had hopes of becoming an edge-of-seat thriller, but on the heels of an incredible tandem, Cecil-Kirk ran away with the second half, and took it to a much slower to the draw South Jersey squad. Despite their lack of size, Cecil-Kirk got the job done with speed and incredible moves to the rim, thanks to an exceptional performance from Antoine Allen. The junior point guard kept the opposition and crowd in awe at his astounding ability to reach the rim. With a game-high 31 points and seven assists, Allen made alley-oop jams and behind-the-back, no-look passes look effortless. Allen’s performance was backed by Byron Westmoreland, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. The duo scored more points then the entire squad of South Jersey on the game.

Scouting Report:

Antoine Allen
Point Guard, 6’2, class of 2009

Top Interest: Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, Central Florida

Strong Point: His exceptional ball-handling and ability to drive to the rim, dodging defenders with slick moves.

Area of Improvement: Needs to find the open man; create better passes.

The skinny: Allen’s size may only be 6’2, but the guard’s game towers over the opposition. His ability to create shots, and drive to the hole with the ball at full strength makes him a deadly weapon. Allen can fool defenders easily with quick reflexes and his ability to use either hand while dribbling. He has an incredible leaping ability, including a take-off from nearly the free-throw line in today’s game, which resulted in a missed dunk, but showed his top-level athletic ability. He showed his range countless times tonight, including a fade-away three-pointer with two defenders in his face. With his shooting ability, Allen can be used as a role-player and is not afraid of being the go-to man in clutch situations.

He said it:

“This is what I always do. I can do what I do out there because I work hard in the gym everyday, and push myself to the limit. I’m about staying focused and putting out hard work.”

Team Final 67, Hoop Magic (White) 59

After starting out slow, and missing easy opportunities on the offensive end, Team Final pulled it back together in the second half and ran away with what was a hard-fought victory over Hoop Magic in the nightcap at the Pete. With it’s stars Lamar Patterson and Dion Waiters struggling to find their rhythm in the early stages, Team Final was tied at halftime on the strength of forwards Bilal Kelly and Lijah Thompson, who combined for 25 points and 10 rebounds, including several rim-rocking dunks. The most impressive was a driving jam from Thompson deep in the first half as he went right over two defenders. The star duo of Patterson and Waiters came to life in the second half, as crisp passes and precision shots from the two took the game over in the latter stages. Patterson went 5 of 12 from the field with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Waiters finished with a game-high 21 points, going 8 for 12 from the field, and five steals, including a dagger swipe late in the game that resulted in a reverse and-1 layup for the Syracuse recruit.

Scouting Report:

Lamar Patterson
Small Forward, 6’5, Class of 2009

Top Interest: Pittsburgh (Verbal commit)

Strong Point: Incredible strength driving to the hoop, and finishing layups and fade-away jumpers with great finesse.

Area of Improvement: Attempts too many contested shots.

The Skinny:

Patterson can have an off-game and still be a dominating presence, whether it comes from his ability to find the rebound on both ends of the floor, his shutdown defense, his mobile ability on offense used to nail even the toughest of shots. Patterson showed moments of fatigue in the first half tonight (i.e. slow up and down the court, front-of-the-iron jumpers and tough passes leading to turnovers). Entering the second half, Patterson was a different player, showing powerful moves to the hole, resulting in beautiful finishes and crisp passes that got his teammates easy layups. Patterson did not shy away from the defensive end, as the Pitt recruit harassed defenders, muscled up for strong rebounds, and looked up for smart half-court passes to wide-open guys. He has a nice jump shot, but his moves to the rim make him an unstoppable force. His athleticism needs no questioning when the game is on the line, and proves to be a clutch player—especially from the line where he was perfect in throughout the game.

He said it:

“Pitt was just the right place for me. I love how (Jamie) Dixon runs the show, and in terms of X’s and O’s, he is one of the best out there. I can definitely see myself helping this team out in the future, and I’m looking forward to it.”

Dion Waiters
Guard, 6’3, class of 2010

Top Interest: Syracuse (Verbal commit)

Strong point: Can create room and has a crisp step-back shot from long range.

Area of Improvement: Over-zealous, looking for up-tempo possessions on the offensive end despite what the defense is showing.

The Skinny:

Waiters’ ability to score off the dribble is exceptional, and he creates great separation when shooting. He is a monster threat on the break-away, and will more than likely make the right decision to drop the easy basket. Waiters’ gets dangerously close to swiping the ball off of the opposition nearly every possession, and is quick to recover defensively. He has a nice arcing delivery with his perimeter game, and is a high-riser on his moves inside the paint, effortlessly dunking shots. His strength and quickness go well with his hungry attitude, and will to hustle from start to finish.

He said it:

“I like to just go. I don’t like the play-calling too much, but just to speed it up and get it going. You get a lot more options when you speed it up on the (oppositions) defense, and get them off-guard.”

Other 17 and Under Games:

Crusader Nation 69, Spiece Rising Stars 67 F/OT

Gerald Hill led Crusader Nation with 17 points, including the final bucket to seal-the-deal in overtime on Spiece. Brad Shehry finished with a game-high 27 points in his teams losing efforts.

Illinois Stars 67, Washington Shock 32

Reyvone Rice hounded the Shock with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds in a blowout victory. Eric Herrs helped out with 10 points in the win.

M33M Bounce 76, Michigan Hurricanes 71 F/OT

Tyrone Watson led the Bounce with 21 points and 15 rebounds in a thrilling overtime victory last night. Adrian Tomlinson also finished with 11 points, while Michigan got strong performances from Demetrius Ford, who finished with 21 points, and Kolente Miller, who had 19 points and five rebounds.

Anthony Jaskulski covers the University of Pittsburgh basketball beat as well as the Pittsburgh high school beat for the Pittsburgh Sports Report. Look for more of Anthony’s coverage this weekend from the Jam Fest here at the NBE Basketball Report.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Cincinnati Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, South Florida Recruiting, Syracuse 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.