MD Boys AAU 2012 Season

[themamba]

themamba will attempt to provide some analysis, news and recruiting updates on the boys side, as I have on the girls side, for the last 7 years, for those interested, beginning tomorrow. Just give some shine to the outstanding talent in the area in this forum that has been neglected thus far. I do understand a major reason for the neglection is the fee based direction in which the Sun has chosen to go (smdh). I also understand that some (including those that played at a self described high level) may feel they know better than me, which is very possible, or have a more inside perspective on certain players than I, but at least it may spur some discussion or interest that has been otherwise interest. If not, that's fine. 7 on 7's may be more of a desired topic. Either way, look for some updates tomorrow as Boo Williams and the Hoop Group Philly Jam Fest kick off tonight. Thanks for your time. And stay thirsty my friends.

*unsure if I just used my 1st or 15th free look this month so I will try to give as many updates as possible in tomorrow's post.

Thankfully, at least for the Eastern District, the Crimestopper is back in town. 40% reduction ?!? Not only is that crazy, it's much needed.

[themamba]

The kids from 'Charm City' look to take advantage of the viewing period this weekend at both the Nike Elite Basketball League in Hampton, and the Hoop Group Philly Jam Fest, as they did last weekend in the first session of the EYBL in the North Star state, and the Pitt Jam Fest in the 'Burgh. Baltimore Elite went 2-2 in the Nike EYBL as Kameron Williams (MSJ) took full advantage of the stage, leading the 40 team league in scoring after the first session of 4 games at a 27.3 clip. Williams banged out a staggering 21 of 36 attempts from beyond the arc, with the Duke Blue Devil coaching staff taking notice. Williams already has interest from the likes of Pitt, Wake, Va Tech, Villanova and a cast of others, but at this pace, he has taken it up a notch, with virtually everyone giving the sharp-shooter a serious look. Shooooooter !!! Williams teammate, Taysean Scott (McDonogh), is atop the league leaders in assists, at 5.8 dimes a game, after the first session. 6'9 center Mike Owonu (John Carroll) is getting the twice-over as he continues to impress with some possible SEC and PAC 10 suitors lining up to see the post. Also with Elite is former 'Charm City' stars 6'3 Daxter Miles (Dunbar, IMG FL) and 6'2 Daq McNeill (Vermont Academy). Baltimore Elite took a first round L in the second session last night to fall to 2-3 overall and have a showdown with Team Takeover today @ 11:00 am in the 757.

In the ultra-competitive Nike EYBL, 5 teams remain atop the standings at 5-0 heading into today's play. The nation's top ranked team, the Oakland Soldiers, with the 6'6 talented forward Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty CA), who was voted Mr. basketball in Cali' as a junior (joining Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd), and the continents #3 ranked CIA Bounce, aka 'Team Loaded' based in Canada, (and therefore bypassing player trafficking laws - a joke, k?), who's stacked with talent across the country, headline the unblemished 5. CIA, is anything but stealth, with talented guards such as 6'3 Tyler Ennis (St. Benedict NJ), and the 6'4 Xavier Rathan Mayes (Huntington Prep WV), out on the perimiter. Both are being wooed by a who's who of the nation's top 25 (see UConn, G'Town, Louisville, Baylor, Marquette, Kansas, and on and on). Houston Hoops, Each1Teach1 (FL) and Cal Supreme round out the handful of undefeated's headed in to today's games. Team Takeover (DC), with Ishmail Wainright (Montose Christian, ranked #15th overall player in the country by ESPN http://espn.go.com/college-sports/ba...013/order/true) and 6'9 Beejay Anya (DeMatha, ranked #27th) is the lone DMV rep ranked among the nation's top 25 in 17U at #22. Baltimore Elite is currently ranked just outside, receiving consideration heading into this weekend's showdown.

Team Melo split their units, with their 15U and 16U teams headed South to Hampton, and their 14U and 17U travelling North to Philly. Team Melo 16U won this morning to go to 2-0 in pool play after a 36 point win last night. Newcomer, 6'2 John Crosby ('14, Poly), and 5'8 Dereck Oliver ('15, Patterson) have illuminated the whole show for Melo 16U along with 6'1 Rysheed Corbin ('14, Forest Park). 15U Team Melo fell just short of 15th ranked 15U Team Scan (NY), 57-50. In other news, former Melo player Roscoe Smith has been granted his release from UCONN and reportedly has the University of Washington, and 'the U' on his heels for services beginning in the '13-14 season and beyond.

East-side hooligans BEWARE !!! The Crimestopper is baaaaaack ! The phenom has left St. Paricks and the Greater 'Brick City' for the comforts of home in 'Charm City' after a short tenure in 'Dirty Jersey'. Aquille Carr leads Baltimore's Finest in the 17U division in Philly this weekend after putting on a show in Pittsburgh with the 'Big Ticket', Duane Morgan ('14, City) co-starring. http://youtu.be/wYYWqRKNoWs. As you can see, the Baltimore-linked (father played at Patterson) Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron, of the Houston Defenders, the top point guard and shooting guards, in the country respectively, also headlined the marquee in Pitt. Maryland's Coach Mark Turgeon has been recruiting the twin talents since they were in middle school and still has hopes to snare the pair to College Park, though it could be tough with Cal 'One and Done' Calipari among the fray of suitors. Anyway, back to Carr and Morgan. Harry Martin looks to reload at Patterson, while the Clippers may not only return Carr, but repotedly may take some lock's off one or two top programs next winter. Stay tuned. As for Morgan, he's received offers from Seton Hall, USF, and Villanova with a quick looksy from the aforemention Calipari last weekend in Pitt. Also receiving offers were the Finest's 6'5 Marcus Varner (Randallstown), recieving an officail app' from Stonybrook, and Mid-Atlantic Select's 6'6 Javon Long (MSJ), getting an offer from Jimmy Patsos and Loyola. Also in Philly is upstart Baltimore Supreme, with guards Kamau Stokes ('14, John Carroll) and Jaylen Adams ('14, MSJ), making a splash. The Finest and Supreme both look to advance to the Sweet 16 in Philly today. Cecil-Kirk is also in the mix for a Sweet 16 bid in the 16U for a possible 'Charm City' trifecta. In the 17U division, both Cecil-Kirk and Baltimore's Finest won first round games, as did the Baltimore Panthers. Team Future 16U lost this morning to the 4th ranked 16U team in the country, the Las Vegas Prospects. Let's be frank, their is no prospecting with this unit, they're very good.

A couple late signings included yesterday's announcement of Largo's talented guard Derrick Colter, who'll be headed to Duquesne next year , and Patterson Mill's JJ Butler, who is headed to Lipscomb in the Volunteer State. North Point's talented guard Tye Mouton, will be playing with Massanuttan Prep in the Commonwealth of Virginia next year, while 6'6 Shakir Brown (Patterson) and 6'5 Gavin Pettiford (Dunbar) will be attending Action Sports Academy in the Peach State. Bryan Harris, formerly of Southern, and the aforementioned Mannassutten Prep, is headed to Duquesne, along with Colter. Also, a trio of juco stars from the area, are going big-time, with Tione Womack (Randallstown, Hagerstown CC) going to Houston, Devon Branch (Aberdeen, Cloud County KN) going on to be a Duck in Oregon, and Antoine Allen (Lake Clifton, Palm Beach State) headed to South Alabama. Ishmail Miles (MSJ) signed on with St. Joe and his former teammate Gavin Stephenson (MSJ, Atholton) going to VMI. Jimmy Patsos kept Josh Forney (St. Frances) and Jared Jones (John Carroll) home and Todd Bozeman and Keith Goodie kept it in the fam', signing up Donte Pretlow (Dunbar). A pair of former B'more standouts from South Plains Texas CC are headed off to different pastures as guard Darrell Edwards (Dunbar) committed to High Point and Stanton Kidd (Edmonson) also travels to Carolina to play for North Carolina Central. Two s's, two l's, still rings a bell in the area as Sam Cassell Jr. re-committed to the Terps after an alleged fling with USF, and Daquan Cook heads off to 'Sin City' and UNLV, a place where Lady Lust courts a kid named Greed. Stay thirsty my friends.

[GREYHOUND ALUM]

Great Job Mamba! I haven't been around much this basketball season so have been out of touch. But Aquille can't play 16U, did I misunderstand your post?

I didn't know the Harrison Twins grew up in Bmore. I know they have family in the city but I thought they were always Texas kids. Either way, I hear that MD has a legit shot to get them. That would be HUGE!!

[themamba]

GA, thanks. Aquille is playing with 17U, excuse the typo, I'd hate to get in another age-old debate on that topic again. As for the Harrison's, bred was the wrong transitive verb, with their father Andrew Sr., born and 'bred', in in East Baltimore (Patterson) and his family still residing here. I appreciate the compliment after you telling me a year ago I had no clue pertaining to Greg Whittington (Oakland Mills, Georgetown) specifically, and whether he'd be able to compete at the Big East level. I'd say the freshman fared pretty well after finishing his first campaign, 6th in minutes (20.0), 4th in 3's, and 3rd in 3-point percentage at 35.2%. More importantly, he played great defense which kept him on the court. Look for him to make nice strides next year as the 6'9 wing pursues his dream of getting a shot in 'the' league. All b.s'ing aside, thanks.

Updates in Hampton. Baltimore Elite knocked off Team Takeover, 54-51, as Jamel Artis scored 21, Daquien McNeil tallied 12 and Daxter Miles added 10 points in the win. In the nightcap, Baltimore Elite edged out Bluff City, 63-63, to move to 4-3 in league play with a pair of games on the slate Sunday. Kam Williams scored 24 points and grabbed 5 rebounds after scoring a combined 18 points in the first 2 games in Hampton. 'Day Day' McNeil scored 16 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and had 4 steals, while Jamel Artis added 13 points, on 6-9 shooting, and had 6 rebounds. For the 3 games, Baltimore Elite has caused 52 turnovers while committing just 28. Baltimore Elite takes on King James Elite (OH) and MoKan Elite (KN) today in the 757.

In Philly, Baltimore Supreme 16U moved to the final 8, as Ahmaad Wilson (Owings Mills) drained a three in sudden death to defeat the Jersey Shore Warriors. Supreme will face #4 Las Vegas Prospects tomorrow morning for a ticket to the Final 4. Baltimore's Finest 16U was knocked out by The City (NY) this afternoon in the Sweet 16. Morgan continues to garner more offers than Salma Hayek would on Baltimore Street in the early 90's. Baltimore's Finest 17U beat Sam Rines (PA) this morning as Myrek Lee-Fowlkes (Patterson) poured in 21 points while Carr contributed 10 points and 6 dimes. The Finest 17U fell to We R 1 this evening for a quarterfinal berth.

Agree, the Harrison's would be huge and the the biggest 'get' in College Park since Albert King.

[GREYHOUND ALUM]

GA, thanks. Aquille is playing with 17U, excuse the typo, I'd hate to get in another age-old debate on that topic again. As for the Harrison's, bred was the wrong transitive verb, with their father Andrew Sr., born and 'bred', in in East Baltimore (Patterson) and his family still residing here. I appreciate the compliment after you telling me a year ago to stick to the girls side, with me having no clue pertaining to the boys, and Greg Whittington (Oakland Mills) specifically, and him being able to compete on the Big East level. I'd say the freshman fared pretty well after finishing his first campaign, 6th in minutes (20.0), 4th in 3's, and 3rd in 3-point percentage at 35.2%. More importantly, he played great defense which kept him on the court. Look for him to make nice strides next year as the 6'9 wing pursues his dreams of getting a shot in 'the' league. All b.s'ing aside, thanks. Next time I'll double-check and not rush to see the playoffs and the damn Caps. I rocked that red straight into the hamper.

Updates in Hampton. Baltimore Elite knocked off Team Takeover, 54-51, as Jamel Artis scored 17 and Daquien McNeil added 16 points in the win to move to 3-3 in league play.

In Philly, Baltimore Supreme 16U moved to the final 8, as Ahmaad Wilson (Owings Mills) drained a three in sudden death to defeat the Jersey Shore Warriors. Supreme will face #4 Las Vegas Prospects tomorrow morning for a ticket to the Final 4. Baltimore's Finest 16U was knocked out by The City (NY) this afternoon in the Sweet 16. Morgan continues to garner more interest. Baltimore's Finest 17U beat Sam Rines (PA) this morning as Myrek Lee-Fowlkes (Patterson) poured in 21 points while Carr contributed 10 points and 6 dimes. The Finest 17U take on We R 1 for a quarterfinal berth.

Agree, the Harrison's would be huge and the the biggest 'get' in College Park since Albert King.

Greg played a lot this year at G-town. It definitely was a surprise. But he has a LONG WAY before he can even think of the NBA. Mostly he needs to gain a lot of weight. This year will be big for him.

I have always been a big Artis fan. I think the kids upside is off the chart and he really knows the game!

On another note, hasn't Myrek left Patterson? I had heard he's at Edmondson now.

[themamba]

Baltimore Supreme 16U lost in a thrilling triple-overtime game to #4 Las Vegas Prospects for a berth in the 16U Final 4 at the Hoop Group Philly Jam Fest this morning. Jaylen Adams hit a 3 to complete a dramatic comeback and force overtime. The Indiana Wolves won the Philly Jam Fest 17U championship and DC Assault took home both the 15U and 16U titles.

In Hampton, John Crosby (Poly, Team Melo 16U) has gone household, picking up interest from the likes of Stanford, Missouri, Texas and Pitt, *among others. Crosby, *Morgan and Kam Williams have seen their stock rise exponentially over the last 2 weeks in the crucial April viewing periods.

Taking in the views of the Nike EYBL were the creme de la creme of the coaching ranks, including Coach K, Roy Williams, Rick Pitino, Billy Donovan, Bill Self and Tom Izzo.*

The Nike Baltimore Elite finished up the weekend with a pair of wins Sunday over King James (OH) and MoKan Elite (KS). Kam Williams (MSJ) combined to score 53 points in the 2 wins. Williams continues to lead the 40 team Nike EYBL in scoring this season at 22.7 per game and is on pace to break an EYBL record in three-pointers made. Williams has shot 33/63 (52.4%) from beyond the arc and scored 77 points over the last 3 games this weekend after tallying just 18 in the first two. *Daquien McNeil contributed 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game over the 5 game set.*

Elite moved to 6-3 in league play with the next session in 2 weeks in Dallas. Elite should move into the top 25 with their 4-1 showing this weekend. CIA Bounce emerged as the only undefeated team in league play at 9-0 after 5 teams entered the weekend *with unblemished records.

In signing news, Bryan Harris (Southern, Mannassutten Prep VA) switched his pledge of allegiance. After committing to Duquesne he has now looked South to Wooford SC to continue his playing career while Terence Jones (Lake Clifton, Texas A&M CC) will wind up his college career at UAB.

[SportsFanatic5]

Who's looking to transfer to Clipper Nation next season?