Missouri prospects article

[VTIME]

May 15, 2007

Ryan James

Special to MoSports.com

Missouri Talent Shines at Sabes Invitational

Special Report by Ryan James, GopherIllustrated.com

St. Louis Eagle wing Kenny Harris worked overtime defensively against the Playground Warriors. Harris shadowed Playground guard Kwamain Mitchell all over the floor trying to contain the talented guard forcing the rest of the Warriors to beat them and it worked for a while. This was one of the best games of the weekend as Torres Roundtree and Mitchell went back and forth to the final minute. Mitchell hit a pair of pull-up jumpers late while Roundtree did his damage attacking off the bounce. Stronger then most on the floor, Torres scored with a pretty spin move pushing the ball through multiple defenders and he had a three-point play after a jump-stop finish where he was hit hard.

The Eagles and Playground Warriors went to overtime and Roundtree continued to attack. Torres went at Playground off the dribble then turned finishing with a jumphook for a one-point lead in the final minute. His bucket was countered by Mitchell creating a three-point look with his drive for teammate JD Wise who drained a three. Back the other way, Mitchell drew a big charge call from Roundtree. Then with seconds left on the next possession, Roundtree penetrated and threw a fantastic pass to a teammate who missed the lay-up and Wisconsin Playground was victorious 64-60 after some free throws. Mitchell finished with 24 while Wise put in 14 and leading the Eagles was Roundtree with 16 points.

How good is Whitefish Bay Dominican High School you may ask? The Playground Warriors know as Mitchell, Wise, guard Peter Balestreri and center Cameron Madlock are all from this school and they may just be the four best players for Playground. Balestreri made some crucial shots for his team all weekend long and Madlock was present but not playing. The 6-foot-8 Madlock has committed to Bowling Green.

KC Pump-N-Run had some close games against teams that they should have blew out on Saturday but Sunday morning they absolutely crushed the Dakota Schoolers blitzing them from all angles with a final score of 86-47. The Schoolers are a good-sized team but Steve Moore controlled the middle with initial blocks and then the paint was his from that point on as everybody was weary of entering.

For the Howard Pulley 16s, Joe Bright was a monster all weekend long. At 6-foot-3 Bright plays an undersized power forward and he was unstoppable going to the basket. He backed people down or got players on his back and players at the 16s level could not handle his strength so he had multiple double-doubles. Bright will be the high school teammate of Rodney Williams Jr. next season.

The KC Pump-N-Run 15s made it to the 16s finals in large part because of guard Rico Richardson. Rico is a young point with a great feel and future for the game as he handles extremely well, he has great quicks and the young man can shoot the basketball from all over the place. Rico used his quick first step to blow by the defense and hit pull-ups or get to the bucket to make plays all weekend long. He's so hard to stop attacking because he's equally as effective going at the bucket or using his pull-up jumpshot, which is as quick as you will see. KC defeated the Pulley Black 16s 59-53 in the semi-finals.

Kwamain Mitchell and Jordan Taylor matched-up at the guard position in the semi-finals as Playground and Howard Pulley went head-to-head. Mitchell did an effective job of getting his team to play a slower pace that helped the Warriors stay a step ahead of the Pulley Panthers. In addition to running the offense, Kwamain made some beautiful shots throughout the contest including one at the first half buzzer where he used a beautiful crossover to shake the defender and hit a step-back jumper. Mitchell was certainly motivated to go against Taylor, the future Wisconsin Badger point guard and he had an outstanding showing.

Howard Pulley wing Carrington Tankson was able to give his team a first half lift draining a pair of three-pointers when the Panthers had fell behind a few baskets.

Panther center Jared Berggren had a strong semi-final blocking shots and scoring the other way. Defensively Jared was caught with a quicker guard on him a couple times and the Warriors isolated but Jared swatted the shots as the quicker guards went by. Berggren had several blocks for the game and he was a big presence that got into the heads of his opponents. Offensively Playground tripled him whenever he touched on the block and they had success but when Jared handled the extra attention he produced points. The 6-foot-10 Badger commit shot free throws perfectly for the game and also scored with a couple jumphooks.

The Mitchell/Taylor match-up continued after Kwamain came back in after a lengthy break. During that break Pulley built a lead but it diminished as Mitchell was just completely game when he re-entered. Kwamain created three shots for teammates drawing a lot of Panther attention and this gave the Playground open looks that they drained. Plus Mitchell scored himself with a deep jumper and a high-rising drive that was finished over the top of Berggren and Royce White. Taylor was able to keep Pulley with the Playground hitting back-to-back shots, one a floater and another a 14-foot jumper. Kwamain finished with 23 points and eight assists.

Late in the game Armond Battle stole the ball and went the other way where he was fouled. Armond made one free throw giving Pulley the one-point lead. Then on the game's final possession Jordan Taylor stole the ball from Mitchell and sent it ahead to Royce White for a dunk and the 60-57 victory.

People looking for the Howard Pulley/KC Pump-N-Run rematch from a week ago were disappointed when the Illinois Warriors defeated KC 62-59. At the buzzer, Denver Holmes had a shot circle the rim twice and rim out giving the Illinois Warriors the semi-finals victory. The Warriors defended Travis Releford well in the second half as Travis scored four field goals in the first half then went scoreless the rest of the way.

Catching absolute fire in the Illinois Warrior/KC Pump-N-Run game was Luke Fabrizius who hit eight three-pointers and seven of them came in the second half of play. His 24 points led the Warriors into the title game. The game before that in the quarterfinals, Luke sunk nine three-pointers in the win over the South Dakota Heat. His 17 three-pointers in two games were a complete change after he struggled in the open games of pool play. At 6-foot-9, Luke has zero problems getting a good look at the basket after he catches on the wing.

Jeronne Maymon scored 22 points in the first half including a three-pointer at the first half buzzer. His Madison Spartans won the 16s title as Maymon dominated this level of play.

In the championship game Pulley Panther Royce White picked up Luke Fabrizius of the Illinois Warriors that was an important assignment after Fabrizius had been setting the nets on fire in the previous contests. Royce shut down the 6-foot-9 shooter defensively and then offensively White showcased his spin move for baskets using both his left and right hands on separate occasions.

Jordan Taylor used screens very effectively all weekend long and in the title game he scored both with a pull-up jumper and taking the ball to the rack. Taylor was very efficient in setting up the offense and getting the ball to Royce on the block where Royce destroyed the Warriors. Another big lift came from Carrington Tankson who hit two jumpers to close out the first half.

The Panthers had all their gears in motion in the second half as Armond Battle hit three three-pointers, Carrington hit a pair of triples and Jared Berggren scored a jumphook and scored on two drop-step flushes. Setting all this up and pushing on the break was first Jordan Taylor and then Nate Birr and the Panthers had a 50-26 lead six minutes after the break.

The Panthers would finish the game winning 69-49 as Armond Battle led the team with 17 points followed by 16 from Royce White. The Warriors were without center Brett Thompson because of a Saturday ankle injury and with Luke Fabrizius shut down to zero points missing all seven of his three-point attempts the Warriors just did not have enough to win their seventh game in a row.

This marks the second straight year the Panthers won the Sabes Invitational as they went 7-0 over the weekend. The Illinois Warriors were said to have won the Pitt Jam Fest and the Real Deal on the Hill tournaments so the Panther defeat of Illinois was very important.

Saturday Report by Ryan James

The opening round of tournament play saw the favorites of the Sabes Invitational take care of business. Panther Rodney Williams Jr. had an amazing play as Pulley rolled in round one, KC Pump-N-Run fought off a tough team from Iowa and Jeronne Maymon led his Madison Spartans to victory with a dramatic last second finish.

Pump-N-Run's Steve Moore is having a strong tournament

Rodney Williams Jr. had the highlight of the night with a leaning windmill jam in the open floor. The game was a blowout after a few minutes and then it became a dunkfest with Rodney as the Master of Ceremonies. Williams hit a number threes, caught alley-oops, scored 16 points and led Pulley to a 74-47 victory over the RBS All-Stars.

All Iowa Attack gave the KC Pump-N-Run all they could handle until 6-foot-9 Steve Moore gave his team a strong pair of moves around the bucket showing good footwork and a nice touch. These two buckets broke open a two-point game and gave KC momentum early.

Up 14 at the mid-point of the second half, AI Attack's guard tandem of Morris Smeader and Jordan Burgason gave KC all they could handle pulling within five points. Morris is more mobile and hit quick pull-ups off the bounce while Jordan scored from deep as he's deadly when he gets a chance to set his feet.

Pump-N-Run was able to hold on when Moore scored free throws, had a powerful two-handed put-back dunk and blocked a pair of shots inside taking away the paint from the Attack. Steve finished with 14 points while Travis Releford had a team high 15 points including the game sealing lay-up in traffic after he snatched away an offensive rebound after a free throw. Releford continues to score in the open floor and off hustle plays (cuts, putbacks, etc) but he is really struggling with his jumper right now. And Denver Holmes sunk a pair of baseline jumpers that were integral to the KC 57-49 victory over Jake Sullivan's Attack team.

The St. Louis Eagles came to the Twin Cities without Scott Suggs and John Brandenburg but they still have a very formidable team led by Torres Roundtree and Jesse Perry. At 6-foot-6 playing the wing, Perry is trusted in a variety of roles including hitting mid-range jumpers, handling some and moving the basketball from the high post. Perry plays with a great motor. He grabbed a strong board at the end that sealed the game for the Eagles 50-49 as they finished 3-0 in pool play.

Friday Report by Ryan James

The opening night of the Sabes Invitational saw the favorites take care of business, KC Pump-N-Run defeat the South Dakota Heat in an exciting contest and Rodney Williams Jr. dunk in amazing fashion several times over. Round two of pool play starts tomorrow morning at Bloomington Jefferson High School.

Releford led Pump-n-Run over the Heat by a bucket

Travis Releford started a little slow with the SD Heat's Cody Schilling working hard defensively on him but Releford's smooth offensive game put two fouls on Cody and then Travis went to work the rest of the half. He set up the new man guarding him with a great back door cut for a dunk and Releford showed his smooth offensive feel making shots going at the cup with quick feet and quick moves. Travis struggled making shots from the perimeter including free throws as everything he scored on was in the open floor or off of cuts.

Releford had no problem finishing in the open floor where he made several plays above the rim in transition. Defensively Releford played very well taking Cody Schilling out of his offensive flow. Schilling tried to drive but Releford was on him like a glove. Cody also proved that he could defend at a big time level as he played Releford very well in the half court set giving Releford nothing when he was on him. Schilling did set up his teammates with a number of good passes and Louie Krogman was the recipient hitting three-pointers and long jumpers all over the court. Krogman finished with a game high 20 points.

The Heat's Colton Iverson proved he can play with the best big men. At 6-foot-9, Colt's a wide body who moves well especially defensively where he gave Pump-N-Run's Steve Moore nothing in the first half. Iverson's post defense forced three traveling calls from Moore and his teammate. Iverson's offensive game is limited right now but he finished quickly above the rim as he had some explosive finishes out of the post. Get to him around the basket and he does not disappoint as he can absorb contact and finish but out of the post his footwork is still developing.

Moore struggled for the first 16 minutes but he was a different player in the second half swatting a pair of Iverson shots, dunking on Colt, timing three put-back lay-ins and then finishing a jump hook on the inside. Moore played better in all facets of his game including his passing out of the post, which is solid. He finished with nine points and nine boards before fouling out with two minutes left.

Schilling picked up his offensive game scoring on four straight possessions himself and then dishing out to Krogman for a three. Cody hit two free throws, a pull-up jumper from 14 feet, bumped and faded hitting a 12-footer and then sunk a 17-foot pull-up. Schilling scored from the free throw line, he created shots for others, he made his jumpers and he finished with 14 points. What KC took away from his game was his scoring going at the cup as they defended him off the bounce very well.

Thompson was very steady in leading the Warriors to a W

Denver Holmes of Pump-N-Run almost brought the house down with a dunk over the Heat's Josh Nielson that nobody in the gym expected. Holmes nearly dunked over the top of Josh while both were colliding in the air as Denver showed he has explosion going to the rim. The 6-foot-4 wing also had one of the sweetest looking strokes in the gym and with the Heat struggling in transition defense, Holmes hit a pair of threes from the corner that game KC the lead with six minutes left.

Without Johnny Coy or Marcus Denmon at this event Pump-N-Run was still able to hold off the Heat 62-60 in a hard fought game. Schilling missed a shot in the lane at the buzzer as Releford contested him and the attempt rimmed out. Releford led KC with 13 points.

The St. Louis Eagles crushed the RBS All-Stars 83-54 as Southern Illinois commit Torres Roundtree scored 14 points and point guard Courtney Belger quickly hit a pair of threes and then drove for more as he had a game high 20.

Brett Thompson of the Illinois Warriors went down early against Minnesota Select with a leg injury but came back seven minutes later to show both a left-handed move out of the post, a right handed jump hook and a quick spin lay-in with the right. Thompson also made all eight of his free throw attempts and a square-up jumper out of the post showing a nice touch for a 6-foot-10 center. He finished with 16 points playing a very steady game.

Luke Fabrizius of the Warriors struggled with his jumper after hitting his first three-pointer. Nick made only three of 14 field goal attempts scoring eight points in what was a struggle with his shot throughout. The majority of his shots were from beyond the arc and he has a great looking shot but it just wasn't falling for him in game one.

The Warriors pulled out the victory 70-58 over Select and if it were not for guard Peter Leslie Select would not have been close. Leslie made five three-pointers including two from NBA range and finished with 24 points and three charges taken. Leading the Warriors in scoring was 6-foot-5 wing Lee Fisher with 18 points. Fisher worked hard around the basket with his long, wiry body to finish plays at the rim.

Michael J Much

Williams had three more amazing jams in Pulley win

The Howard Pulley Panthers jumped all over Team Missouri grabbing a quick double figure lead and outscoring Missouri 38-18 in the first half. The Pulley press was too much and they had all ten Panthers scoring in the first half. In addition to every player getting in the book, five different guys hit three-pointers and Max VanOrstrand hit a pair. The last guy to score for Pulley was their leading scorer Royce White who then hit three more field goals after spinning and finishing with a finger roll. Royce's other buckets included a floater and a square up jumper in the first half.

Rodney Williams Jr. highlighted the first half with a one-handed soaring jam as well as a three. Jordan Taylor made a pair of runners and Jared Berggren did a solid job defending Team Missouri's center Isaiah Rhine who is headed to Missouri State. After Jared forced him into some tough shots and blocked one attempt into the wall, Rhine came back with a smooth fade away and a powerful two-handed jam in traffic with three Pulley players attacking for a block.

The second half post battle between Berggren and Rhine took the stage as the Wisconsin recruit went after Missouri State's future center and vice versa. Between the talking and bumping, Rhine had a powerful put-back dunk over Jared that rocked the gym. After the dunk, Berggren came back at Rhine with an aggressive block and a nice looking right-handed jumphook. Then Berggren finished a drop step dunk with a two-hand hammer that gave him a little revenge. Berggren led the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area in blocked shots and he's getting even better with his increased aggression combined with great timing. That aggression has led to him finishing more, rebounding stronger, defending harder and being moved up to 57 in the Rivals prospect rankings.

Late in the game Pulley power forward Mike Broghammer showed two strong post moves utilizing excellent footwork and a nice touch. Then Rodney Williams produced a pair of highlight dunks including a sick high rising, one handed, leg spreading jam where he just seemed to keep rising like Jordan over Ewing. Pulley won 65-47 and Jordan Taylor's 12, 11 from Williams Jr. and ten from Royce White led them.