Orlando Day Two - Playoffs Underway

Top 15 2008 prospect JaMychal Green scores 28 and updates recruiting list

July 31, 2007

By Van Coleman

CSTV & Hoopmasters.com


	Van Coleman Van is one of the nation's premier recruiting experts. E-mail here!

The 17-Under AAU Junior Nationals completed their fourth round of tournament play Monday and ended with the quarterfinal match-ups set for Tuesday. There were some upsets, and the night ended with a couple of nail-biters in a fitting end to a great day of basketball as the 17-Under AAU's Junior Boys National Championships moved into quarterfinal action.

Here's a look at Tuesday's quarterfinal match-ups and how they got there...

Quarterfinal No. 1 - G.E.S.U.S. Ball vs. Georgia Stars

How they got there:

G.E.S.U.S. Ball's squad upended MBR 55-44 in the Sweet 16 action. They were led by 6-foot-7 Keith Wright, who horsed his way to 17 points, while 6-foot-4 Willie Weaver added 13 points for G.E.S.U.S. MBR's top gun was 6-foot-1 Derek Libbey, who finished with 18 points. G.E.S.U.S. Ball knocked off the Full Package squad, 70-55, in the morning on Monday.

Georgia Stars have been among the favorites since the early going in the tournament. Monday night, they knocked off Cincinnati AAU Black by a 68-51 margin behind the inside play of 6-foot-9 Wake Forest commit Al-Farouq Aminu, who had 16 points for the Stars. 6-foot-2 rising sophomore point guard Matthew Brabham added 14 points in the win, while 6-foot-5 Travis Leslie chipped in with 11 points. Cincinnati AAU's top gun was 6-foot Kyle Corbin, who ended with 14 points, and 6-foot Kevin Vest added 10 points. The Georgia Stars knocked off Tampa Fastbreak, 63-46, in the morning session.

Quarterfinal No. 2 - Team Breakdown vs. Georgia Blazers

How they got there:

Team Breakdown has dominated the competition they've played, with wins by 30 points or more on three occasions, and finished Monday afternoon with an 85-41 spanking of the Philadelphia Patriots at the Milk House. Breakdown was led by 6-foot-2 Kenny Boynton with 20 points and 6-foot-2 rising sophomore Brandon Knight, who finished with 14 points. 6-foot-8 Keith Clanton chipped in with 10 points and 6-foot-10 Eloy Vargas added nine. The one bright spot for the Patriots was 6-foot-6 Matt Crozier, who finished with 10 points. Team Breakdown won, 96-71, over the Shining Star-Callahan squad in the afternoon action on Monday.

The Georgia Blazers have been on a roll in Orlando, with a runner-up finish in the Super Showcase and now an Elite Eight berth at Nationals. They had a tough match-up with the Baltimore Stars Monday night, but survived with an 84-75 victory. The Blazers were led by their inside-out duo of 6-foot-11 post man Xavier Gibson and 5-foot-9 point guard Andre Young, with 17 points from each of them. The Baltimore Stars were led by 6-foot-4 wing man Alex Johnson, who had a game-high 27 points. He received some solid support from 6-foot Justin McKoy and 6-foot-7 Devon Brach who finished with 17 points. The Blazers downed a stubborn Martin Brothers 16U squad 80-61 in afternoon action.

Quarterfinal No. 3 - Ambassadors vs. King of the Court

How they got there:

The Ambassadors squad beat the New Mexico Lobos in the Sweet 16, 68-59, behind 12 points from 6-foot-9 Quinard Jackson and 6-foot-5 wing man Ramon Galloway Monday night. They controlled the boards early on & then held onto the lead down the stretch even though the Lobos' 6-foot-3 Ryan Gonzalez hit seven threes en route to a game-high 23 points. His backcourt mate, 6-foot Matthew Billups, added 17 points in the loss. The Ambassadors edged Augusta Metro, 62-60, in afternoon action.

King of the Court survived a stiff challenge by Inner Strength to survive a 58-56 scare and advance as 6-foot-8 Michigan State commit Delvon Roe led the way with 26 points. 6-foot-9 Tom Pritchard added 14 points, while 6-foot-2 Randall Holt chipped in with 12 points in the win. 6-foot-1 Dustin Ware led all scorers for Inner Strength as he finished with a game-high 29 points, while 6-foot-7 Matt Sundberg added 11 points in the loss. King of the Court knocked off the Rising Stars JG-17's 69-61 with a come from behind rally in the second round to advance in afternoon action.

Quarterfinal No. 4 - Westchester Hawks vs. Alabama Challenge

How they got there:

The Westchester Hawks survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by the D-1 Greyhounds to win a 65-63 thriller. Westchester was led by 6-foot-7 Mookie Jones, who had 23 points including three hoops from beyond the arc. He got solid support from 6-foot-7 Kevin Jones who added 17 points and 6-foot-3 Kevin Drew who finished with nine points. The D-1 Greyhounds' top gun was 6-foot-4 William Buford, who finished with 26 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter. Westchester also played a tight one, 69-67, against Rising Stars JG-Blue in the afternoon game to move to the Sweet 16.

The Alabama Challenge nipped Martin Brothers Select 76-73 in overtime in the best match-up of the day. It was a close game throughout and featured rallies by both clubs in regulation to get it to overtime. This should have been a semi-final, but do to pre-seeding it ended up in the sweet sixteen.

The Challenge was led by 6-foot-8 JaMychal Green with 23 points, and he earned them all, while the sweet shooting perimeter duo of 6-foot-5 Nick Williams and 6-foot-2 Andrew Steele chipped in with 14 points each in the win. Williams hit a huge three to send it to overtime. Martin Brothers Select was led by 6-foot-8 L.A. Pomlee, who had an impressive game and finished with 22 points, plus unofficial totals of 12 boards and six blocks. He received solid support from 6-foot-5 Gonzaga commit Grant Gibbs with 21 points and 6-foot-4 Iowa commit Matt Gatens, who added 16 points in the heartbreaking loss. The Alabama Challenge advanced to the sweet sixteen with an 87-79 victory over West Virginia Select in afternoon play in Orlando.

Commentary: It is unfortunate that Sunday night's Boo Williams-D-1 Greyhounds match-up along with Monday night's Alabama Challenge-Martin Brothers, Georgia Blazes-Baltimore Stars, Westchester Hawks-D-1 Greyhounds and Inner Strength-King of Court match-ups, were all quarterfinal-quality games that happened in the round of sixteen or earlier. If this trend continues, the AAU is going to have to look at its policy of pre-tourney seeding & pre-set tournament assignments as it certainly didn't result in the kind of tournament they could have had with these match-ups coming today & tomorrow as championship play continues.

Recruiting News and Notes...

JaMychal Green, the 6-foot-8 power forward from Alabama Challenge, has listed his final four as Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia Tech, and in that order as he gets ready to take visits.

Xavier Gibson, the 6-foot-11 post from the Georgia Blazers, says his top three are Florida, North Carolina and Florida State. According to the buzz in Orlando, his decision could come soon.

Eloy Vargas, the 6-foot-10 post from Team Breakdown, has Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Florida, Miami (FL), Indiana, Minnesota, Clemson, Virginia, and South Florida among his favorites.

L.A. Pomlee, the 6-foot-8 power forward from Martin Brothers Select, has really blown-up in Orlando now that he's healthy and back in shape. Schools like Indiana, Kentucky, Providence, Alabama, and Ohio State have joined Iowa State, Iowa, Minnesota, Miami (FL), and Bradley as teams with serious interest in the physical rebounder and shot blocker.