AAU State Tournament- Friday Report

The first night of State's was one of few surprises as most of the top seeds cruised to convincing victories over lesser opponents. The only major upset was the 15u Dayton Flames squad knocking off heavily favored Cincinnati Knights 14u in a game that the Knights just never got into; missing 6'8 C Nate Fowler set them back and after the momentum generated from a quick Flames start the game went in their favor. CPHR saw several solid performances from Cincinnati teams and players on Friday night at Landmark including:

PG Isaiah Jones is one of Ohio's elite 8th graders

Friday State's Pics 

• Queen City Prophets 15u- This was the first time that CPHR has gotten to see this team and they looked very impressive in a blowout of the Cincinnati Royals. In typical Prophet fashion their depth at guard was just too much for their opponent to handle as PG Isaiah Jones ('15 Pleasant Ridge MS), PG Ronnie Rousseau (Winton Woods), and SG Kevin Daniels (Hughes) all were unstoppable as they broke out for bucket after bucket. The QCP big men do a nice job of getting on the glass and passing the ball out while SG Kenny Kaufman (Taft) was there to knock down long range bombs. 
• Queen City Prophets 17u- QCP got off to a quick start and never took their foot off the pedal as they blew Dayton Metro out of the gym. The story to this game was the shooting, fastbreak playmaking, and defensive tenacity of the Prophet guards. Lionel "Bubba" Hill (West High) led the scoring in his first game with the Prophets while Darrell Bullock (West High), Kendall Beamon (Withrow), Sterling Gilmore ('13 Walnut Hills), and Nick Thornton (Dayton Meadowdale) were all equally impressive as well. 
• Cincinnati Lakers 15u- After getting off to a slow start the Lakers exerted their will on Club Ohio in the second half behind the play of big men Martin Jones (Winton Woods), Mike Barwick (Summit) and Daniel Cage (Winton Woods). Jones was particularly impressive with his athleticism and length as well as his energy on the court. Guards Tyonte Robertson (Withrow) and Jeff Larkin (LaSalle) were also productive for the Lakers. 
• Shining Star Sports 17u- A big second half led them to an easy victory over the Cincinnati Bulls. Shining Stars' most impressive player was '12 Trotwood-Madison PG James "Woo" Brown who showed his solid handle to combine with an extra gear of speed in the open court. Colerain wing Eli'Sha Campbell, McNicholas wing Drew Hall, and Moeller wing Alex Voss also were major contributors. 

Other Individual Performances:

• David Mitchell- Playing with the Club Ohio 15u team the Hughes PF was extremely active around the rim and in the full court against the Cincinnati Lakers. Mitchell had at least 5 blocked shots, showing off some increased leaping ability, and was the focal point of the Club Ohio offense as he faced up and attacked slower opponents while showing confidence in his jumper. 
• Trey Dees- The Shroder PG, playing with the Club Ohio 17u team, was a very productive passer in his team's loss to Hidden Gems. Dees routinely found alleys to get to the basket and fed his big men under the rim for easy finishes inside.