AAU State Tournament- Saturday Report

As teams scrambled to make it into the top two of their pool, to qualify for Sunday bracket play, games got intense at the Ohio AAU State Tournament. Some of today's highlights that CPHR observed were........

Elijah Macon was the top prospect in the 17u division

• The shocking upsets of the Cincinnati Knights 17u and 14u teams, both of whom were unable to make it out of pool play. The 14u team looked their age against 15u competition, especially without their two top post players. The 17u team, playing without postgrads Semaj Christon, Keontae Brown, and Brandon Neel, struggled to consistently score the ball. 
• GameTime Magic can play! CPHR was anxious to see this team for the first time and they didn't disappoint. The 17u squad looked excellent in their upset of the Cincinnati Knights with solid team play and defensive intensity. Guards Malcolm Smith and Deontez McGee proved that they can score with anyone as they hit shots from all over the floor while big men Tank Young, Rozelle Nix, and Chris Connell were effective inside. 
• In the 16u division the game of the day was between Shining Stars (Schaeffer) and All-Ohio Red. The game ended with Red stealing a 1 point victory as Shining Star was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer. With star forward Damarion Geter sidelined with injury Shining Star proved that they are for real. 
• Another exciting 16u game was the matchup of the Cincinnati Lakers vs All-Ohio Grey. The score might have ended up lopsided, with Grey winning by 18, but the game was a fast paced and high emotion contest. For the Lakers, PG Keith Watkins (Moeller) was effective as a physical slasher who scored through contact.   
• '14 PG Aaron Oden, of Taft, played extremely well today for his Team Queen City squad in two defeats. Oden was able to consistently drive the lane and did a nice job running the point for his team. 

Tomorrow is championship Sunday, as always CPHR will have you covered with all the results. In the 16u division pool winners All-Ohio Varsity, All-Ohio Grey, All-Ohio Red, and Martin's Wolverines await the winners of the play in games in the quarterfinals. In the 17u division pool winners All-Ohio Red, All-Ohio Purple, GameTime Magic, and the Ohio Hoopsters await the winners of the play in games from their division. If the top seeds hold up, and even if they don't, we're in for some exciting semifinal and final's action.