Orlando Day 2 Report

In day two at the 16u Super Showcase in Orlando we were able to watch Ohio's top two AAU teams play twice each. Here's a recap of how they fared against some elite competition: Photos from Days 1-2

Ohio Varsity: OV started the day off by destroying Savannah Elite by over 40 points in front of several college coaches from the MAC as well as Winthrop and VCU. PG Jack Gibbs (Westerville North) led the way in scoring while athletic C Marquiez Lawerance (Marion-Franklin) displayed phenomenal energy on his way to a double-double performance. After finishing their bracket 3-0 Varsity drew Team Takeover, the top AAU team from the fertile Baltimore-DC area, but never backed down as they grabbed an early lead and held on for a double digit victory. Against Takeover it was the play of PG Randle Clarkson (Brookhaven) combined with Gibbs and SF Aaron Jackson (Gahanna Lincoln) that scored effortlessly as they constantly broke down the Takeover press. The combination of two of Ohio's elite 2013 PG's, the shooting of Jackson and some of their other wings, and the energy of Lawerance makes up for Varsity's lack of size as they will look to make a deep run in bracket play tomorrow.

All-Ohio Red: Facing a talented Memphis YOMCA team to finish pool play Red put together a great team performance as they handled YOMCA in the second half for a ten point win. College coaches from Wake Forest, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Memphis, Tennessee, and many more took in the action. The three man front-court of SF Tony Farmer (Garfield Heights), SF/PF Mark Loving (Toledo St. John's), and PF Nigel Hayes (Toledo Whitmer) was just too much size, skill, and athleticism for Memphis's top team to handle. Ohio State commit Loving was on his game as he faced up and took defenders off the dribble while also stroking the ball from behind the arc. In their second game of the day, a first round Gold bracket game, the wheels fell off for Red as they lost handily to Gold Coast (FL). AOR was unable to score around the rim and with the exception of PG's Charles Tucker (Lansing, MI) and Keon Jackson (Mansfield SR) was unable to put the ball in the bucket. Both Tucker and Jackson hit some shots but could not match the perimeter play of Gold Coast, who shot lights out from deep. Red will sit out two days before playing in nationals.

Recruiting Notes...........

• Tony Farmer claimed offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Depaul, and West Virginia with significant interest coming from Ohio State, Dayton, Cincinnati, Xavier, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh.
• Nigel Hayes has been offered by Xavier, Central Michigan, Dayton, Cincinnati, Akron, and Toledo while also getting interest from Memphis, Butler, Ohio State, and Purdue.
• Jack Gibbs has offers from Akron, Ohio University, Toledo, and James Madison while Cincinnati, Dayton, and St. Joe's are starting to inquire.

News from Elsewhere..........

• The Cincinnati Knights 17u team is off to a good start in St. Louis finishing pool play 2-1 behind the play of Semaj Christon. Word on the street is that Christon is now a heavy lean towards Xavier and a commitment could be on the horizon.
• Shining Star Schaeffer 16u turned in another strong performance today as CPHR saw them pull off a slight upset against a bigger Texas Rising Stars squad as Monty Boykins was sensational scoring the basketball for the second day in a row.

Check back into CPHR tomorrow for more news from Orlando including the start of 17u action in the Gold and Silver Super Showcase events- where CPHR will be focusing on several Ohio teams.