SPRINGFIELD, MA – Saturday’s action during the 15th Spalding HoopHall Classic turned out to be a nifty preview of sorts to Sunday’s announcement of the 2016 McDonald’s All-American team.
Five players with strong likelihoods of being part of that honor squad were on display on Saturday.
And guards Frank Jackson (Highland, UT, Lone Peak) and Kobi Simmons (Alpharetta, GA, St. Francis), forward V.J. King (Fairfax, VA, Pius VI) and post T.J. Leaf (El Cajon, CA, Foothills Christian) and swingman Mustapha Heron (Waterbury, CT, Sacred Heart) more than looked the part of McDonald’s AAs on Saturday.
It was a day in which three of the seven games were decided by, 1) a buzzer-beating layup; 2) two free throws by a freshman with four seconds to go; and, 3) a second overtime, in a game during which Jackson and Simmons combined for 83 points.
Here’s a look at those three games, in reverse order in which they were played, and the other four contests played in front of a packed crowd in Blake Arena on the Springfield College campus:
St. Francis 94, Lone Peak 92 (2OT): My, oh, my – where to begin in recounting a game that could have been as thrilling and entertaining as any played during the first 14 years of this event?
That’s simple, of course: You start with the performances of two of the very best players from the national Class of 2016.
And Duke-bound Frank Jackson used the 40 minutes (32 in regulation and eight over the two OTs) to demonstrate why he’s as good a perimeter-based “scorer” as there is in the class, scoring 49 points via a variety of deep (he dropped in seven 3s) and mid-range jump shots, tossed in with a variety of spectacular dunks and equally impressive drives and finishes, through and around heavy traffic.
Jackson scored 32 of those points over the second half and overtimes, finishing (according to my stat-keeping) with a 16 of 42 shooting performance from the field to go with 10 of 13 free throws, six rebounds, two assists, a couple of steals and three turnovers.
Simmons, who announced a few hours after the conclusion of the game that he plans to sign with the University of Arizona in April, racked up nearly as impressive numbers – in a lot less playing time.
He was on the bench for the final four minutes and 27 seconds of the second quarter after being whistled for his third personal foul and eventually picked up his fifth and disqualifying foul while hand-checking Jackson on a drive with 38 seconds to go in regulation.
But check out the numbers he turned in (again, according to the stats I tracked): 34 points (via nine of 17 from the field, including four 3s, and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line), seven assists (four of those in the fourth quarter), six rebounds, two steals, a blocked shot and five turnovers.
The supporting casts were pretty nifty, too.
St. Francis senior forward Chance Anderson scored 24 points (nine in the OTs) and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds while junior forward Nate Harkness scored 21 points for Lone Peak (15 of those via 3s).
Foothills Christian 82, Sacred Heart 80: The Hearts’ 42-game winning streak (stretching over three seasons) was snapped, in large part by the overwhelming performance of 6-foot-9 future UCLA Bruin T.J. Leaf.
Despite a variety of defenses thrown at him (including the tight 1-on-1 coverage of the muscular 6-5 Mustapha Heron and multiple double teams), Leaf scored 30 points (13 of 19 from the field, including a couple of 3s) to go with 11 rebounds, 10 assists, a couple of blocked shots and six turnovers.
But it was a couple of free throws by a 5-7 and maybe 140-pound freshman that decided the outcome in the California squad’s favor.
And Jaren Nafarrete was only on the floor because the Knight’s senior point guard, Nikko Paranada, had to be helped from the floor early in the fourth quarter after suffering an apparent injury to his right leg.
In Paranada’s absence – and fueled by multiple turnovers by Leaf and his teammates – the Hearts stormed back from the 16-point deficit that they were saddled with when the final quarter began.
Left-handed senior forward Tyrn Flowers (who had committed to the University of Massachusetts earlier in the week) hit three 3s in the fourth quarter to finish with 21 points for Sacred Heart.
And Auburn-bound Heron scored 32 points, six of those on consecutive 3s in the fourth quarter – the second of which tied the score, at 80, with 11 seconds to go.
But, on the inbound pass, Heron inexplicably fouled Nafarrete in the backcourt with four seconds remaining.
And the freshman oh-so-calmly swished both free-throw attempts, then managed to stay in front of Heron as he launched a 35-footer (or so) that fell well short of iron as the buzzer sounded and Foothills Christian pulled out a victory that had seemed so assured through three quarters.
And that assuredness came from the performance of Leaf, in large part due to his stunning passing (from the high and low posts and the wings) that led directly to many of the 15 3s hit by the Knights – six of those by senior forward Luis Salgado.
There isn’t a more gifted “big” forward in the national Class of 2016 than Leaf, who was the most impressive among a lot of impressive performers on Saturday.
West Roxbury (MA) Catholic Memorial 74, Westchester (IL) St. Joseph 73: A follow shot at the buzzer by Stephen Azums gave the Knights the stunning victory in a game in which unsigned 6-10 senior Nick Rakocevic put on quite a display of post play for the Chargers.
Rakocevic, who is likely to come into the spring signing period with dozens of scholarship offers from NCAA Division I-affiliated programs, scored 23 points to go with 18 rebounds, three assists, five blocked shots and six turnovers despite sitting a lot due to foul issues.
Azums finished with game-bests of 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots for his squad.
Montverde (FL) Academy 74, Philadelphia Roman Catholic 44: Coach Kevin Boyle utilized his impressive depth to shuttle players – mostly big and mostly quite talented – onto the floor en route to the lopsided victory.
The two-time national champion Eagles – whose only loss this season has come to top-ranked Chino Hills of Southern California – got double-figure scoring from four players, with 6-8 Canadian sophomore Simi Shittu scoring a team-high 15 points to go with five assists.
Paul VI 68, Metuchen (NJ) St. Joseph 60: The final margin isn’t indicative of how much control Paul VI had throughout.
The Panthers led by 16 points with about two minutes remaining before the Chargers whittled their deficit, which was never less than the final margin in the second half.
Louisville-bound V.J. King led the Panthers with 23 points.
Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep 73, Toronto Athletes Institute 59: The unbeaten team from Nevada – with a roster with players from throughout the United States – was too deep and too gifted for the Canada team despite the presence of 7-1 Thon Maker, who is originally from the Sudan but has also had stops in Australia and multiple cities in the U.S.
Junior guard Markus Howard – who, it is speculated, may possible “reclassify” to the Class of 2016 and be eligible to sign in the spring – led unbeaten Findlay Prep with 25 points, 15 of those via shots from behind the arc.
Maker scored 16 points and blocked 10 shots – most of those early in the contest – but couldn’t do a lot in the final quarter to keep the outcome slipping to Findlay Prep’s favor.
Hartford (CT) Waterbury 76, Bronx (NY) St. Raymond 70: There were two very good guards from the Class of 2017 in this one.
And Chaylyn Martin and his buddies were able to hold off a couple of comeback attempts by Isaiah Washington and St. Raymond.
The 6-1 Martin – as impressive an athlete as was on display Saturday – finished with 28 points, hitting a couple of 3s and all eight of his free throws.
Speaking nicely to those aforementioned athletic gifts, the quick and bouncy Martin snatched 16 rebounds – more than anyone else grabbed on Saturday.
Washington, bothered by some foul problems throughout, scored 19 points (hitting all three attempts from behind the arc) to go with four rebounds and four assists.
DAY II
A day after many of the very best seniors in the country showed off their wares, it was the Class of 2017’s turn to do the same thing Sunday during the continuation of the 15th Spalding HoopHall Classic in Blake Arena at Springfield College.
Jump shooter-deluxe Markus Howard and skilled power forward P.J. Washington (Henderson, NV, Findlay Prep); 7-footer Mohammed Bamba (Westtown, PA, School); swingman Tugs Bowen (La Porte, IN, La Lumiere); another 7-footer, Nick Richards (Elizabeth, NJ, The Patrick School); and explosive wing Hamidou Diallo (Putnam, CT, Science Academy) each no doubt not only impressed the mostly capacity crowd but also the assortment of college head coaches in attendance.
Among those coaches were Roy Williams (North Carolina), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Shaka Smart (Texas).
A look at the four games during which those aforementioned players were on display, as well as the other three “prep school-type” contests I watched during a 12-hour or so block of my Sunday viewing time:
Findlay Prep 91, Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s 67: Coach Andy Johnson’s Pilots remained unbeaten (18-zip) while handing the Gray Bees their first loss in 17 games.
P.J. Washington pretty much had his way in and around the lane while just missing out on a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
And, a day after dropping 25 points (including five 3s) in a win over Athletes Institute and 7-foot-1 Thon Maker at the event, Markus Howard continue to tap that jump shooter’s vein to the tune of 26 points (including another six 3s).
The “official” stats sheet had Howard nine of nine from the field although multiple press table witnesses insisted he missed a jump shot in the first half.
Whatever.
No one who has ever watched Howard (who is from Chandler, AZ, but attends school in another state with a significant desert backdrop) flick his right wrist ever-so-exquisitely would quibble about his jump-shooting form and accuracy.
And he also put six assists, three steals and three rebounds on his time card, as well.
Westtown School 53, Jacksonville (FL) Potter’s House Christian 35: After struggling (at least to score) in the first half against the presence of a 2016 McDonald’s All-American, Mohammed Bamba dominated 6-11, 290-pound Udoka Azubuike and everyone else wearing Potter’s House jersey after intermission.
Bamba’s first-half scoring came only via two of three free-throw attempts although he did grab six rebounds and block four shots to go with three assists while Azubuike had six points to go with seven rebounds for Potter’s House, which was in front, 28-18, at the break.
Things were quite different over the final 16 minutes for Bamba and his teammates.
The Moose (I kid you not; that’s the Westtown mascot/nickname!) outscored the Lions 35-7 in the second half as Bamba jacked up his respective totals to 13 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, five steals and 10 blocks.
If he does those things on a consistent basis, then who is a better prospect than Bamba in the Class of 2017?
That’s a rhetorical question, of course, with an answer of “no one”.
Another junior, 6-6 Brandon Randolph, led Westtown with 18 points mostly via a lot of nifty mid-range jump shots.
Azubuike didn’t get his hands on the basketball much after intermission, the fault lying (depending upon your perspective, I suppose) on, a) His inability to go get it; b) his teammates’ inability to get it to him in advantageous positions or, c) the coaching staff’s inability to devise a system in which to feed him in the low post.
His totals: six points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Heck, he is physically capable of ringing up those kinds of numbers in four- and five-minute spurts.
La Lumiere 62, The Patrick School 58 (OT): This was far and away the most entertaining (if not always “well-played”) game of the day.
The team from Indiana (with a roster dotted with players from Michigan, Illinois, Georgia and Canada, among other locales) jumped out to a 7-zip advantage before falling behind by a dozen late in the first half.
But the Lakers (sure, why not?) eventually sent the game into a four-minute overtime and pulled the thing out just a few days after knocking off Prolific Prep (Napa, CA) and freshly minted McDonald’s All-America Josh Jackson at another event.
And that was in large part due to the presence of 6-7 junior Tugs Bowen.
Bowen, a standout as a freshman and sophomore at Hill High in Saginaw in Michigan, is a slick ball handler who is deceptively quick, with or without the ball in his hands, and has much-improved (via form and accuracy) jump shot.
And he put all of those attributes to good use Sunday night while collecting 29 points, five rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
He would have gone reasonably deep into the “30-plus” mode if he had been a tad more accurate from the free-throw line where he missed half of his 14 attempts.
The Celtics, after falling behind by four points late in the four-minute overtime, almost extended the game by another four minutes.
Harvard-bound point guard Bryce Aiken drilled a 3 from the right corner to get his team to within 59-58 with 25 seconds to go.
After Bowen missed his second of two free throws with 12 seconds remaining, Aiken was seemingly on his way to a tying layup but lost control of the ball and was called for double dribble with 2.2 seconds to go.
Freshman guard Tyger Campbell was immediately fouled on the inbound pass and added two insurance freebies.
Putnam Science Academy 89, Commonwealth Academy 76: Six-four Hamidou Diallo had quite the second half – and then some – for the winning team.
Diallo scored 30 points, all but 27 of those coming after intermission by way of quite the impressive collection of mid-range jumpers and short drives that often resulted in bicep-flexing and rim-distorting slams.
And he was usually well above the crowd, too, while yanking down 11 rebounds.
Six-eight Mamadou Diarra (who signed with the University of Connecticut in November) added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Putnam Science Academy while 6-1 junior Shyheim Hicks led Commonwealth Academy with 18 points (12 by way of four very deep 3s).
Wolfeboro, NH, Brewster Academy 94, Saxtons Rivers Vermont Academy 87: There is a quite strong likelihood that 6-4, University of Miami-bound Bruce Brown of Vermont Academy would have seen his name posted as a McDonald’s All-American Sunday night if he hadn’t been a “fifth-year senior”.
But his 37-point performance in a losing cause Sunday afternoon was just another way of demonstrating why he will be among the very best college freshmen during the 2016-17 for the Hurricanes.
Brown hit 15 of 24 shots from the floor (including three of seven on 3s) while adding eight rebounds, two assists and three steals while doing a reasonable Dwyane Wade imitation against Brewster Academy.
Six-nine Taurean Thompson (who attended St. Anthony in Jersey City for three years) was eligible to be a McDonald’s All-American but didn’t make the 24-player cut.
He could prove to have a better college career than some of those who did, however, as was evident by way of his 23 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots for Brewster Academy.
His is one of the better as yet-unsigned prospects in the Class of 2016 and should have multiple options come April.
Granby, MA, MacDuffie School 69, Wilbraham, MA, Wilbraham and Monson Academy 61: With his Kentucky-coaching father watching from a baseline seat, senior guard Brad Calipari swished five 3s and scored 17 points for MacDuffie while 6-10 teammate (and still unsigned) Jordy Tshimanaga scored 13 points with 19 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Six-nine Wenyen Gabriel, who is set to play for John Calipari in Lexington next season and, as a fifth-year senior, was also ineligible to be a McDonald’s All-American, had an active second half while finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots for Wilbraham and Monson.
Easthampton, MA, Williston-Northhampton 61, Suffield, CT, Academy 53: Six-five senior point guard Jamaal David had 13 points, a couple of assists and four rebounds for the winning squad in a game that tipped off at 9 a.m.
FINAL DAY
If it was high school “star power” that you were searching out for a Martin Luther King Day’s worth of basketball entertainment, then Monday’s final day’s action of the 15th Spalding HoopHall Classic fit the bill perfectly.
Even in defeat, St. Louis Chaminade High’s newly minted McDonald’s All-American Jayson Tatum showed why he’s a strong candidate to be the 2016 Player of the Year during his team’s game with Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha in Springfield College’s packed Blake Arena.
And, a few hours later, another McDonald’s AA selection and top POY candidate, Lonzo Ball, was every bit equal parts productive and entertaining while leading nationally top-ranked and (now) 17-0 Chino Hills of Southern California past High Point (NC) Christian, 100-75, to hit the century mark in scoring for the ninth time.
The 6-foot-8 Tatum and his Chaminade teammates had DeMatha at the tipping point of an upset with a five-point advantage and about a minute to go in regulation.
But Coach Mike Jones’ team sent Chaminade players to the free-throw line five times in that final minute and – even as the Red Devils were hitting seven of 10 attempts – it was a strategy that paid off when senior Kellon Taylor, after a short pass from Markelle Fultz, sank a 15-foot floater at the buzzer to put the game into a four-minute overtime.
Tatum scored seven of his 40 points in OT, the last of those coming on a couple of free throws that got his team to within a point of DeMatha with 10.4 seconds remaining.
But, after Nate Darling’s two free throws made it Stags, 72-69, Tatum got a reasonable look from about 25 feet and straight away, but the ball rimmed out at the buzzer to secure DeMatha’s victory.
The Duke-bound Tatum’s numbers were staggering.
Those 40 points can by way of 12 of 28 shooting from the field (he hit just one shot from behind the arc), 15 of 18 free throws, 11 rebounds, four assists, a couple of blocked shots and seven turnovers.
The Red Devils also got 11 pounds and 14 rebounds from Tyler Cook, a power forward who will be a freshman at the University of Iowa next fall.
The 6-4, University of Washington-bound Fultz – also announced Sunday night as one of the 24 McDonald’s AAs from the Class of 2016 – scored 20 points before being fouling out against Tatum in OT.
High Point Christian – led by yet another of the 10 McDonald’s AAs to play at the event this past weekend in 6-9 Bam Adebayo – fell to Chino Hills (94-82) during the Dec. 22 City of Palms semifinal in Ft. Myers (FL).
Things seemed to be going a lot more in the Cougars’ way Monday night, though, as – while methodically passing against the Huskies’ trapping defense – they got a lot of good shots, and him them, to go up, 20-10, with a bit more than a minute to in the first period in the nationally televised contest.
It wasn’t long, though, before things began to unravel Adebayo & Co.
After the Huskies cut their deficit to six points (at 23-17) after the first period, future UCLA Bruin Ball hit a couple of near-30 footers and used three of his five assists in the second period to set up 3s by younger brothers LaMelo (a freshman with two of them) and LiAngelo (a junior who got the other 3).
Things might not have appeared quite well in hand for the Huskies at intermission with their 43-39 lead.
But, sparked by eight Lonzo assists to his brothers and “non-Ball Brothers” starters in junior forward Elizjah Scott and freshman center Onyeka Okongwu, the advantage was 20 points after three periods and things were not only “well in hand” but Lonzo squeezing the heck out of them.
As the case with Tatum, Lonzo’s stats were beyond “eye-catching”: 15 points (six of 14 from the field, including three 3s), 22 assists, 11 rebounds, four steals, five blocked shots and five turnovers.
The 6-9, 240-pound (at least) Adebayo scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds but his presence was never able to be truly exploited by his teammates at either end of the floor.
In other Sunday games:
*Jersey City St. Anthony 72, Bentonville (AR) 50: Bentonville had the McDonald’s AA in its lineup – via Kentucky-bound Malik Monk – but the Friars more than locked him up, defensively, while also pretty much getting high-percent shots attempts on just about every possession.
Six-foot junior R.J. Cole scored St. Anthony’s first 14 points en route to a team-high 23 points while senior teammates Jagan Moseley and Asante Gist added 14 and 13, respectively.
The 6-4 Monk scored 22 points and was credited with eight rebounds and six assists. All but six of those points, however, came during the fourth quarter in which St. Anthony took a 25-point advantage before Coach Bob Hurley began subbing quite liberally.
*Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy 74, Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei 55: Each program has a coach with more than 1,000 victories who is a candidate to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame – located just a couple of miles from the Springfield College campus – next September.
But, this season, at least, Oak Hill’s Steve Smith has a more gifted roster than does Gary McKnight, which was quite evident especially as the Warriors methodically and relentlessly pulled away after intermission via transition and “power” offense and a shot-blocking and harassing defense.
Six players, led by Alabama-bound forward Brandon Key (16 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three of the team’s eight blocked shots), scored from eight to 16 points.
Sophomore guard Spencer Freedman, with 17 points (all but two of those coming by way of five 3s in the first half that ended with Oak Hill up, 38-31), was the only Monarch to score in double figures.
*Montverde (FL) Academy 81, Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon 67: Coach Kevin Boyle’s program’s only loss this season came to a Southern California-based team – Chino Hills, during the second round of the City of Palms event.
And it appeared that the Trailblazers were on their way to pulling off the same feat as they went into intermission up, 27-24.
But things went south from the lads from Southern California in a hurry when play resumed, largely because they had no defensive answers for the post play of 6-8 sophomore Simi Shittu and 6-10, Ohio State signee Micah Potter, who combined for 44 points and 20 rebounds.
*Brooklyn (NY) Lincoln 82, Springfield Putnam 52: The locals were – as the score vividly illustrates – were quite overmatched against one of the better programs from New York City during the final game played in the event Monday night.
Senior Rakym Felder (25), junior Caheim Brown (19) and sophomore Donald Flores (15) combined for 59 points for the Railsplitters.
And doesn’t that remain one of the coolest high school nicknames going anywhere?
Six-three senior Tyonne Malone scored 23 points for Putnam.
