Topic: Basketball
June 26-28,2009 University of Kentucky campus - It appears that summer basketball is a blur anymore with all the events, camps, and tournaments dotting the landscape of basketball anymore. However this event stands out because of the overwhelming talent organizer Clay Dade brings to the table.
The players are challenged to make a name for themselves and if this event is an indication the Class of 2013 should indeed be well represented.
The top 20 selected met in an all-star game in which the "White" squad defeated the "Blue" squad by a score of 88-85.
The "White" squad members were 6-5 Drekalo Clayton (Orlando FL), 6-7 Alex Foster (Plainfield IL), 6-3 Justin Dotson (Central SC), 6-8 Jonathan Williams (Memphis TN), 6-5 Ishmael Wainwright (Overland Park KS), 6-3 Rodney Purvis (Raleigh NC), 6-0 Brent Scott (Ft. Wayne IN), 6-6 Nigel Hayes (Toledo OH), 6-4 Keith Frazier (Irving TX), and 6-1 Tadric Jackson (Ashburn GA). The "Blue" team members were 6-2 Nigel Williams-Goss (Henderson NV), 6-2 Shirmane Thomas (Dallas TX), 6-8 Tyrek Coger (Raleigh NC), 6-6 Christian Bradley (Melbourne FL), 6-2 Kasey Hill (Eustis FL), 6-6 Collin Hartman (Fishers IN), 6-3 Darryl Hicks (Shelbyville KY), 6-5 Austin Nichols (Collierville TN), 6-5 Nick King (Memphis TN) , and 6-1 Kendal Harris (Dallas TX).
The "White" team was led in victory by Justin Dotson with 18 points. The "Blue" team was paced by Nigel Williams-Goss and Tyrek Coger with 17 and 16 points respectively.
Several awards were given out this week with Ishmael Wainwright (Top Prospect), Tyrek Coger and Drekalo Clayton (Top Big Men), 6-6 Malik Thompson (Orlando FL) (Top Rebounder), Shirmane Thomas (Top Defender) , and 6-1 C.J. Wilson (Conyers GA) (Top Passer) all receiving hardware.
Nigel Williams-Goss proved to be a versatile and consistent scorer and led the camp in scoring. Kasey Hill has an excellent all-around game and has the ability to finish in traffic. Ishmael Wainwright scores and rebounds and is athletic. Rodney Purvis is almost unstoppable because of his ability to score off the dribble. Drekalo Clayton is tremendously strong in the paint. Tyrek Coger has the complete package inside and as an extra bonus has good range on his jump shot. Darryl Hicks has had an excellent summer of AAU ball and brings athleticism and an excellent three point stroke. Justin Dotson is explosive in the open court and consistently gets to the rim. 6-0 Jahmel Taylor (Los Angeles CA) is an explosive scorer who can nail the three point basket.
There are far to many outstanding players to mention here which is a testament to the organizers and indictive of the talent level. It has become quite popular to bash the gurus for ranking players at such an early age but it appears like more and more players are capable of playing at a higher level despite their relative youth.
Updated: Wednesday, 22 July 2009 10:41 PM EDT
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