3 Team Pride products visit Purdue, participate in Elite Camp

-Team Pride, arguably the top travel team in Michigan, had a great July and coaches from all over the country have begun to track Pride prospects. Basically every school in the Big Ten are now recruiting Pride players. Purdue, has been one of the most aggressive. Purdue is heavily recruiting BOTB's #1 player in the state for the class of 2011 and 2012 in Tommie McCune the 6'8 F from Saginaw High and Matt Costello the 6'9 PF from Bay City Western who runs the court like a deer. Saginaw High's 6'5 Trey Babers a Jr Wing is also getting Purdue interest as well as interest from Iowa and Michigan.

All three played very well at camp and the Purdue staff will continue to monitor their progress and recruit them diligently. BOTB will keep you updated on these and other players recruitment!

-Christian Vaughn-Dawkins

Loydenterprises@hotmail.com

Recent News

-BOTB Is Back! We will be transitioning a lot coming up! We will have a new website, with videos, articles, rankings, etc. We haven't been posting on here, but we have been keeping up with the basketball world while we have been gone. Expect big things coming soon!

-In Michigan high school basketball news- Richaud Pack from Birmingham Seaholm committed to Isaiah Thomas and Florida International. Isaiah is bringing in a very good class headlined by 2010 high major type players 6'9 Domoniqu Chatham e Ferguson of, VA/Hargrave Military and 5'9 Phil Taylor of Marietta, GA/Wheeler. Pack played on the Team Detroit 17u squad this July that featured Ferguson in Las Vegas. Pack is a dead-eye shooter that will be a definite zone buster in college. The 6'2 SG was getting mid major interest.

-According to Friends 4 Life Coach Eugene White, he and Anton Grady, a 6'7 F from Cleveland, OH/Central Catholic visited Michigan State last weekend. The interest seems to be there for both parties, and White said MSU is a great school! Grady is ranked low by our competitors, but he is easily a top 50 player nationally and the top 2011 kid in Ohio. 

-CVD

Showdown in the Valley Report

17u Champion-Team Detroit Over Team Pride MVP:Trey Zeigler
16u Champion-Saginaw All or Nothing Over Team Pride MVP: Marquavis Ford
15u Champion-Team Pride Over Parallel 45 MVP: Kenny Kaminski
14u Champion-Team Pride/Superfriends Over Saginaw All or Nothing MVP:Steven Haney
13u Champion-Team Pride Over Flint Affiliation MVP:Malik Hamilton
12u Champion-JRich Ballers Over Team Pride
11u Champion-Flint Affiliation
10u Champion-JRich Ballers Over Saginaw Panthers

Top Players Over the Weekend

Team Detroit 17u:

Trey Zeigler 6'5 G Mt. Pleseant
Walter Pitchford 6'9 C Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Corey Petros 6'10 C Utica Eisenhower
Maurice Jones 5'7 PG Arthur Hill
Richaud Pack 6'2 SG Birmingham Seaholm
Percy Gibson 6'7 PF Detroit Southeastern

Team Pride 17u:

DMarco Sanders 6'2 G Flint Powers
Derrick Davis 6'2 G Bridgeport
Darvin Ham 6'5 Wing Bridgeport
Tommie McCune 6'8 F Saginaw High 2011
AJ Thomas 5'7 PG Saginaw Heritage
Taveon Whitson 6'3 Wing Saginaw High

Parallel 45 17u:

Dwaun Anderson 6'4 Wing 2011 Suttons Bay
Garrett Mortenson 5'11 PG 2011 St. Ignance

OAA Select:

Thomas Lovachis 6'1 Wing Stockbridge
Mitchell Vallie 6'4 Wing Goodrich?

Team Pride 16u:

Christian Vaughn 6'1 G Saginaw High 2010
Tommie McCune 6'8 F Saginaw High
Shaquille Smith 5'9 PG Flint Northern
Trey Babers 6'5 Wing Saginaw High
Tink Sherman 5'10 PG Saginaw High 2010
James Johnson 6'4 Wing Saginaw Heritage 2010

Team Detroit 16u:

Ray Lee 6'2 G Robichaud 2012
Percy Gibson 6'7 PF Detroit Southeastern
Urban Bigham 6'6 PF Country Day
Lee Bailey 5'10 PG Country Day

All or Nothing 16u:

Marquavis Ford 6'2 G Saginaw High
Evellis McGee 5'10 PG Saginaw High
D'Vario Gaines 6'6 F 2012 Saginaw High
Bryant Epperson 6'0 G 2010 Saginaw High

Saginaw FOH:

Jaylen Bland 6'2 G Transferring to California
Kevin Marshall 6'7 PF 2012 Saginaw High
Dre Wiley 5'8 PG Saginaw High

Camp Jordon:

George Goodman 5'9 PG Saginaw Buena Vista

Team Pride 15u:

Kenny Kaminski 6'7 Wing Medina(OH)
Matt Costello 6'8 PF Bay City Western
Donald Fisher 6'8 PF Flint Northern
Anton Wilson 6'4 Wing Flint Carman-Ainsworth
Travontis Richardson 6'2 Wing Saginaw High

Team Pride 14u:

Derrick Walton 5'10 PG Detroit
Steven Haney 6'4 Wing East Lansing High

Tourney Highlights:

-The Breakout performances of players like Dwaun Anderson, the 6'4 super wing from up north, Suttons Bay. Anderson is one of the top 2011 wings in Michigan, and a potential high major player. Shaquille Smith from Flint Northern, showed people what I've been saying all along, he's a elite guard in the state.

-The competitive of the 17u division. There was no blowouts, Team Pride got an impressive win over Team Detroit's juggernaut 17u and Parallel 45 and OAA Select also balled the entire weekend.

-The abundance of talent in Saginaw, MI. The talent in Saginaw is scary, it may be safe to say that their isn't another city in the state of Michigan right now with more talent top to bottom than Saginaw. At one time the entire 16u division championship was all Saginaw High players, all 10 on both side of floor. Saginaw FOH and Camp Jordon also featured players from Buena Vista, Heritage, Bridgeport, etc.

-The guard play of Team Pride's 17s. All weekend the guard play carried the Pride 17s along. In a pool play victory against Team Detroit, Derrick Davis a 6'3 Wing from Bridgeport, Damarco Sanders a 6'2 G from Flint Powers and AJ Thomas a 5'8 PG from Saginaw Heritage were stellar. Thomas emerged as one of the elite PG's in the state. Troy Wright another one of Heritage guards also played well. Sanders also couldn't be stopped from the perimeter and Davis was a beast in transition and made numerous athletic plays.

IPS Border Battle Report

The Inside Prep Sports Border Battle was one of the premier events held in the Midwest this year. With elite travel teams coming from all around the Midwest, and some from as far as Georgia, this was a very nice tourney. It was well run and everything was started on time. Below is a recap for the website, while our subscribers will get a more detailed recap.

Congrats to the Champions:

17u Gold-Stark County Runner Up-CBIZ
17u Silver-Pittsburgh Storm Runner Up-MI Mavericks

16u Gold-Friends 4 Life Runner Up-Common Bond Barnes
16u Silver- Team Legion Runner Up-Detroit Magic

15u Gold-All Ohio Red Runner Up-Team Pride
15u Silver-Team Toledo Runner Up-Shining Stars

14u Champion-Pittsburgh Storm Runner Up-Team Toledo

BOTB's Fab Five Players (All Ages, excluding Michigan Talent)

Anton Grady, 6'7 Wing, Central Catholic (OH), 2011, Friends 4 Life- Long and extremely athletic wing. Although he had 20 on the Michigan Mustangs in a playoff game, his entire impact on the game was enormous. His dunks were simply game changing, he dunked on people numerous times. He looked comfortable coming off screens and shooting 3's, and he even hit some which is a good thing. Didn't see him handle it that much, but could see him being a full-time wing. Long arms and athleticism as well as his great timing, also makes him a very good shot-blocker. Out of the 2011 prospects in Ohio, probably on 6'11 Zack Price from Lakewood St. Ed's and Chane Behanan the 6'7 beast from Cincinnati Aiken should be ranked higher. He's a legit high major.

Dai-Jon Parker, 6'4 CG, Milton (GA), 2011, Georgia Netburners- Not playing with his usual squad, the Southern Kings, Parker fit in well with the Netburners. I can see why colleges are flocking to this young guard. End to end, he is the quickest and fastest I've seen all spring, combine that with his height and build, he has insane potential. He had a dunk against Team Pride 16's in pool play that may have been the best I've seen all spring as well. He's a very good passer, especially off the bounce, and that is a very good quality to have for his game since he virtually gets in the lane at will. Nice jumpshot, very smooth. Top 25 prospect nationally, easily.

Kenny Kaminski, 6'6 Wing, Medina (OH), 2012, Team Pride-Fundamentally and as far as footwork, jab-steps, fade-aways, making tough shots, etc. These eyes have never seen as high school freshman do the things he does. Bad games for him=20 points and 10 boards. His step back three is flat out money, and the way he can get the ball at his size, at his age at the top of the key, size up the defender, jab step; and score with a defender in his face all the while shooting a deep 3 is amazing. He's also dangerous down low. With more development and when he gains strength and handles it better, we are talking about a potential McDonald's All American.

Elijah Macon, 6'8 PF, Marion Franklin (OH), 2012 All Ohio Red 15s- People have him rated the #1 2012 prospect in Ohio right now, and while I don't know if he's better than Kaminski you can see why people have him rated so high. At 6'8 he's very athletic, runs the floor like a gazelle, and can really face you up and hit a mid-range jumper. His mid-range game may be his biggest strength. Long arms affects a lot of things down low at the 15U level, but he also gives alot of effort down low to get rebounds, box outs, etc. Ohio State has offered and I agree that offering him is a good move, need to get in early with this kid, he's a future star.

Dylan Kaufman, 6'4 2G, Hiland (OH), 2012, CBIZ- Another one of the top 2012 kids in Ohio right now. He can flat out stroke the deep ball, but he's not one-dimensional. Akron has already offered and he is making their staff look pretty smart. He has a very good sense of when to use pump-fakes, jab steps, step-throughs, etc and because of that he usually gets open looks during games, and when he's open you can pretty much count it. To reach full potential, tightening up his handle should be a priority.


BOTB Fab-Five Players (All Ages, Michigan)

Patrick Lucas-Perry, 5'9 PG, Flint Powers, 2011, Team Legion 16u- Is he a better scorer or distributor? That's a good thing to ponder, because while he gets his 30 points some games, he also gets his 10 assists in the same games. He's improved so much over the past year, it's crazy to think how much more he could improve. He can finish, he is the best mid range jump shooter in Michigan, and he's a leader. He's won the championship in every tourney he played in year besides King James, and don't forget he got the most important one the state championship with Flint Powers.

Tommie McCune, 6'8 F, Saginaw High, 2011, Team Pride- He is continuing to improve every game. He's still a little inconsistent right now, but he's getting there. He hit 30 in one pool play game, and he can easily get 20 at the 17u level, if he works from inside-out, not vice versa. He could be a full time wing, but he must handle it better. Personal trainer is really helping his speed, agility, strength, and quickness, and his athleticism is clearly there, he will dunk on you in a second. Played exclusively 17u this weekend, although 16u is where he'll most likely play in July. Good shot blocker, but must improve defensively off the ball. His total package, skill level for his size, athleticism, and potential, makes him the #1 player in Michigan's 2011 class.

Matt Costello, 6'8 PF, Bay City Western, 2012, Team Pride-If everyone had his enthusiasm for the game of basketball, it would be a much better game. He is one of those rare bigs who at a young age is actually good and produces. He is very long, and he can run the floor very well. His mid-range jumper is legit, and he also has that jump hook that hits almost every time he shoots it. Has to get stronger to reach his full potential, but if he ever gets strength, and more athletic, he will be a scary player. His parents are huge, so getting 6'10 is also a very reasonable assumption. He will destroy the Saginaw Valley conference in time.

Shaquille Smith, 5'9 G, Flint Northern, 2011, Team Pride-He's the man for Pride's 16u group. Although he's not quite a PG yet, he has the strength, and blinding speed, quickness, and ballhandling where you can just throw him in the fire an he'll succeed. I will bet the house, that other than guards like Maurice Jones and Patrick Lucas-Perry, no one can stay in front of him. And although the elite guards in Michigan can all score, I don't know if anyone can get buckets like Shaq. He's under the radar, but trust me he's an elite guard in Michigan. Once he improves his jump shot, and understands how to play a little more and hones his PG skills, he may have high major potential, mid major potential at the worst.

LaDonte Henton, 6'4 F, Lansing Eastern, 2011, Michigan Mustangs- Although I don't know what position he truly is, and if he will ever get that high major offer, I know that he produces right now. He had close to 40 on Friends 4 Life in the semis, and while it was clear Anton Grady is a better prospect/player, "Buckets" had better numbers. He is a really good rebounder, and he scores the majority of his points off of put backs. He must improve his ball handling to play at the D1 level on the wing, because if a D1 player pressures him he'll turn it over. Right now he's still a PF, but a move to the wing is looking like it may happen for him.

Mike Green

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2009/05/a_bond_of_brothers_surrounded.html

Great read on a great person! Shows that this is more than basketball! Mike Green is an outstanding player, and kudos to Grand Valley State for getting a good one!

adidas May Classic Report

Year in and year out the adidas May Classic is one of the top events of the year. Not only do top adidas teams travel to come down, but also top Nike teams and non-sponsored teams participate. This year was no different. The adidas May Classic was filled with top players and teams. Below is a recap on the action.

17u Division- The 17u division was won by SYF Players. SYF is a loaded group led by 6'9 Domonique Ferguson from Lawrence North High in Indianapolis. Ferguson is being recruited by Kentucky, Duke, Indiana, Arizona, Tennessee, and others aggressively. Ferguson is very long and was a terror as an inside-outside threat the entire weekend. SYF also featured 6'2 PG Jesse Berry from Lafayette (IN) Jefferson. Berry is a high major prospect. To further showcase the depth of Indiana talent, SYF beat Eric Gordon All-Stars in the title game. EG All-Stars were led by 6'3 G Terone Johnson from Eric Gordon's alma mater North Central in Indianapolis, the stocky scoring guard is headed to Purdue. Team Detroit and the Michigan Mustangs also flexed their muscle this weekend. Both loaded groups, Team Detroit were offed in the semis by SYF, the eventual tourney champions, and the Mustangs were beat in the Elite 8 by the Derrick Rose All-Stars for the second time this year.

Top Players:

Ray McCallum- The 6'1 PG from Detroit Country Day, further cemented his status as a elite PG nationally. He is a brilliant passer and the consummate floor general, his hoops IQ is through the roof, and he is also improving athletically at a rapid pace. If he gets stronger, watch out!

Trey Zeigler- The 6'4 G from Mt. Pleasant High showed out this weekend for Team Detroit. Always the scorer, he scored in bunches this weekend. McCallum and Keith Appling are hot names right now, but I still don't know if either are better than Trey. This kid can flat out go, Michigan may have 3 Top 25 prospects nationally in the 2010 class.

Dominique Ferguson- Long, longer, and the longest! He is a hybrid forward that will take you outside and drive or mix it up inside. Added strength will only help him down the line, but I think he will develop to a 3. He's a top 10 talent nationally, he de-committed from Kentucky when Cal took the job, but don't be surprised to see him where the Blue in college, although Tom Crean and the Hoosiers aren't going down without a fight!

Keith Appling- He's easily MSU's best recruit since Kalin Lucas (stating the obvious). Wouldn't be surprised to see him in the McDonald's All American game. He's so effective at scoring but remaining unselfish. I would love to see him grow some more, but I doubt that happens, but even if he doesn't he has insane potential. This kid has it!

Kyrie Irving- The New Jersey Roadrunners weren't the most talented ball club at the AMC, but one thing was for sure, they had the best overall player in the event! The St. Patricks (NJ) product, may be the best PG in America. At 6'3 there is nothing the kid can't do, he's amazing! Indiana is in good with him.

16u Division- The Indiana Elite franchise must be the top summer program in America. They have an abundance of talent throughout their entire program, and they feature 2 maybe 3 elite, national type teams per age group. The Indiana Elite One Green team took home the chip in this age group, even though they didn't actually play the championship game because of 43 Hoops having to get back to Minnesota because of flight situations. The Michigan Mustangs 16s advanced to the Elite 8, in this division losing to the eventual champions. The Team Pride program finished 2-1 despite being shorthanded due to proms and other obligations. Pride had most of its 16s playing 17s, and they just didn't have enough gas in their tank at the end! Powerstroke also won their pool.

15u Division- Once again the Indiana Elite program took home the title! This time it was the Indy Elite-Team Indiana branch. This team featured two 7 footers, Peter Jurkin and Obij Aget as well as the #1 freshman in Indiana DVaunte Smith Rivera. The Team Pride squad advanced all the way to the finals after defeating Spiece Hoosier Hoops, Spiece Indy Heat (the team some feel is the best 15u group in America), and the Derrick Rose All-Stars en route to the title game. Pride showed that they are arguably a Top 5 15u team in America.

Top 2011 and 2012 prospects:

Brandan Kearney: He played up on the Team Detroit 17's and he just oozes potential. Can flat out stroke the deep one, and he does it with ease. He played great at the AMC and he will only continue to get better! Hopefully he qualifies for the USA Under 16 National Team in June.

Percy Gibson: Give Percy a few more inches, and your talking about a absolute monster. The lefty is tough down low, and when he goes hard few can stop. He most likely will still go high major whether he grows or not because, few bigs can score and work the boards like him. He's a good one.

Tommie McCune: If I'm buying stock, now is the time to buy Tommie's. He will be a Top 50 national recruit and the #1 player in the state by the time this class graduates. He has everything scouts and coaches love, length, size, athleticism, heart, etc. He's 6'8 and he's probably a wing player. He had a dunk against the So Cal All-Stars in 17u pool play that was so nasty, people ran out the gym! Did I mention he had games when he hit 3+ trey balls?

Shaquille Smith- The kid just doesn't get enough love statewide, but he's most likely the #2 PG in the state for 2011. The kid killed for Team Pride. He has a deadly crossover, and he uses that to get by defenders, while in the lane he has the athleticism to rise over you and try to dunk or finish. He is also very fast and quick. If he improves his J and works on passing more, big time D1 recruit.

DVaunte Smith Rivera- (Indiana Elite-Team Indiana 2012)This bulldog has to be one of the top freshman in the nation! Equipped with a body of a NFL linebacker, there won't be any 15u PG's that can guard him anywhere. He wills his team to victories. Once he gets in the lane its a bucket or assist, he's really, really good.

Raphael Davis- I see why Matt Painter and staff took a commitment from this kid at Purdue, in 4 years this kid will be a star. He's a legit 6'5 and has a great body. He has to continue improving skill wise but he has the swagger, athletic ability, and heart to be a good one! He dominated all tourney for Spiece Indy Heat's 15u, I can see why people like him so much.

Entire Team Pride 15u- This could be one of the best groups the state of Michigan has put on the circuit in some time. They lost their first game all year at the AMC and it legitimately could be their last loss of the year, needless to say this group is loaded. 6'9 Matt Costello is the #1 freshman in Michigan, 6'7 Kenny Kaminski is the #1 freshman in Ohio, Dorian Dawkins is the #1 8th grader in Michigan, and fellow scouts thought players like 6'3 Saginaw High Wing Travontis Richardson, 6'4 Anton Wilson from Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 6'4 Wing Quinn Langston from Flint Hamady, 6'2 8th grade Wing Dominique Jackson from Saginaw, MI and 5'9 Antwan Burkes from Flint Beecher all have immense talent and potential. They still have a lot of development, but scouts, shoe company reps, and fans were extremely impressed with this group.

U-M Recruiting News

-Michigan has been hosting many of the top prospects in the state on unofficials lately. First it was top 2010 players Trey Zeigler and Ray McCallum, today 6'10 Soph Amir Williams was on campus. Michigan with its recent success could challenge Tom Izzo and Michigan State for in-state recruiting supremacy, but it will be difficult. The Spartans 2010 Class includes Top 20 national player Keith Appling, Top 100 Russell Byrd, Top 150 Alex Gauna, and last weekend they hosted Top 10-15 National Player Adreian Payne, a 6'10 C from Ohio. Payne is the center on the nations top travel team, All-Ohio Red. Payne who is interested in MSU, Kentucky, Akron, Ohio State, and West Virginia among others, is on campus at Kentucky this weekend. 

-Although the Wolverine, missed on one from prep school powerhouse St Marks in Southborough, Mass(Nate Lubick) they will try for another one. 6'8 2012 Wing Alex Murphy is one of the premier freshman talents in America. The Michigan coaches are starting to actively recruit Murphy as well as others like Georgia Tech, Providence, UMASS, Duke.