2009 PEACH JAM RECAP, PART I

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – The premier AAU tournament during the AAU season kicked off Sunday in North Augusta, South Carolina, where 24 of the best Nike travel teams were invited to participate in a four-day tournament, better known as the Peach Jam. There is also a U-16 division, where 16 teams will battle in a “Sweet Sixteen” tournament.

As usual, the Peach Jam brought together every big-time coach in the country, as well as the top talent in the classes of 2010, 2011 and 2012. If one uses Rivals.com’s rankings, the top three players in the class of 2010 are in attendance, as well as five of the top 10 and 11 of the top 20. In the class of 2011, six of the top 10 players participated, while several of the more highly-touted members of the class of 2012 were also here.

The Nike Peach Jam continued on Monday, as the teams from across the country got more comfortable and acclimated with the surroundings and facilities – and it showed in the level of play. There were more close games, better-played games and plenty of marquee match-ups. For Big East fans, a big-time battle ensued when the New York Gauchos took on the Playaz, while the Albany City Rocks also took on Team Final. One of the more interesting moments I’ve ever seen in an AAU game occurred in the Gauchos-Playaz game, when NY’s Doron Lamb literally stood near half-court and held the ball for the last five-plus minutes of the first half – for no apparent reason, other than the coaching staff telling him to.

As the Nike Peach Jam rolled on into day three, it became clear that injuries were becoming the major theme of the tournament. Brandon Knight broke his foot on the first night of the tournament, while Harrison Barnesinjured a finger on his non-shooting hand on the first day. James McAdoo has a torn labrum, and 2012 talentMichael Gbinije has a stiff back and tendinitis in both knees. Anthony Wroten sprained his ankle and has been hampered, while Josh Smith is recovering from getting his tonsils removed. Austin Rivers missed most of the second half of last night’s game with a bout of food poisoning, while Reggie Smith also missed a game yesterday with allergy problems.

Pool play ended on Tuesday afternoon and here were the quarterfinal match-ups for Tuesday evening:

All-Ohio Red vs. Each One Teach One
Louisiana Select vs. City Rocks
Team Final vs. Cali Supreme
Team Takeover vs. Team Florida

The first round of the playoffs saw some excellent play as City Rocks held on to beat Louisiana Select, 75-73, behind another outstanding performance from Tobias Harris, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Team Takeover was the only undefeated team in pool play, but that meant little in the playoffs as Team Florida got 21 points and 8 rebounds from Florida State-bound Okaro White in a 60-59 win. Jerian Grant had 22 points for Team Takeover in the loss.

In a rematch of the Rumble in the Bronx final in one quarterfinal contest, Team Final routed Cali Supreme 92-77. Trevor Cooney and Rakeem Christmas scored 20 points each while Gary Franklin Jr. led Cali with 20.

All-Ohio Red used a dominant second half to pull away from Each One Teach One, 56-40. Jared Sullinger had 21 points and 8 rebounds while Austin Rivers scored 10 for Each One Teach One.

Wednesday’s semifinals were all set in the 17-U bracket:

All-Ohio Red vs. City Rocks
Team Final vs. Team Florida

The event was settled on Wednesday, the final day of the July open evaluation day for Divison 1-A coaches. In one semifinal, All-Ohio Red continued to ride their horse, Jared Sullinger, to the finals with a 58-49 victory. Team Final would be their opposition as they turned back Team Florida 66-53.

In the end, it was the tournament for All-Ohio Red as they were truimphant Wednesday evening in the championship game over Team Final and continued their dominant run with a 62-53 win.

In the 16-U bracket it was The Family who claimed the title with a win over All-Ohio Red in that classification.

Here are some player evaluations and recruiting notes from the final four in the 17-U tournament, Team Final, All-Ohio Red, City Rocks and Team Florida…

Rakeem Christmas, 6-9, Team Final, 2011 (pictured on right at LJSA): Christmas didn’t do much offensively against the City Rocks, outside of a few dunks and finishes at the rim. He also ran the floor pretty well, enabling him to get easy points in transition. However, he was outstanding on the defensive end, blocking shot after shot. His length and reach make it difficult for people to go up against him and score, while his athleticism helps him control the glass.
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Mike Gilchrist, 6-7, Team Final, 2011: Arguably the best player in the nation regardless of class, Gilchrist showed why during his Monday morning game. He was outstanding offensively, getting to the basket at will and finishing effectively. Gilchrist also got fouled often, and showed off his nice free-throw touch. He was also a menace on the backboards at both ends, and had multiple blocks, including back-to-back blocks of Harris.

In terms of his recruiting, Gilchrist told NBE that he is wide-open, contrary to popular belief that he is down toVillanova and Kentucky. He also wants to take visits in August, but does not know where yet.
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Trevor Cooney, 6-3, Team Final, 2011: By the end of the week Cooney had his shot dialed in and had some very impressive playoff performances with his dead-eye jumper. Syracuse, Villanova, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia, Ohio State, West Virginia, Rutgers, Delaware and Maryland are on his list. He has seen them all but Ohio State, but plans on checking out the Buckeyes soon.
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Tobias Harris, 6-8, Albany City Rocks, 2010: Was very, very impressive throughout the day. In his opening game Monday, despite the loss to Team Final, Harris was exceptional. He showed his complete repertoire, hitting threes from the corner with consistency, as well as getting baskets around the rim off of rebounds or penetration. Harris finished very well at the basket, and was not discouraged even after getting blocked by Mike Gilchrist or Rakeem Christmas. Apparently, he was even better in his second game. “He played good in the first game? Well, he played great [in the night game],” said an ACC head coach.

Harris plans on cutting his list to five or six schools after July. for now, he told NBE that Connecticut, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Florida, Kentucky, Memphis, Notre Dame, Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland and Louisvilleare involved. Harris would like to visit Kentucky and has made unofficial visits at one time or another to all others on the list.
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Brice Kofane, 6-8, Albany City Rocks, 2010: One of the more surprising performers of the Peach Jam, Kofane didn’t do much offensively – but he didn’t need to. He was absolutely outstanding at the other end, coming in and immediately blocking three consecutive shots against Team Final. He was also a very good rebounder and caused problems all day on the interior. Offensively, he got good position and showed good vision, and even got a few baskets off of offensive rebounds and put-backs.