Greetings HS hoops junkies from across the waiting-for-school-to-get-out piedmont. The J-MAC Showcase tournament is now history but not without making some lasting memories and good impressions to boot. The Great One was once again “in da house” at Nation Ford HS in Fort Mill and he has nothing but praise for the facilities there. We will now recap his observations and notes from games that he observed.
In the first game, the LBA Thunder 2021 won a 46-45 thriller over the 2021 Charlotte Nets. Marquis Eskew led the comeback as he “sealed the deal with a steal” although he missed his free throws. Tachai Miller used excellent PG play to put the Nets in position to win but fell short.
In 17U action, the Main Event blew out the Defenders, 89-52 behind Salen Streater and his 22 points. Cameron Richardson set the pace for M.E. as he netted 12 of his 17 in the first frame. Justin Gaddy scrapped his way to 20 points to lead the Defenders.
In more 17U action, Team Synergy cruised to a 61-29 decision over Team Hickory. Osa Idehen led the way with 18 and Ethan Parker chipped in 12 for the winners. Hickory was led by Que Garner with 13.
The 17U Truth Generation rode Khalijah Moore and his 21 points past the Sharpshooters, 77-63. Quavarion Basyden added 15 for the victors but Shyheed Williams was the gamer with 25 for the Shooters.
In a battle of Queen City rivals, Team Charlotte 2022 blew out Team United 2022, 70-45. Jordan Crawford led the assault with 21 and Trey Green tallied 18 of his own. Jeremy Gregory was most impressive for Charlotte as he used excellent post moves, sneaky agility and a deadly mid-range shot to rack up 14 points, 12 boards and 4 blocks. He is definitely “deceptively athletic”. Anthony Breland led United with 12 with Daniel Sanford managing 9.
In the 17U Silver Bracket Championship, Team Synergy survived an OT thriller over Truth Generation, 61-57, holding them scoreless in OT. David Hubbard led Synergy with 17 points and Kalib Baker added 13 to the Synergy cause. Quavarion Basyden tallied 15 to lead the Truth.
The 17U White Bronze Bracket Championship was won by the LBA Thunder in OT as they outlasted Foothills Legacy, 71-69. Marquis Eskew led the Thunder with 22 and fellow back court mate Zach Lowery racked up 20 himself. Jackson Vance, whose 3 pointer sent the game to OT, finished with 16 points and James Freeman led the Legacy with 19.
In the final 17U game, Team Knicks used a buzzer beater by Ben Burnham to sneak past Team Charlotte Herron, 63-61. Burnham used his first career buzzer beater to rack up 24 points and Derrick Butler and Dwight Priest accounted for 12 and 11 respectively. Javian Cannady led Charlotte with 17 and Josh Wiggins added 12 to help out.
The Sadster must now get on his soap box and rant for a minute about fundamentals. This weekend he observed more missed free throws, missed easy layups, and ill-advised three point shots that were put up for no reason then at any time in his illustrious career. Players of today must understand that games are won and lost with fundamentals. You should make your layups, free throws, and should get to the paint first instead of settling for 3-point shots. Several games that The Great One witnessed would have gone the other way had the fundamentals been executed correctly. Let that be a lesson to those who lost in close games this weekend. Spend the rest of the summer focusing on the little things and you will find that the close games will start going your direction more than you know.
There you have it folks! Another awesome hoops weekend is in the books. Check out The Sad One’s Twitter as he will let you know where he will pop up next this summer. Stay tuned!
SAD SAM – HS HOOPS GENIUS
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