The Under Armour Jam Fest in
seemed like the place to be as most of the top teams in the country made the
trek to the
hoops action.
Team
began their defense of a super 2012 summer with another quality group of
players who embarked on a 3-1 mark at the Jam Fest.
One of the nations top 17 and under squad Team Thad from
hurting with two major contributors on the shelf with injury and parlayed their
success into a 2-2 mark.
Team
got the proverbial ball bouncing with a sweet 80-62 victory over the
Mid-Atlantic Select. Rayford Albright (
point effort followed by fellow Memphian Ladarious
with 18. Charles Clark (Siegel) added
14 and hot shooting Jacob Williams
(Wilson Central) finished with 10.
Williams led with 20 but Team Nashville couldn't escape the
clutches of the Richmond Squires and fell 76-64. Joining Williams in the
scoring column were Clark with 16 and Jordan
Darden (
finished with 12 as Team Nashville got back to their winning ways with a
60-51 victory over Team Melo.
16 and 12 respectively as Team Nashville closed the tourney with a convincing
60-44 drubbing of Ratarian from
Jersey
Despite not scoring a great deal, Ryan Jones (Siegel) relsihed his role as leader and distributor and
certainly made his presence felt in more ways than one. Also lauded for his
efforts over the weekend was Kareem
Wright (
Christian).
TEAM
Jaylen Hunter
(Goodpasture) led the Team Nashville Navy group to a solid 2-1 finish at
the event. Coaches sighted Juanya Smith
(
Andrew Rogan (Blackman) and Reid Pierce (Blackman) for their contributions
over the weekend.
TEAM
Competition was the name of the game as Team Nashville 16's
trudged through a very difficult schedule defeating the always intense New York
Panthers before falling to Q6 out of
and perennial powerhouse Grassroots Canada.
Kyle Oliver (Oakland)
led Team Nashville in scoring majority of the games while several players
stepped up and provided major contributions including Jordan Standifer (Pearl Cohn), who was fearless from the point
making plays on both ends of the floor.
Christian Smith
(Sycamore) became a lethal weapon dropping several deep threes as he shot
the ball consistently well all weekend.
Other who gave major efforts include Byron Dean (Hillwood), Grant Teichmann (Brentwood) and Tanner Tapp (
TEAM
Two big wins over powerful D.C. Assault and the Tampa Bay
Ambassadors proved the 15's are just experience away from being a player on the
scene in this age group. Jordan Bone
(Ensworth) was the breakout scoring hero with games of 19, 15 and 12 to
lead Team Nashville.
Yalen Reed (
out where his best position will be and Nick
Hopkins (
is a jet just waiting to takeoff.
Clayton Hughes (USJ),
Anthony Ramsey (Pearl Cohn) and Ross Plunkett (Creek Wood) provided much
needed scoring and defense.
Case Bouldin
(Ravenwood) had himself a nice weekend. His confidence level allowed him to
make some key shots including several from way downtown.
TEAM THAD 17'S (2-2)
Playing shorthanded could be a dead sentence for some teams
but for Team Thad it allows someone else an opportunity to shine.
Enter Gavin Robinson
(Mitchell). The 2013 product showed out in front of a veritable potpourri
of coaches with his length, athleticism and ability to make some shots.
Picking up the slack is nothing new for Chris Chiozza (White Station). The diminutive front man picked up a
few more offers,
and USC, for his play over the weekend. He continues to demonstrate a knack for
making the right play and makes shots when it counts the most.
Team Thad got two big wins against D.C. Assault and The City
from
and fell to a loaded Atlanta Express crew by one before giving one away against
Team Charlotte.
Despite being vertically challenged throughout the event, Marcanvis Hymon (Whitehaven) was a
beast on the glass. The 6'7 emerging force battled the bigs all weekend long
and more than held his own. C.J.
Anderson (Whitehaven) and Jaylen Fischer (
were mentioned for their efforts during the event.
TEAM THAD 16'S (1-2)
The final record may not prove it but the Team Thad 16's are
a few players away from being a national force. Donte Fitzpatrick (
was a scoring missile averaging over 20 points per game during the weekend.
LaGerald Vick (Douglass), Malik Smith (
Echols (Mitchell) all drew praise for their efforts over the event.
