Since when did Arkansas become the epicenter of hoops in the Southeast.
Not only was some hoopin happening in Little Rock ,over in Conway the Old School Showcase featured some Tennessee hoopsters making a name for themselves.
The Memphis YOMCA ,doin their best impersonation of a 17 and under squad (they are 16's playing up), did a masterful job convincing the onlookers and advanced to the title game before running out of steam and falling to the Arkansas Wings.
Nino Johnson (Melrose) was a big reason for the Y's success. Showing a complete game, flush with some inside moves and basically controlling the game from the foul line in, Johnson was a beast.
Making this even more impressive was the absence of two of the Memphis interior players leaving Johnson with the bulk of the workload inside.
Johnson may have done his best work in the semi-final against the Tennessee Travelers when he dropped 26 points, 14 rebounds and blocked 9 shots. Now thats a stat line.
Andre Hollins (White Station) was his usual consistent self all weekend. Leading the Y in scoring were a pair of Mississippi players Devon Hayes and Kendrick Moore. Also drawing praise for his ball handling, decision making and outside shooting prowess was Steve Kasper (ECS).
In the 16 and under division the Memphis YOMCA 15's played up and advanced to a spot in the semi's.
Leading the charge for the Y were Cameron Golden (Ridgeway), Martavious Newby (BTW), John Ingram (Mitchell) and Blake Johnson (Central).
The Tennessee Travelers had a nice weekend in Conway as well finishing their pool action unbeaten before advancing to the semi's.
Tyler Hood (Lenoir City) drew a great deal of praise for his effort, he remains one of the most talked about player in the state at this early juncture. Jalen Steele (Fulton) had a nice tourney running some point guard in addition to his scoring duties, while Brandon Lopez (North Carolina) and Dwight Tarwater (Knoxville Webb) had nice weekends.
In the 16 and under division the Travs finished 2-2. Tres Palmer (Powell) continues to be a big summer surprise with another consistent effort in Arkansas. Lester Wilson (Carter) had a much improved weekend dropping 22 in one of the pool games while Rico White (Bearden), Galen Campbell (Bearden) and Zach Garland (David Crockett) all had good games.
