Bob Gibbons TOC weekend recap

SUWANEE, Ga. – Louisville commitment Anton Gill and Florida Rams duo Kasey Hill and Chris Walker all had big weekends at Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Suwanee, Ga. over the weekend.

Gill, a Louisville commit, dropped 30 points, including a game-tying and a game-winning three in a 62-61 win over the Upward Stars.

MVP

Anton Gill (Garner Road)
Despite losing in the championship game to Team Nashville, the 2013 Louisville commitment was sensational all weekend.

The 6-foot-2 guard hit big shot after big shot including a masterful Sunday morning performance that saw him hit a three pointer to send the game into overtime and then a three from the corner with two seconds remaining to beat Upward Stars 62-61.

Gill was at his best on pick and rolls, choosing when to attack the basket and when to settle for the pull up jumper as he demonstrated against Upward going for 30 points in that ball game. Add in the fact that he was missing North Carolina commitment Isaiah Hicks from the roster this weekend and it makes Gill’s effort that much more impressive.

Standouts

2013 Cornelius Elder (Team Nashville)
The 5-foot-10 point guard took home MVP honors awarded by the tournament committee at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. Also a fantastic running back out of the Nashville area, Elder attacked the basket extremely well all weekend by using his exceptional quickness to get by defenders. Elder was great at breaking down defense’s both in transition and in the open court to find open teammates for easy baskets all weekend.

2013 Kasey Hill (Florida Rams)
The Florida commitment was probably the best player at the tournament but missed three pivotal free throws in an upset loss on Saturday night that kept the Rams out of the Final Four. Still it was a fantastic weekend for the future Gator as he displayed his high end athletic ability time and time again with several beautiful drives through the lane punctuated with explosive dunks. Hill also has some of the best body control of any point guard in recent memory as he can slips through the smallest cracks and finds ways to finish at the basket.

2013 Chris Walker (Florida Rams)
Walker teamed with Hill to give Rams a potent inside out combination all weekend as they constantly hooked up for alley-oop dunks. Walker’s length and athletic ability make him a very good shot blocker on the defensive end of the floor as he came out of no where on several plays to pin balls on the backboard or send them in another direction with strong velocity. One area that he does need to continue to improve is his shooting outside of eight feet, however Walker is still one of the ten best players in the class of 2013.

Sidy Mohammad was able to match Chris Walker play for play Saturday night.

2013 Sidy Mohammad (Upward Stars)
Mohammad has become a regular in the standouts spot since exploding on the scene at the beginning of April. The 6-foot-9 forward struggled early in the tournament but rebounded to play top ten prospect Chris Walker to a standstill on Saturday night. Mohammad is fantastic around the basket on the defensive end with a solid build that is tough for offensive players to establish post position and has nice touch on the offensive end of the floor. The North Carolina native has a chance of being a four star top 100 prospect when the 2013 rankings are released.

2014 Trayvon Reed (Atlanta Express)
Reed instantly catches your eye when he takes to the court with his height and length alone. Add in his basketball skills and he will certainly be the next big prospect to come out of the state of Georgia. This weekend, Reed dominated the middle on both ends of the floor during each contest with easy dunks or blocked shots. Often times, Reed’s teammates would get into the paint and lob the ball toward the rim where the seven-footer would out jump everybody and hammer it home. Defensively, the length of Reed simply changes any shot that is attempted within five feet of the basket.

Notables

2013 Quinton Stephens (Atlanta Express)
Stephens is a legit 6-foot-7 wing player with great length but heading into the weekend there were questions regarding what his true position was. Stephens did a fantastic job of showing his ability to knock down the perimeter jumper hitting several three point shots on Saturday afternoon. The other aspect of Stephens was his ability to defend the perimeter and keep smaller guards out of the lane.

2013 Tyrone Outlaw (Garner Road)
Outlaw plays with an extremely high motor for Garner Road and was one of the better athletes in attendance this weekend. The 6-foot-6 combo forward is at his best from inside 12 feet when he can use his explosiveness to drive by players and finish around the rim.

2013 Josh Phillips (Team Nashville)
Phillips was part of the fantastic team effort by Team Nashville to claim the 2012 Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions Championship. The 6-foot-7 power forward is a well built young man that takes contact around the basket extremely well while finishing and heading to the free throw line. Phillips was instrumental in ruling the lane all weekend for Team Nashville and giving them a post presence.

2013 Brannen Greene (Florida Rams)
The Kansas commitment struggled finding a rhythm with his teammates in a few games but there are few players in the country that can get rolling from the perimeter like Greene. With his 6-foot-6 frame and quick release, Greene can get his shot off over defenders in a hurry and only needs a quick glimpse at the rim to lock in.

2014 James Demery (Team Charlotte 16s)
If there was a rim rattling dunk that caught the crowds attention all weekend it was usually coming from Demery. The 6-foot-4 wing player has high major athletic ability and it was on full display during several drives down the lane that were capped off with thunderous slams. Demery is not just a pure athlete playing basketball though as he showed the ability to handle the ball and find teammates during transition as well.

Kansas commit Brannen Greene is one of the top perimeter threats in the 2013 class.

2014 Javis Howard (Upward Stars)
Howard is a fantastic looking prospect who has great length and does a very good job of blocking shots on the defensive end of the floor. Throughout the weekend, the 6-foot-7 forward grabbed offensive rebounds for key put backs and even showed some ability to make a post move and score.

2014 Lewis Sullivan (Team SAC 16s)
The younger brother of Auburn guard Frank Sullivan, Lewis showed his versatility this weekend by making plays both on the perimeter and on the interior. The 6-foot-7 small forward is well built and does a good job of getting into the lane and using his strength to create space and finish around the basket.

Stock Report

2013 DeMarcus Croaker (Florida Rams)
The ultra athletic combo guard will benefit from playing with high profile players Kasey Hill, Chris Walker and Brannen Greene by having more coaches come to watch. When they arrive they will see a high motor 6-foot-3 guard that is explosive when driving to the basket and has the ability to knock down the open perimeter shot. In transition there are few players in the southeast that can finish with more flair than Croaker.

School Lists

– Chris Walker listed a top three of Florida, Kansas and Baylor with no current leader at the moment. He did add that playing with current Gator commitment Kasey Hill could have an impact on his decision. He was not sure of a time frame to make a decision.

– DeMarcus Croaker claimed offers from Miami, Central Florida, Georgia, Murray State and a new offer from Florida State. The 6-foot-3 guard did not claim a leader or top group and said that Oklahoma and Florida have been showing some interest.

– Quinton Stephens visited Georgia Tech last weekend and came away with the Yellow Jackets as his favorite. He is not sure when he would like to make a decision and said that he is also hearing from Tennessee, Auburn and Clemson as well.

– Lance Tejada will be one of the more sought after point guards in the southeast for the 2014 class. He has offers from Miami, Central Florida and George Mason to go along with interest from South Carolina, South Florida, Virginia Tech and Marquette.

– Tyrek Coger says he has picked up offers from High Point, Texas A&M, Dayton and Drexel in the past few weeks. He does not have any idea of when he would like to make a decision.

– Sidy Mohammad has started to pick up interest from VCU, East Carolina, Alabama, Florida State, Mississippi and Clemson to go along with an offer from Coastal Carolina.

– The son of former NBA standout J.R. Reid is 2013 prospect Jaylen Reid. The 6-foot-7 combo forward has offers from Winthrop and High Point to go along with interest from Georgia, Clemson and College of Charleston.

Coaches Corner
It was the last weekend of the spring period that coaches could be in attendance at AAU Events. Several head coaches made good use of their frequent flier miles to jet around the country to see some of the top up and coming players. Here is a list of head coaches seen in Atlanta.

Billy Donavon – Florida
Bill Self – Kansas
Tony Barbee – Auburn
Brian Gregory – Georgia Tech
Brad Brownell – Clemson
Stan Heath – South Florida
Matt Driscoll – North Florida
Pat Kelsey – Winthrop
Buzz Peterson – UNC-Wilmington
Gregg Nibert – Presbyterian