Tuesday, December 30th, 2008, filed in Athlete's Corner, Events & Combines
Today I was at the GSK Holiday Invitational high school basketball tournament in Raleigh, NC (today was the 3rd day of the event). This tournament is put on each year by the Triangle Educational Advancement Foundation, whose mission is to provide athletic opportunities for area youth and raise money for scholarships for the Triangle’s high school students. We definitely support their mission as we share the common goal of helping high school athletes achieve their dreams and play sports at the collegiate level.
I watched a solid 10+ hours of basketball today. Each game had its own great players and plays, but I wanted to share brief recaps of the final two games of the night, which featured four of the best teams in the tournament.
Kinston vs. Arden Christ School
Kinston is the defending NC 3A champs and is led by UNC recruit Reggie Bullock, an explosive 6′6″ junior guard with a great 3 point stroke. He’s ranked as the top shooting guard in the class of 2010 by many publications. Arden Christ School is led by Duke commitment Mason Plumlee, a dominant 6′10″ senior forward who is a very skilled big man, and Lakeem Jackson, a powerful 6′5″ guard who has committed to play at South Carolina next year.
My first impression on seeing Christ School was that they are big..very big. At one point during the game I noticed that every player on the floor for them was 6′5″ or taller. Christ school started out strong and jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Lakeem Jackson was phyiscally stronger than just about everyone on the floor and it was hard for anyone on Kinston to stop him when he decided to get to the hoop. Kinston fought back behind some good three-point shooting and went on a 15-4 run to tie it at 18 towards the beginning of the second quarter. Christ School then began playing more zone and it was hard for Kinston to score, especially with players like the 6′8 junior guard Sebastian Koch defending the perimeter. Mason Plumlee was tough inside but Reggie Bullock kept Kinston in the game, pouring in 13 first half points. At halftime the score was 38-32 Christ School.
In the second half the combination of Christ School’s big men inside and their defense proved too much for Kinston to overcome. Christ School started the second half with two straight dunks and Plumlee and Jackson continued causing problems for Kinston. At the end of the third quarter it was 60-50. Bullock had a hard time getting shots (or even getting the ball), as Christ School’s box-and-one defense took him out of the offense. Christ School won the game 76-59. Plumlee finished with 15 points, and Jackson led all scorers with 18. Bullock finished with 17 (but just 4 after halftime). I was very impressed with Plumlee’s grasp of the game and solid fundamentals, Jackson’s physical game, and Bullock’s sweet shooting stroke.
Raleigh Word of God vs. St. Raymond’s (New York)
Word of God is probably one of the most talented teams in the country, with John Wall (the #1 point guard in the class of 2009 and one of the most exciting players in the country), 6′9′ junior NC State commitment CJ Leslie, 6′4″ sophomore Dezmine Wells and 6′2″ sophomore Bishop Daniels. St. Raymond’s (the 2002 GSK champs) has a pretty young team this year (they started 3 sophomores) and is led by senior guard Tyreak Johnson, who is fielding offers from some mid-major teams (and is also the team’s only returning starter).
Word of God only knows how to play at one speed–lightning fast. They jumped out to a 9-2 lead behind two fast-break layups by John Wall, who is as quick as anyone I’ve ever seen. The game was pretty physical, with a lot of fouls being called and a lot of fouls not called. CJ Leslie picked up two quick fouls and had to sit the rest of the half. A couple of turnovers by Word of God let St. Raymond’s creep back into the game to tie it at 10-10. Just before the first quarter ended John Wall tried a double spin lay-up on a fast break, which was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen and awed the crowd, even though Wall missed the shot. Word of God led at the end of the 1st, 14-10.
The second quarter was all Word of God, as they outscored St. Raymonds 22-6 to take control of the game. The highlight of the quarter (and probably the game) came when Wall completed a three-point play after getting a dunk off an out-of-bounds alley oop play while being fouled. Dezmine Wells looked solid, even though he missed a would-be highlight dunk just before halftime. Bishop Daniels looked like one of the most talented players on the court, but he couldn’t get his shots to fall and forced a couple that he shouldn’t have. At halftime it was 36-16 Word of God.
In the third quarter CJ Leslie was back in but played less than a minute before picking up his third foul and then his fourth (a technical for arguing the call). St. Raymond’s briefly looked like they might be making it a game as they went on an 8-0 run, but they still couldn’t find a way to stop John Wall on the break, and at the end of the third it was 46-31 Word of God. Wall also was a beast on the defensive end all game, blocking shots and making St. Raymond’s players adjust many others.
The fourth quarter belonged to CJ Leslie, who came back in and put on a show. In a span of about two minutes he had 3 straight athletic dunks. The first dunk was on the left side from a wall alley-oop. The second was another alley-oop, this time off the backboard to Leslie, who was trailing behind on the break. On his third dunk, Leslie grabbed an air ball three-point shot and slammed it home. Later in the quarter Wall had a monster block and Leslie had a pretty step back three-pointer. The final score was 63-43 Word of God.
Overall it was a great third day at the 2008 GSK Holiday Invitational. Great players, great action and great plays.
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