Musings from the Tournament of Champions

Hoops Observer, Superstar Correspondent

May 30, 2007 - Wanted to put a little report for those of you who weren’t able to make it down to the Triangle area (Duke, UNC, NC State) for the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.

Best Individual Performance: 6-5 Scotty Hopson, Mid State Ballerz. Hopson is a scorer supreme who opened up the TOC by hanging 35 points in an early game. The Mississippi State commitment was hitting on all cylinders as he scored on drives, pull ups, an array of runners and shot well from deep. It was clear that Hopson will be an immediate scoring threat in the SEC. The most impressive thing about his performance was how quietly he scored. Hopson finds it easy to score within the flow of the game without dominating the ball or throwing his teammates out of sync.

Best Overall Performance: 6-7 Emmanuel Negedu, Indy Heat. Playing alongside big names such as Deandre Liggins and Tyler Zeller, Negedu showed that he was the true cog behind Indy Elite’s attack. The future Arizona Wildcat showed why Lute Olson made him a high priority as he was relentless on the boards all weekend. Negedu’s high motor was on display throughout the tourney as he posted a double-double in every game while abusing the rims and frightening opposing post players. I overheard others in the gym joking that Negedu had pogo sticks rather than legs after watching him work tirelessly to convert an offensive rebound. All of the talk about Zona having soft front lines will soon cease.

Best game of the Tourney: King of Court Ohio v. Atlanta Celtics. In a game that arguably featured the most talent of any one game in the tourney the Ohio crew battled back from an early 12 point deficit to emerge victorious. In a match up of two National powerhouse squads (KOC boasted Delvon Roe, Kenny Frease, Kori Lucious, and Noopy Crater while the Celts boasted a line up featuring Chris Singleton, Howard Thompkins, and Derrick Favors) onlookers were able to watch the future stars of tomorrow. The highly anticipated Roe-Singleton never occurred as both players had different defensive assignments but that may have added to the allure of the game, as both were able to score over 20. I look forward to seeing more of these stacked squads in July.

Most Memorable Play at the TOC: Lamont Jones, Juice All Stars. In Juice’s Saturday match up against DC Assault, Jones had a breakaway with under 4 minutes left and a 17 point lead. So instead of crashing to the cup for a highlight reel slam or lay up, Jones calmly nailed an uncontested three-pointer to send DC Assault home via the mercy rule. For an avid hoops watcher, this is akin to a blowout buzzer beater. The decision to take the three and go for the immediate victory was truly an interesting twist in summer circuit hoops. This play led to hours of conversation among summer circuit types who were trying to ascertain whether that the play was the “correct” play

Fastest Rising Player: Dominic Cheek, Playaz Basketball Club. A rising junior, the 6-6 Cheek was illegal in 16 and under games posting games of 30, 18, and 38 in the games that we were able to catch. Cheek is a smooth shooting big slasher who has a knack for scoring the ball and is an emerging ball handler, as was evidenced when he actually played at the point for the Jersey crew. Cheek solidified his high major prospect status this weekend as no one in the 16 and under bracket had an answer for his play. The most memorable thing about Cheek was the way he seemed to enjoy the experience.