Charlottesville Hosts D.C. Battle Royale

Coach Trevor Brown instructing his team

May 8, 2006 – As with any eastern city, AAU and high school teams from Washington, DC have intra-region rivalries based on history and in many cases, a desire for bragging rights. The players, coaches and school/team administrators all want to be considered top of the heap.

Last Saturday, the Charlottesville, VA – based Southern Invitational held a game that provides some answers to the ongoing debate of, who is best around the Beltway: National Christian, a powerhouse high school team with players that compete in AAU for their school and other AAU squads, defeated the nationally known DC Blue Devils 71-62. Fans in attendance were treated to a game chock full of high level players, competing in an all-out fashion, in the University of Virginia's Aquatics and Fitness Center.

National raced out to an 8-1 lead, in part due to the exploits of Anthony “Biggie” McClain (seven points, five rebounds, five assists). The seven foot junior hit a slick turn around during that stretch, while firmly establishing himself in the paint. Not to be undone, the Blue Devils started to establish their inside game, with sophomore Jostin Thomas (18 points) and junior John Flowers (9 points) being the primary protagonists. The duo lead their team on 13-7 scoring run over several minutes by attacking the rim, and during one sequence completitng a high-low offensive play.

Jostin Thomas (32) prepares to snag a possible rebound

Their run would continue, primarily through the offensive exploits of Thomas. After Flowers drove to the cup and scored while being heavily defended, Thomas helped the Blue Devils regain the lead after completing an and-one sequence, in traffic. He went on to score from outside (18 feet) and inside (power lay-up), with the Blue Devils taking a 24-17 lead.

To close the period, National junior, Antonio Haymon (13 points, 13 rebounds) answered the inside play of Thomas and Flowers, attacking the rim, creating a jump ball situation, and cleaning the glass – basically doing what he does, which is to function as a virtual dynamo on the court. At the halftime horn, the score stood 29-26, National.

Jostin Thomas (blue) and Antonio Haymon

After intermission, National’s junior guard Brian McMickle (19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) took over the game. It’s not as if he had no first half impact, since he scored four points then, but in AAU situations like this, Brown puts the focus on player development – not just wins – and as such goes deep into his bench.

With greater playing time for McMickle in the second half, came greater results. Time and time again, the young man got into the open floor and dominated, opening up the game for National. After the contest, Brown opined “McMickle is a really good open court player…once we get in an game where we can open the floor up and let him go, the other team has problems”.

And problems, the Dale DeBerry coached Blue Devils had. Brian more or less got to the tin at will, as well as shot the ball from three point range, and used his quickness and crafty dribble skills to earn charity stripe opportunities. That handle even allowed him to dribble off around 45 seconds with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and National clinging to a 67-60 lead. On-lookers were heard invoking the the name of Curly Neal after seeing McMickle dribble away the clock.

National's Brian McMickle

Brian felt he played “very well”, and that his speed and indurance was the difference. “They can’t handle my speed” he said. “And we run everyday. My stamina is great now”.

Afterward, National’s Brown downplayed the local rivalry angle, saying enjoying the victory is “pretty much always the case when you’re playing a good AAU team. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Blue Devils, or Tim Thomas (Playaz), or whoever it is”. He went on to say “As a high school team, if we beat teams like that, it’s pretty big. But we beat them all the time”.

As a result, National Christian is consistently one of the most competitive high school programs in the east – they take on all comers from prep schools to traditional high schools, to top AAU teams. On the local front, they are 1-0 in the local bragging rights derby. You can almost hear them collectively call “Next”.