Renegades Take Massachusetts 16-Under State Tournament
CHELSEA, Mass. – The 16-under state tournament took place in Massachusetts over the past couple of weekends, with 24 teams vying for four bids to AAU Nationals in July. The first weekend, held during the last live weekend of April (the tournament was not live for Division I coaches) was for pool play, while this past weekend saw the playoff rounds.
Saturday night saw the shocker of the tournament, as heavily favored BABC lost in the round of 16 to the Raiders. The game was close throughout, as the Raiders stayed right there and had the lead at various points in the game before the stretch run. BABC was fresh off a blowout win right before this game.
Overall, the talent in this year’s field was decidedly down from last year. It’s not too surprising considering last year was widely regarded as a special year, which has us looking forward to the playoff rounds next weekend in the 17-under state tournament. The simple fact is that Massachusetts isn’t overloaded with homegrown Division I talent and the class of 2008 is a cut above many others in recent years.
The championship game looked like it could become a blowout early, but wound up being a dandy. After the Boston Warriors Elite scored the game’s first four points, the Mass Renegades Black scored the next 14 and led by double digits for most of the half, including a 37-25 edge at halftime. Then the Warriors came back, going on a 19-2 run early in the second half to take a 48-43 lead. After that, the game went back and forth, and just when it seemed the Renegades might seal it in regulation, a late three-pointer sent the game to overtime tied at 72. The Renegades took over in the extra session, scoring the first seven points and nine of the first 11 en route to an 88-80 overtime win.
Jim Noel (6’5″ So. SF, Everett (MA) High) led the Renegades with a game-high 23 points, while high school teammate Diovanni McCloud (5’11” So. PG, Everett (MA) High) added 20. The Warriors got 20 points from Akeem Williams (5’11” So. PG-SG, Brockton (MA) Avon HS) to lead the way.
BABC South took third place with a 71-59 win over the Raiders. All four teams will compete in the 16-under national tournament in Clarksville, Tennessee in July.
Now, we take a look at some of the individual talents that were in this event. A good number of them have some ways to go to play Division I basketball, but have a chance. Additionally, this list will not be exhaustive as complete information was not available on all participants.
Class of 2009
Orlando Anderson (6’1″ SG, Fitchburg (MA) High) Athletic wing has the look of a scorer more than a shooter, as he scored mainly on drives and short jumpers while not shooting it much from long range. He has a good body, but controlling it looked like an issue as he was called for several player control fouls. We saw him reach double figures twice.
Darryl Bishop (6’2″ SG, Groton (MA) Lawrence Academy) His game is doing a little of everything, and that was still the case here. He showed his passing ability with a number of touch passes among them, had some baseline drives that led to baskets, and rebounded better than you would expect a player his size to. Although he reached double figures in both games, he struggled at the free throw line, which is a concern for a player like him who will drive the ball and also get opportunities inside from offensive rebounds.
Gerard Coleman (6’3″ SG, West Roxbury (MA) High) Our first viewing of this thin lefty was a favorable one, as he went for 25 points in his team’s blowout win. He scored many close field goals in transition, often from getting to the right place. The second game was another story entirely, as he was a non-factor en route to just five points. Next year, he will attend Tilton (NH) Academy.
Jamaal Coombs (6’6″ SF, Winchendon (MA) School) He looked stronger and put that to use on the boards, where he’s fared well this spring. His jumper went a little more and he got out in transition often, going for 33 points in their first game but just 13 as his team lost in the second round.
Kyle Dobson (5’11” PG, Fitchburg (MA) High) After showing some potential early on, he erupted for 25 points in his team’s final game. Physically, he has some quickness and a thin upper body, while his scoring in his big game came from shooting it well out to three-point range. Although we list him as a point guard because of his size, he’s far from the truest point guard based on this weekend, so he’ll need to grow (a possibility since he’s not fully mature yet) or show more floor leadership ability.
Lance Greene (6’0″ PG, Lexington (MA) High) Driving field goals were the name of the game for this point guard, who generally ran his team well and went for 15 points in his team’s win over BABC. He has long arms for his size and also a good stroke at the foul line, which only helps, especially if he drives often. In the semifinals, he went for 22 points in the losing effort.
Tyler Grillo (5’10” PG, Saugus (MA) St. Mary’s HS) There’s probably not a player who had a better weekend overall as he led his team to the championship. An excellent floor leader who showed a great feel for knowing when to score and when to get teammates going, he took over the semifinal with 21 of his 25 points in the second half, then scored five early points in overtime of the final. The lefty is a very adept ball handler who really distributed the ball well, especially on the move and at times right through the defense, and although he’s not very quick and still has some physical maturity to come, he can get to the basket by finding the gaps. He scored often on runners and several times from long range.
Matt LaBove (6’9″ PF, Shrewsbury (MA) St. John’s HS) He has a good body that’s fairly mature, but played a very limited role for his team. He didn’t get many touches in limited minutes.
Willie Lyons (6’0″ PG, Newton (MA) South HS) He got a little more playing time this weekend than he has before and showed some of his potential. He showed some combo guard ability, although his size would dictate a future at the point. One area that could be a concern, especially against taller players, is his jumper, which is almost a set shot.
Jim Noel (6’5″ SF, Everett (MA) High) A key to his team’s championship run, he played inside often but showed some ability away from the basket and might not be done growing yet. This thin forward rebounded well and scored in transition, including a stickback when he was right behind a teammate who missed a layup. With his inside work, he showed a nice baseline post move with a reverse layup as the highlight.
Daniel O’Keefe (6’4″ SG-SF, Lexington (MA) High) In our first look at him in his team’s win over BABC, he showed that he comes to play. He’s a quietly solid player with good skills and a nice feel for the game, and he plays bigger than his size as he was a constant force on the boards. In addition to making some shots from long range, he also got his share of stickbacks, and they all added up to four solid games in the scoring column: 17, 22, 14 and 15 points.
Alex Oriakhi (6’8″ PF, Winchendon (MA) School) Early on in his team’s first game, he dominated, which is something he’s capable of doing but doesn’t always pull off. The reason? You could see that he was really getting after it and being aggressive. The fundamentals are all there, and on display a few times was his nice touch out to foul line distance, but he needs to have that aggressiveness consistently.
Victor Smith (6’5″ SF, Lynn (MA) Tech) A role player during his team’s championship run, he didn’t put up big scoring numbers but showed some potential. He’s athletic and still has maturing to do as he has a thin upper body, and he did show a stroke to three-point range along the way.
Sean Sullivan (6’7″ PF, Shirley (MA) Ayer HS) The lanky post player is a bit of an unknown coming out of this weekend, as he got few touches on offense and wasn’t the biggest factor on defense. He’s clearly not physically mature yet, but we did see him tip a few balls and come away with them, so the potential to be a factor inside is there.
Kyon Watkins (6’7″ PF, Everett (MA) High) While he showed some signs of improvement, there were still plenty of times where the game seemed too fast for him. He already has a good body and can rebound, and he showed some promise when he got the ball in going for 13 points in one game.
Akeem Williams (5’11” SG, Brockton (MA) Avon HS) There wasn’t a better shooter than this well-built guard, at least until the title game when his offense reversed from the entire weekend. His early round efforts were full of three-pointers: five en route to 33 points, then three more in a 21-point effort, and five more en route to 26 points in the semifinal. Then in the title game, he struggled to shoot but scored often on drives, where he had difficulty prior to that game. His game off the dribble looked better as the weekend went along; if he can grow a few more inches, he could be a solid prospect.
Class of 2010
Prentis Douglas (6’3″ SF, Brockton (MA) High) Athletic wing already has a rather mature body but an immature game, one that at times seems to be as much for show as effect. He plays with plenty of confidence and is active, and is good in transition as he got several baskets there. The turn-off was seeing him occasionally make a shot more difficult than it is, like taking a fade-away without a defender in his face.
Phil Pressey (5’9″ PG, Ashburnham (MA) Cushing Academy) He quietly ran the show for his team, but when they needed a basket, he delivered on several occasions as he simply drove right through the defense. Although he is quick, he often reached the basket as much from finding the gaps as from quickness.
