NEW YORK – The second game of the tripleheader at the Jordan Brand Classic was the Regional Game, which featured a team of players from the New York boroughs and a team of players from the suburban areas, mainly New Jersey and Connecticut. With all the talent in the area, there was plenty to choose from in setting this up.
With plenty of offense, as is usually the case in these games, the teams were tied at 53 at the half. The offense picked up more in the second half, and a late run by the City team helped them take home a 129-120 win.
The star for the City team was Russell Smith (5’11” PG, Briarwood (NY) Archbishop Molley HS), who has been on a roll as he also played well recently at the Playaz Spring Fling. Smith, who will attend the South Kent School in Connecticut next year, scored 27 points on 10-17 shooting. As he’s currently getting a good deal of Big East interest another year will only help his star rise more.
A breakout player in this game was Sean Johnson (6’2″ SG, Middle Village (NY) Christ The King HS), who has flown under the radar a bit. He scored 23 points on 9-15 shooting and had four steals. He scored mostly on drives to the basket, as he constantly attacked the hoop and used his quickness.
A big second half gave James Stukes (6’5″ SF, New York (NY) Rice HS) a big stat line, as he finished with 24 points on 9-13 shooting for the City team. Stukes is a well-built wing with range out to the three-point line, and he had five boards as well.
St. John’s-bound Omari Lawrence (6’4″ SG-SF, Bronx (NY) South Kent School) had 25 points and five boards, scoring a lot of baskets on transition finishes. The rare time he tried a jumper, it almost looked like a set shot as he didn’t get off the ground much.
Lawrence’s long-time teammate, Kevin Parrom (6’6″ SF, Bronx (NY) South Kent School), took just three shots but had eight rebounds and three assists. Parrom has all the tools to be a star, but something seems to be missing because he seems to be leaving something on the floor – you get the sense he’s a better player than he shows. Perhaps growing up as a college player will bring that out of him.
Running the show for the City team was Chaz Williams (5’9″ PG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Ford Central HS), who is headed to Hofstra. He’s lightning-quick and has some range on his jumper, but his size can limit him. Notably, he tried several jump passes that were knocked down by a taller player.
The star of the Suburban team was Syracuse-bound Brandon Triche (6’4″ SG-SF, DeWitt (NY) Jamesville-DeWitt HS), who had a game-high 33 points on 11-16 shooting. He battled inside, finished with the left hand, scored in transition, and on one play made a nice drive and spin move that led to a conventional three-point play. But this was an all-star game, and he was at the center of an interesting moment that’s typical of these games. In the final seconds, he threw the ball up as if to try a spectacular dunk to end the game. He missed, instead of breaking LeBron James’ record for points in the Jordan Brand Classic wound up one point shy.
Tamir Jackson (6’2″ PG-SG, Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s Prep) had 18 points and a very deceiving assist/turnover stat line as he had two assists with seven turnovers. Throughout the game, the Rice-bound guard was pass-first and made several nice passes along the way, while continuing to show an improve touch from long range.
As soon as he came in the game, Fordham-bound Lance Brown (6’3″ SG-SF, Paterson (NJ) Catholic HS) was scoring. He’s very athletic and always seems to find a way to score, and he did so to the tune of 17 points in this one.
Karon Abraham (5’10” PG, Paterson (NJ) Eastside HS) had 15 points in a quietly good outing. The quick floor leader is off to Robert Morris next season and is a nice pickup for the NEC champions.
The only player on the Suburban team not to reach double figures in scoring was Paris Bennett (6’6″ SF-PF, Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick’s HS), who had just four points but grabbed six boards and handed out three assists. He embraced the complementary player role, but he’ll surely be more than that at George Mason, where he’s headed next year.
