AAU Recap: Uncommon Bulls 16U

<div>Perhaps the most surprising team in all of Virginia AAU, the Uncommon Bulls played a rigorous schedule and competed with the best in the state and on the east coast all summer. Comprised mainly of kids from Virginia Academy and the surrounding area, the Bulls improved immensely over the summer, and were a better, more cohesive team every tournament they played in. They played ball the right way, and were invested in playing team basketball and getting better every day. Here’s a recap of their summer.</div> <div> </div> <div>All quotes courtesy of Head Coach Duval Simmons.</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Top Tournament Finishes:</strong> Big Shots Loaded runner-up; 3-0 in DMV Elite Media Series; 2-1 in Rumble in the Bronx; 3-1 in Hoop Group Summer Jam Fest; 3-3 Las Vegas Fab 48</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Notable Wins:</strong> Team Loaded NC, District Basketball Club, Team Takeover Orange, Team Philly, TNBA, Expressions Elite</div> <div><strong>MVP: </strong>“Our team MVPs are Antwaan Randle El, the parents and the coaches. They believe, trust and support our student athletes on our team. With their support and guidance the Uncommon Bulls program has become well known within the AAU community. We are a small program that competes and have fun, but at the same time we still remain humble and thankful for everything.”</div> <div> </div> <div><strong>Defensive MVPs: </strong>Elijah Ford. “Elijah took the most charges on the team and never complains about any defensive assignments. He’s the ultimate team player.”</div> <div> </div> <div><span style="color:rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif">Ejike Obinna. “Ejike was our rim protector and had the most defensive rebounds of runs. He makes it a personal challenge to block four or more shots a game.”</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span style="font-family:-apple-system-font; font-size:12px"><strong>Biggest Surprise:</strong> Jahlil Jenkins. “He’s one of the best point guards on the east coast. His aggressiveness and desire to win games really made us stronger this year. Always putting pressure on the defense with his knack of scoring the ball in a variety of ways. Looking forward to Jahlil having a breakout year again next season.”</span></div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <h2>Coach's Take</h2><p><span style="font-family:-apple-system-font; font-size:12px">“For our second season, we competed against some of the best programs around and we learned a lot about ourselves. To compete on this level we will need to get better in the classroom, in the gym and hopefully we get a couple more pieces next season to the Uncommon Bulls team which will make us even stronger. We are a program on the rise that’s all about the players, no gimmicks or politics, while having strong faith and having fun."</span></p>