Gateway All-American Shootout (Sunday Standouts)
The Adidas All-American Classic concluded on Sunday evening. The Michigan Titans won the 17U championships; the host Gateway Basketball Club won the 16U championship while Gateway Prep (IL) won the 15U championship.
Here are some of Sunday’s standouts from the final day of the tournament:
Lawrence Brazil 5’10” Gateway 16U (2019): The combo guard from CBC enjoyed a big performance in Gateway’s 69-52 victory over Arsenal Hoops in the championship game. Brazil scored a game-high 17 points as he did a great job of pushing the tempo with his speed on both ends. He did a nice job of scoring in transition and he also knocked down a couple of 3-pointers in the first half which really helped Gateway break things open in the first half.
Malik Green 6’1″ Gateway Prep (IL) 15U (2020): A strong shooting guard from Mascoutah, IL. who led his team to the 15U championship. Green shared MVP honors with teammate Key’Sean Taylor. Green is athletic and strong and a big problem for opposing defenders because he couple beat people off the dribble and score in the lane or he could knock down 3-pointers. He is a good athlete who consistently made plays on Sunday on the way to the championship.
Caleb Cooper 5’10” Michigan Titans 17U (2018): The smooth point guard from Lansing led the Titans to the 17U championship with his overall play as a scorer and facilitator. He did a nice job of scoring in transition and on floaters, plus he knocked down a number of 3-pointers. He was the epitome of the Titans team that played very well together as a unit with the ball movement and chemistry. Cooper made sure the offense kept flowing, whether in a half court or in transition.
Jamarr Williams 6’6″ Gateway 17U (2018): The slender power forward from Northwest Academy was the best rebounder in the tournament. It wasn’t even close. As usual, Williams did his best work on the offensive glass, where he grabbed a minimum of six or seven in every game. His work on the glass helped Gateway advance to the 17U championship game. He just has a great knack of knowing where the ball is and he combines it with the tenacity to go and get it.
Brandon Frederick 5’10” Showtime Elite 17U (2018): The combo guard from Confluence Academy enjoyed a big shooting performance against Gateway in the quarterfinals. He scored 18 points and made five 3-pointers. He was on fire when able to shoot it on the catch. He is also a nice ball handler with good quickness. Frederick also made a couple of nice play of defense when he used his quick hands to strip the ball from opposing players.
Cameron Williams 6’3″ Gateway 17U (2018): The athletic wing from Hazelwood Central was the consummate high energy, high motor player who played harder that just about everyone. He defended with great zeal, rebounded the basketball and got out on the break at every opportunity to score in transition. He was capable of guarding several positions with his size, athleticism and great energy. Even at the end of the tournament when players are fatigued, Williams was still going at full tilt in the championship game.
Cole Miller 6’5″ Arsenal Hoops 15U (2020): The young combo forward from St. Mary’s enjoyed an outstanding game in his team’s loss to Gateway in the quarterfinals. I was very impressed with his overall skill set in the game. He scored 20 points, including 14 in the second half. He was excellent from long distance as he made three from 3-point range. He also showed some toughness as he scored on couple of drives to the basket to draw fouls and get And 1’s.
*These next two listings go under team standouts
— The shooting of the SEMO Storm 17U: The best overall shooting team in the tournament. The Storm had several players who were knocking them down from downtown all weekend. The most prolific was Hayden Sprenkel (North County) who had the most impressive distance, but Brendon Hardy (Farmington), Desmond Morris (Jackson), Gavin Harris (Jackson) and Pete Lake (Jackson) were also ringing the bell from long distance. It was an impressive show to watch.
— The athleticism of the Gateway 16U: In the championship game victory over Arsenal Hoops, Gateway threw down nearly a dozen dunks in what was an impressive display of athleticism. The game started with a slam dunk from 6’4″ Jeramy Shaw (Valley Park) off the opening tip. Shaw had three dunks in the game. Also getting into the act were 6’4″ William Shumpert (CBC), 6’7″ DJ Mitchell (Henderson, KY) and 6’3″ E.J. Bellinger (Fort Zumwalt South). It was quite a show.
*In the coming days, I will have breakdowns of individual players by position and class.