All-Event Second Team: Floyd Mayweather Classic
Last weekend, Ottawa Hills High School played host to the 6th annual Floyd Mayweather Classic! The event saw five competitive games featuring teams from Chicago and both sides of Michigan. Needless to say, the squads and individual players put on quite a show and made the day a success. Early last week, I wrote a piece on the all-event first team. Below are my picks for an all-event second team, selecting a player or two to represent each squad I watched.
NOTE: Saginaw Arthur Hill v Westland John Glenn was cancelled. I did not attend the first game between Kalamazoo Central and Oak Park. Therefore, no players from that matchup are included below.
ALL-EVENT SECOND TEAM
Chase Adams – 5’8 – PG – 2018 (Chicago Orr)
Adams came into this game with a well-known name and had people talking before he even stepped onto the floor. The smallest guy on the court, he made up for his lack of height with his talent. He plays the role of point guard well, distributing the ball but remaining a scoring threat that has to be contested. Fast and shifty, he was able to rock his defender and create openings off the dribble on multiple occasions. He proved able to hit quick midrange jumpers, and he also made two smooth three-pointers.
Zavon Godwin – 6’5 – SF – 2018 (Detroit East English Village)
An athletic and long forward, Godwin complements 4-star point guard David DeJulius in the East English one-two punch. In a game where Dejulius scored a career-high 49 points, Godwin also made himself known, dropping 17. All his scoring came from two-pointers (plus a free throw) and were scored near the rim. He relied on his length and bounce to finish, generally keeping the ball higher than his defenders so they could not contest him. He seemed to look for highlights and definitely proved capable of delivering. These included an emphatic block off the backboard and three dunks. Two of these were putbacks, and another was an alley-oop from DeJulius. Finally, he could be seen crashing the boards quite a bit, especially on offense for the second-chance shot opportunities (he converted several).
Rashaun Agee – 6’7 – PF – 2019 (Chicago Bogan)
The tallest player in the event, Agee played as a true power forward and contributed as one would expect. He was active on the boards on both offense and defense, and likely was in the double digits. His strength and length were put to good use as well. On defense, he contested a lot of shots, making several difficult even for Benton Harbor’s tall and athletic Carlos Johnson. He also put these traits to good use finishing at the rim on the offensive end. Finally, a pleasant surprise came in the form of a nice highlight as he emphatically finished an alley-oop dunk.
Vern Nash III – 5’8 – PG/SG – 2020 (Muskegon)
Nash came in off the bench for a talented and aggressive Muskegon squad, but, in the end, led the Big Red in scoring. He proved to be a marksman right out of the gate, connecting for three points on his first attempt of the game. Three more followed in the first half, and he finished the game with 21 points and a case for the best shooter in attendance. His outside shot is super nice and really fast, a great asset for one of his stature to have. He also showed speed, the ability to pass, and that he is not afraid to finish at the basket.
Raekwon Drake – 6’5 – SF – 2018 (Chicago Orr)
Playing from behind for the majority of the game, Drake and his teammates had to play with a lot of heart to make up ground. His contribution to this came in the form of aggression and intensity on both sides of the floor. He was a monster on the boards, using his strength and athleticism to grab rebounds on both offense and defense. When he got an offensive rebound, he also went back up with it strong. Finishes at the basket like this and the free throws that followed ended up being the majority of his scoring. In addition to rebounding, he contributed heavily on the defensive end by contesting or swatting what seemed to be A LOT of shots.
Randy Gilbert – 6’6 – PF – 2018 (Cass Tech)
Cass Tech is a team that is loaded with depth and considered by some to be the best in the state. That being said, it should come as no surprise that the team would have several players in double digits and a plethora of names deserving recognition. Up there with his teammates, Gilbert scored 11 points in the win. However, he set himself apart with his defensive presence. Tall and athletic, he ran the paint defensively as if he owned it. He had at least five blocks, and they were strong ones. His aggression on defense did play a role in his being in foul trouble and eventually fouling out. Without it, however, the Technicians would have missed a super heavy contribution to contest their opponents’ rim-attacking.
Shawn Hopkins – 6’3 – SG – 2018 (Benton Harbor)
Playing for a very successful (10-0) Benton Harbor squad, Hopkins is one among many players who are contributors. However, he stood out because of the several different ways he benefits his team. Defensively he had a few blocks. On offense, he was a second option to bring the ball up as Bogan attempted to keep the ball out of PG Elijah Baxter’s hands. He scored by attacking the rim, either doing so off the dribble or off a feed from a teammate. His receiving of these passes was another thing that stood out because he seemed to have a sense of when to move and where to be to get the ball in a scoring position. In the end, he was second in scoring for the Tigers with 15.
Nelson McCauley – 6’4 – SF – 2018 (Ottawa Hills)
McCauley is a player who offers versatility. Standing at his height and often the tallest player for Ottawa, he sort of blurs position lines and does lots of different things. On offense, he mostly scored on the inside, but this is usually created by his cutting or driving rather than planting himself. He also hit two threes in this contest, serving to make himself a scoring threat no matter where he has the ball. His most impressive play and a top 5 highlight for the whole event came in a form of a windmill dunk in front of his home crowd to open the Bengals’ scoring. He had 16 in the win.
Drevon Taylor – PF/SF – 6’4 – 2018 (Detroit MLK)
The big man for the Crusaders, Taylor did most of his work in the low and high post. He received numerous dishes off of drives to score on the block and also got fouled on many inside shots. His free throws fell consistently too, making him valuable even when he couldn’t get short shots to drop. He showed aggression on rebounds, offers a solid build, and played good help defense. He finished with fifteen.