Southern Spring Invitational 16U recap

<p>The Southern Spring classic in Birmingham, Alabama was huge a success. All 18 basketball courts in the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center were occupied for three whole days. It was Prep basketball heaven. I was able to watch just about every team in every division at least once either in person or on live stream, but like the majority of the civic center crowd, I kept gravitating to the 16U boys division. In the end, Team Carroll Premier took the Gold championship on Sunday afternoon by outlasting a tough Quinn Anvils squad 85-70 in the Final. Over the whirlwind 3-day tournament, plenty of players stood out to me, but below are ones I considered to have the best weekend.</p> <p><strong>Zamareon “Zee” McCown</strong>, 5’9” Point Guard, <strong>Quinn Anvils</strong> (#13 in the picture): Zee was the best player in Birmingham…period. He is a floor general in the mold of Chris Paul with a basketball IQ so advanced it made it hard to comprehend that he is only 15 years old. After torching the Alabama Generals for 28 points, the Alabama Celtics decided to double Zee in an attempt to slow down his scoring prowess. That was no problem for Zee who recorded a double-digit assist game with ease. In fact, he had no problem racking up assists while enabling his teammates Greg Cole (#0 in the picture) and Keith Robinson (#32 in the picture) to score over 30 points in the next two games. In the Championship game against Team Carrol Premiere, McCown scored 35 points in a losing effort while making clutch shots and acrobatic layups to keep the score close. I have been watching basketball for a long time and believe me when I say this kid is special. His jumper, ability to get to his spots, decision-making, and ability to score in the paint are all elite attributes that can propel him to stardom going into his junior year of High School.</p> <p><strong>Caden &amp; Camren Johnson</strong>, 6’5” Combo Guards, <strong>We Play United</strong>: Caden and his twin brother are both long, extremely athletic wings with the ability to play positions 1-4 on the court. Both overwhelmed their opponents in the first game with their elite speed, shooting, and overall skill. However, when shots weren’t falling in the second game, Caden showed the type of grit every major program in American is looking for. Caden was able to record 6 blocked shots and several steals on the defensive end that temporarily kept his squad in the game before they ultimately bowed out in a blowout game 2 loss. A family emergency caused the twins to leave Birmingham immediately after game 2, but 2 games were all it took to make sure their impact was felt.</p> <p><strong>Trent and [player_tooltip player_id="1070683" first="Tyler" last="Thomas"]</strong> 6’6” Power Forwards, <strong>Team Carroll Premier</strong> (picture): You guessed it, another set of twins that dominated the 16U division. Both played with incredible pace, patience and displayed amazing footwork. They dominated the offensive and defensive glass and ran the floor with guard-like speed putting incredible pressure on opposing defenses. With all that being said, their most impressive attributes may have been their overall body strength and footwork. When either got the ball on the block, defenses were at their peril. They either used their grown man strength to move their opponents and make easy layups or used soccer player-like footwork to escape double teams and make plays for their teammates. Their combined 27 points and beast mode on the boards lead Team Carroll Premier to the division championship and capped off an undefeated weekend.</p> <p><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1201878" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/12F5EE75-AB2E-4A44-B4C4-B238BA6850EA-crop-1484x975-1621986077-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></p>