Friday AAU Notes (Team Thad, Stars 17u)
Two prominent AAU programs in Tennessee played Friday night at different locations. Team Thad began their LIVE period with the prestigious EYBL, while Stars 17u competed at the Atlanta Jam. Team Thad vs. MoKan A few premtory notes on this…
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Continue ReadingTwo prominent AAU programs in Tennessee played Friday night at different locations. Team Thad began their LIVE period with the prestigious EYBL, while Stars 17u competed at the Atlanta Jam.
Team Thad vs. MoKan
A few premtory notes on this wonderful matchup, in terms of drama…MoKan is based out of Kansas City and they are figuratively “Missouri/Kansas” , but they are aggressively recruiting and succeeding in plucking Tennessee players away from Memphis/Nashville AAU programs. EYBL teams are allowed to add players from any adjoining states to their program, which is kind of silly for MoKan because they are already a mix of two states. I digress. MoKan’s successful recruitments in the last two years: Alijah Curry Alijah Curry 6'8" | PF Camden | 2024 State #314 Nation NJ , Felix Okpara, Samson Ruzhentsev, Jaye Nash Jaye Nash 6'2" | PG McEachern | 2024 State GA . There were maybe one or two others. This made a matchup of these two teams intriguing.
Team Thad lost in a blowout, 84-55.
The Memphis juggernaut did get out early, 18-10, but they it fell apart and ended disgustingly. Here are the quarterly breakdowns.
Score | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
Team Thad | 18 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 55 |
MoKan | 10 | 23 | 19 | 32 | 84 |
Team Thad played both Amarr Knox Amarr Knox 6'3" | PG Bartlett | 2022 State #212 Nation TN and Tyler Byrd Tyler Byrd 6'3" | SF Tipton-Rosemark Academy | 2022 State TN , outgoing seniors. This is allowed, and programs often do this to help out unsigned seniors in attracting college attention during their final semester of high school. You will remember Knox was long ago verbally committed to Memphis. Byrd was Mr. Basketball.
Amarr was very effective, as he was throughout the State Tournament. He scored 11 points on 5-10 shooting and did not commit a single turnover. The big worry with Amarr is that he is simply not a point guard. He is the size of a point guard, but he is not a point guard. Tyler Byrd Tyler Byrd 6'3" | SF Tipton-Rosemark Academy | 2022 State TN did not play well. His line: 17 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 1 assist, 0-2 FG’s, 1 block.
Beyond Knox, the prominent offensive weapons on this team appear to be Caleb Foster (North Carolina) and Josh Hubbard (Mississippi). Caleb is a hulking combo guard, a true talent with a college-ready body. Hubbard is bull of a guard with amazing athleticism. He tends to take really questionable shots. The 2-10 night will not be an aberration.
You might recognize several other Team Thad players, Joshua Holloway (11 minutes, 6p, 4 TO), Devaki Garr Devaki Garr 6'0" | PG Ensworth | 2023 State TN (DNP), Javar Daniel Javar Daniel 6'8" | PF Bartlett | 2023 State TN (6 min), Anthony Medlock Anthony Medlock 6'5" | SG Germantown | 2023 State TN (4 min).
Stars-Moran 17u vs. PSB-Barnes
First, PSB-Barnes is a truly bad AAU team. The PSB program is largely wonderful at teaching skills and character, but this team must be one of their fourth 17u teams. Not sure. Just…not a challenge. The Stars program basically has two 17u teams this year. This team is playing mostly Hoopseen events, like Atlanta Jam and Bama Jam and the like. The head coach is Sam Moran. Here is the roster.
Score | 1st | 2nd | FINAL |
Stars Nash | 36 | 29 | 65 |
PSB-Barnes | 18 | 24 | 42 |
Devin Hill (MTCS)
Donovan Smith
Donovan
Smith
6'0" | PG
Nashville Christian | 2023
State
TN
(Nashville Christian)
D.J Brown (Notre Dame)
Trey Johnson (Hillsboro)
C.J. Tinnon (Grace Christian-Franklin)
Will Brent (Ravenwood)
Seth Moulton (Goodpasture)
Isaiah Divens (Blackman)
Stars through some 2-2-1 fullcourt press at the opponent.