3SSB Palmetto Road Championship – Ramsey’s Saturday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another day in the gym is officially complete. Play began on Tuesday in Rock Hill, South Carolina for the annual 3SSB Palmetto Road Championships and is now just hours away from championship Sunday. We have had boots on the ground at the beautiful Rock Hill Sports and Events Center for all of the action watching many of the top programs and prospects in the country. Before getting into some big picture takeaways over the next few days, let's begin by emptying out the notebook from Saturday's play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Indiana Elite Advances to 17u Championship Game</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most anticipated games of the weekend lived up to the hype on Saturday afternoon. It would be easier to list the high-major head coaches that were not in attendance for this matchup between Indiana Elite and Compton Magic that featured five-star, Top 5 Class of 2025 prospect Koa Peat, five-star, Top 5 Class of 2026 prospect Alijah Arenas, four-star JJ Mandaquit, four-star [player_tooltip player_id='1130310' first='Malachi' last='Moreno'], four-star [player_tooltip player_id='1296984' first='Braylon' last='Mullins'] (Greenfield-Central H.S. 2025), and four-star Trent Sisley among several other talented players. All of the coaches in attendance, along with the standing room only crowd of fans at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center were treated to a high-level basketball game for 35 minutes. Yes, it was in fact 35 minutes because this one went to overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Koa Peat was a tough matchup for Indiana Elite throughout this contest and the 6'8” forward's combination of strength and skill was the difference through the first half and much of the second. However, the length of [player_tooltip player_id='1130310' first='Malachi' last='Moreno'] around the rim made a difference late in the game as did the shot-making ability of Indiana Elite's guards. [player_tooltip player_id='1728587' first='Luke' last='Ertel'] (Mt. Vernon Fortville H.S. 20226) and [player_tooltip player_id='1373105' first='Mark' last='Zackery'] (Ben Davis H.S. 2025) each hit some big shots down the stretch to send this one to overtime and ultimately secure the 72-68 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moreno finished with a game-high 21 points and 16 rebounds while Mullins added 13 points. Sisley chipped in 11 points to round out those in double-figures for Indiana Elite.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the loss for Compton Magic, Koa Peat led the way with 20 points and JJ Mandaquit added 18 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Jeffersonville Trio Leads Team Tradition Once Again</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You really couldn't have drawn up this week much better if you were [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025), or [player_tooltip player_id='1373104' first='P.J.' last='Douglas'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025). They have consistently performed at a high level beating several 3SSB teams and going toe-to-toe with some of the best teams and players in the country. That was true once again on Saturday morning as they knocked off Team Push 71-66.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Douglas and Cooper each scored 16 points in the contest while Singleton added 14 points. After continuing to showcase his ever-improving ball handling and playmaking abilities, Singleton added another power conference offer from DePaul. Coaches from several high-major programs, including the likes of Louisville and Purdue, have watched his last couple of games closely.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As if things weren't already going well enough for Team Tradition and the Jeffersonville trio, they stepped it up yet another notch on Saturday evening knocking off the Atlanta Celtics 75-70. It was Singleton leading the way with 22 points and 7 rebounds in front of a plethora of high-major coaches once again. Whether it happens later on Saturday evening, after the event concludes on Sunday, or sometime next week, the offers will start pouring in once again. Douglas and Cooper added 15 points and 13 points respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team Indiana Knocks Off Midwest Basketball Club</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It has been a really, really strong week for the Indiana Elite program at the 17u level. On Saturday afternoon, Team Indiana put another one in the win column as they defeated Midwest Basketball Club 55-48.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one was a balanced, low-scoring affair with [player_tooltip player_id='1418231' first='Santonio' last='Waide'] leading the way with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists while [player_tooltip player_id='1297069' first='Justin' last='Kirby'] (Fishers H.S. 2025) once again flirted with a double-double. He finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Meanwhile, [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025) added 11 points and [player_tooltip player_id='1297004' first='Chris' last='Hurt'] chipped in 10 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Team Indiana moved to 2-0 on the day later in the evening on Saturday as they dominated Team Rose 71-45. Snively with 20 points in the contest while Kirby finished with another double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds. 6'8" forward [player_tooltip player_id='1297122' first='Tyler' last='Raasch'] (NorthWood H.S. 2025) added 12 points in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team Tradition 15u Advances to Adidas Gold Finals</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To finish off my Saturday night, I headed out to Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina to watch a semifinal matchup between [program_tooltip program_id='2400093' first='Indiana' last='Elite Team Tradition'] and [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last='']. Over 500 miles from home, these two Indiana teams battled it out int he semifinals with Team Tradition advancing by the final score of 61-41.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a back-and-forth game through the first half with [player_tooltip player_id='2477599' first='Marcus' last='Powe II'] (Ben Davis H.S. 2027) and [player_tooltip player_id='2477598' first='Aiden' last='Woods'] (Pike H.S. 2027) getting hot early for [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] while [player_tooltip player_id='2266894' first='Jace' last='Tonagel'] (Oak Hill H.S. 2027) and [player_tooltip player_id='2140313' first='Aiden' last='Dickerson'] (Carmel H.S. 2027) answered for Team Tradition. However, in the second half, [player_tooltip player_id='2137317' first='Andrew' last='Riethman'] (Guerin Catholic 2027) got going for Team Tradition and ultimately helped them to pull away for the 20-point victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tonagel led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points while Dickerson added 13 points and Riethman added 12 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2140420' first='Nash' last='Sigmund'] (Decatur Central H.S. 2027) led [program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] with 11 points in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Championship Games are Set</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>15u (12:15 p.m. Arena) - New World vs. Team Loaded VA</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>16u (9:45 a.m. Arena) – Austin Rivers SE Elite vs. DreamVision</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>17u (11:00 a.m. Arena) - Indiana Elite vs. Utah Prospects </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other Notes...</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1560945' first='Dezhon' last='Hall'] (Pike H.S. 2026) received an offer from Miami (OH). The explosive 6'2" left-handed guard has had a very good event for Phenom United 16u.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2076924' first='EG10' last=''] 17u advanced to the Adidas Gold championship game against TN Impact at 11:45 on Sunday. Meanwhile, at the 15u level, Team Tradition will take on The Collective (Canada) for the championship at 9:15 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025) added an offer from DePaul in between games on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->