Palm Beach State Team Camp: Atlantic, BA, Wellington go 2-0

<p><strong>Atlantic High</strong>, <strong>Boyd Anderson</strong> and <strong>Wellington</strong> all went 2-0 Tuesday on Day 1 of the three-day Palm Beach State College High School Team Camp.</p> <p>The camp continues with 12 games on Wednesday and then six more on Thursday before the 7 p.m. semifinals and 8:30 p.m. championship game.</p> <p>Here's a look at Tuesday's best:</p> <h4>Delray Atlantic</h4> <p>2020s <strong>Damian Tucker</strong> and <strong>Denzel Pierre</strong> led the way for Atlantic.</p> <p>The athletic duo was too much for travel-team Level Up and the Wellington High "B" team. Atlantic led Level Up 39-17 by halftime en route to a 61-36 victory. Atlantic whipped Wellington "B" 59-36.</p> <p>The level of competition ramps up Wednesday, however. 2-0 Atlantic faces 2-0 Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson at 5 p.m.</p> <h4>Boyd Anderson</h4> <p>Veteran BA coach <strong>Eugene Richardson</strong> was on hand to watch his squad. The Cobras lost most of their starting lineup to graduation.</p> <p>"We're trying to get them up to par," Richardson said. "We have only really two returning seniors and the rest of them are sophomores becoming juniors. So, we're trying to get them to understand the game and how to execute. I think we're looking decent. We just have to work hard."</p> <p>Boyd Anderson lost <strong>R.J. Duhart</strong>, <strong>Kenny Anderson</strong>, <strong>Floyd Rideau</strong>, <strong>Todd Johnson</strong> and <strong>Wylie Howard III</strong> to graduation. Rideau is staying instate and going to prep school. Anderson is headed to Fisk University; Johnson to Johnson C. Smith University; and Howard to Santa Fe College.</p> <p>"I've got about six already signed and ready to go," Richardson said of his 2018-19 seniors. "Every year we lose about six guys. So, it's like a rebuilding year every year for us. But the good part about it, we get them in schools and that's the most important thing."</p> <p>One underclassman I did not see Tuesday: Rising junior <strong>Thaddeus Squire</strong>.</p> <h4>Wellington</h4> <p><strong>Matt Colin</strong> and Co. are coming off another run to the state championship game in Lakeland.</p> <p>Wellington looks like a very deep club, one that could again be playing into March.</p> <p>"Again a whole new set of kids," Colin said. "We lost six seniors. A lot of them we relied on -- three starters and then one of our top bench guys -- are gone. It's a new year with new roles that have to be established and we're just trying to figure that out now."</p> <p>The Wolverines went with a starting lineup of <strong>Leonty Frazier</strong> (2020), <strong>Jagger Ruiz</strong> (2020), <strong>Trey Perry</strong> (2021), <strong>De'ante Perez</strong> (2020) and <strong>Christopher Walker</strong> (2021). Colin singled out Perez, Frazier and Perry as having nice nights.</p> <p>The first two off the bench were <strong>Marvel Allen</strong> (2023) and <strong>Keon Kindred</strong> (2022). Allen was fantastic a year ago as an eighth-grader for Benjamin. Kindred is a 6-5 space-eater with nice paint skills. Former Wellington and current University of Illinois star <strong>Trent Frazier</strong> was on the bench watching his old squad.</p> <h4>Tuesday Tidbits</h4> <p>Village Academy 2021 guard <strong>Shane Allen</strong> was impressive. Allen is quick, has an excellent handle, has good vision and had some nice passes. And he can score. Village went 1-1 and took Wellington to the wire. ...</p> <p>2020 guard <strong>Jose-Luis Benitez</strong>, of Miami Schoolhouse Prep, had a buzzer-beater to down Fort Lauderdale High, 43-42 in overtime. ...</p> <p>2020 <strong>Cedric Louis,</strong> of Somerset Canyons, is athletic, a good driver and team player. </p> <p><em>If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com</em></p>