Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Here are some highlights from Day One of the Las Vegas tournaments…
**In a matchup of highly ranked guards at the Reebok Summer Championships, Team Breakdown knocked off the Northwest Panthers, 85-73, behind 37 points, including 6 3-pointers, from Kenny Boynton (pictured) and 22 from Brandon Knight. Abdul Gaddy scored 26 for the Panthers and Avery Bradley had 18 while trying to defend Boynton. Numerous head coaches were in attendance, including Bill Self, Billy Donovan, Lorenzo Romar, Paul Hewitt, John Thompson III, Rick Barnes, Darrin Horn, Sean Miller, Kevin Stallings, Tim Floyd, Lute Olson, Frank Haith and John Calipari, according to Jeff Goodman of FoxSports. You can get a replay of the game here at some point.
**The 6-2 Boynton, the No. 3 shooting guard in the junior class, told Goodman his list includes Memphis, Texas, Florida, Duke, Kansas State and USC. Many observers expect him to ultimately pick Duke. Knight’s list features Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Memphis.
**John Wall, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2009, dropped 30 and handed out 11 assists in a win by his D-One Sports over Worldwide Orange. Memphis, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and N.C. State are listed as Wall’s leaders at the moment. Word is Baylor and Oklahoma State are the favorites.
**St. Benedict’s guard Mike Poole of Real Scout scored 28 in a win over the Houston Swoosh. His St. Ben’s teammate, Texas commit Tristan Thompson, scored 19 for Grassroots Canada.
**The Playaz Red (coached by Jim Salmon) and the New Heights 16s both won, but the Rafer Alston Panthers lost, 53-52, to the Texas Bluechips. Read my feature on Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston here.
**At the adidas Super 64, New York’s Lance Stephenson dropped 26 for the Raising Champions in a win over Texas Select, according to NYCHoops.net. Stephenson is competing for the first time since being cut from the USA U18 team.
**Mfon Udofia, one of the top point guards in the nation, committed to Georgia Tech.
“I had a great player-coach relationship with Coach C.Y. [assistant Charlton Young] and Coach [Paul] Hewitt,” Udofia told Evan Daniels of Scout.com. “They are like family. I’m from Georgia — I’ve been around them and I’m the hometown kid.” The Yellow Jackets have really gotten a lot done of late and Paul Hewitt joked that it’s because he was on a week-long vacation in-between the two July recruiting periods.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Here are some highlights from Day One of the Las Vegas tournaments…
**In a matchup of highly ranked guards at the Reebok Summer Championships, Team Breakdown knocked off the Northwest Panthers, 85-73, behind 37 points, including 6 3-pointers, from Kenny Boynton (pictured) and 22 from Brandon Knight. Abdul Gaddy scored 26 for the Panthers and Avery Bradley had 18 while trying to defend Boynton. Numerous head coaches were in attendance, including Bill Self, Billy Donovan, Lorenzo Romar, Paul Hewitt, John Thompson III, Rick Barnes, Darrin Horn, Sean Miller, Kevin Stallings, Tim Floyd, Lute Olson, Frank Haith and John Calipari, according to Jeff Goodman of FoxSports. You can get a replay of the game here at some point.
**The 6-2 Boynton, the No. 3 shooting guard in the junior class, told Goodman his list includes Memphis, Texas, Florida, Duke, Kansas State and USC. Many observers expect him to ultimately pick Duke. Knight’s list features Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Syracuse and Memphis.
**John Wall, the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2009, dropped 30 and handed out 11 assists in a win by his D-One Sports over Worldwide Orange. Memphis, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor and N.C. State are listed as Wall’s leaders at the moment. Word is Baylor and Oklahoma State are the favorites.
**St. Benedict’s guard Mike Poole of Real Scout scored 28 in a win over the Houston Swoosh. His St. Ben’s teammate, Texas commit Tristan Thompson, scored 19 for Grassroots Canada.
**The Playaz Red (coached by Jim Salmon) and the New Heights 16s both won, but the Rafer Alston Panthers lost, 53-52, to the Texas Bluechips. Read my feature on Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston here.
**At the adidas Super 64, New York’s Lance Stephenson dropped 26 for the Raising Champions in a win over Texas Select, according to NYCHoops.net. Stephenson is competing for the first time since being cut from the USA U18 team.
**Mfon Udofia, one of the top point guards in the nation, committed to Georgia Tech.
“I had a great player-coach relationship with Coach C.Y. [assistant Charlton Young] and Coach [Paul] Hewitt,” Udofia told Evan Daniels of Scout.com. “They are like family. I’m from Georgia — I’ve been around them and I’m the hometown kid.” The Yellow Jackets have really gotten a lot done of late and Paul Hewitt joked that it’s because he was on a week-long vacation in-between the two July recruiting periods.
