March 25

With Easter weekend being full of family time and church activities it was hard to find the opportunity to get down to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for the 2008 AAU Easter Classic. But with such a strong field, it was hard to stay away, so a day of "hooky" was taken and off we went.

We didn't have to make it to the Milk House as some of the best teams in the 15U, 16U, and 17U age groups were playing at the Champions Sportsplex on Friday morning. It was decided that we stay there and flip between games at different intervals.

15U Division

The schedule only permitted us to take in a half of two games in the 15U division. The first game we watched was between the Jacksonville Lee Bulls and the Heatwave out of the Tampa/St. Pete area. The second game we took in was between the Davie Panthers and Florida Elite. All but the Davie Panthers had players that caught our attention.

For Heatwave, Breon Bostick of Largo HS stood out. A strong and muscular 6'3, he was very active on the boards and scored well inside. Bostick also showed off a pretty nice shot out to fifteen feet as well as putting the ball on the floor for a dribble or two to get to the rim and finish.

The Lee Bulls had three players that were very productive. Ace Leonard of Palatka is probably close to 6'6. He is thin but has long arms to chase after shots and rebounds. What was most impressive was a mid-range jumper off the glass and a quick cross-over on the way to the hoop that resulted in two free throws. He definitely has some upside.

Also of the Lee Bulls, C.J. Butler of Tallahassee Leon put in a full days work on the glass. An opportunistic scorer, he seems to get his hand on the ball anytime it comes within reach. Probably about 6'4, he looks like he can put on some inches and muscle and become a player in a couple of years.

The last player of mention for the Lee Bulls is William Cummings, a 5'7 guard from Wolflson. Thin and very quick, Cummings is a blur with the ball and despite his lack of size is fearless in taking the ball to the basket. He had a couple of nice passes on the break, fed the post, and was very disruptive on defense.

Florida Elite 15U has two solid guards in the program with Andre Smith and Brandon Farmer. Smith is a 5'9 point guard out of Tampa Blake that has a great feel for the game and good command of the basketball. He does a good job of feeding the post and finding teammates on drives to the basket. His jumper wasn't finding its mark on Friday morning but consistency should come in time. Smith is also very strong for his size and age.

Farmer is a 6'1 combo guard out of Ocala Vanguard who started this season as a freshman. Equally comfortable handling the basketball or playing off of it, Farmer is simply a player. He can shoot with range, find teammates for scores, and play solid defense, both on and off the ball. Farmer will most likely follow Freddie Riley as the next star at Vanguard.

16U Division

We were all set to see a quarter of two games in this division, but the opponent for Team Stat 15U didn't show. That gave us an opportunity to watch a full half of Nike Team Florida 15U. These guys are very talented and were actually playing up a year in the 16U Division.

One of the players that caught our attention early for the squad was 6'5 Alex Harrison of Flanagan. He runs the court well, goes after the ball off the glass on both ends, and has some good scoring tools around the basket. His up and under move in traffic made a believer out of us. There had been talk that he was a wing forward but we didn't see any perimeter skills in the half of basketball we watched.

The other player for NTF 15U that was of interest was Jason Pimental. The 6'5 banger out of Ocala Westport is similar physically to Harrison but has more range on his shot. He knocked down a couple of mid-range jumpers and looked very comfortable doing so. Pimental also showed to be a solid rebounder and interior defender.

17U Division

This is where we spent the most time. Of the top teams, we failed to see the Showtime Ballers, Team Stat, Team Daniels, Team Breakdown 16U and OBC Elite. We did get to see the eventual champion, Gold Coast, for one half of hoops.

"Jerron Granberry (Coral Reef) had an MVP-type of performance the whole weekend", said Jarrod Lazarus of Goldcoast. "Steven Lopez (Coral Reef) and Charles Hankerson, Jr. (Coral Reef) were solid in the backcourt and handled the ball and knocked down tough shots all weekend. Andres Diaz (Hialeah Miami Lakes) was tremendous inside against bigger players and proved why he was a good choice for first team Miami-Dade. The rest of the team stepped up and we did not miss a beat when we made our substitutions. It was a great tournament, but we know we need work to get to the next level and compete with the top teams in the country."

Florida Hoops knew about Granberry, Diaz and Hankerson but we were extremely surprised by Diaz. Playing bigger than 6'5, he really owned the boards in the game we saw against the Jacksonville Rockets. Not only is he a rugged interior player but he has the ability to put the ball on the floor from the foul line and score.

The Jacksonville Rockets were led by Steven Roundtree of Jacksonville Englewood. Possibly the most versatile player in the class of 2009, Roundtree routinely grabs the ball off the defensive glass, pushes the ball down the court, and either finishes himself or finds a teammate for a score. He loves the spin move off the dribble and is pretty proficient at it. As we've mentioned before, his jump shot needs work and that could be the only thing holding up his progress.

Is there a better backcourt in the country than Kenny Boynton and Brandon Knight of Breakdown? These guys are eerily similar to the Isaiah Thomas/Joe Dumars backcourt of the Pistons back in the '80s before MJ took over.

Boynton was looking more to pass than score in the game we watched on Friday morning. He really looked to have the ability to play the point full time if needed. Boynton can still score with the best of them and has the tenaciousness to lock down his opponent on the defensive end.

Knight just makes it all look so easy. No matter what the skill, it just looks effortless for him. He makes great passes on the move and knows what good shot selection is. Not as strong as Boynton, Knight still is a tough defender and ballhawk in the passing lanes. It's hard to imagine him getting better. That would be scary for the opposition.

The Brandon Bolts were short-handed against Breakdown on Friday morning. Collum Townsend, the top scorer in Hillsborough County this past season, suffered a knee injury a week ago and will be on the shelf for the spring and summer. This a real shame for a kid that has mid-major written all over him. Hopefully, colleges will still keep him in mind come the 2008-2009 season.

But the Bolts are not without players. The best one right now is Joe Raga out of Tampa Newsome. Joe's got some hops to his game and can score inside against bigger players. He didn't show it this game but he has the perimeter skills to play out there. Right now, he's needed inside.

We really thought that South Florida Elite would meet up with Breakdown in the finals, but they were defeated by Gold Coast in the round of eight. This team is loaded from top to bottom. While well-known players such as Bryan Bynes (Boyd Anderson), Martavious Irving (Boyd Anderson), and Ed Waite (Pine Crest) played up to their usual high level, the player that most impressed us was Robert Berger of Dillard. Berger is one of those players that makes things happen. Whether on the defensive end forcing turnovers or offensively in getting to the basket, he puts a lot of pressure on the opposition.

The South Florida Raiders blew out there opposition on Friday afternoon. One of the mainstays for the Raiders was Keon Palmer out of South Miami. Palmer looks to have filled out since we saw him last summer and is playing stronger inside. With his long arms and quickness off the floor, he got a lot of blocks and rebounds. He can score inside and his free throw touch indicates his range could extend further from the basket than it currently does. He could make major strides this summer.

Another surprise for the South Florida Raiders was Brian Wicker of Coral Glades. The 6'5 Wicker was originally thought to be a shooting specialist, but when he brought the ball down the court on the break, crossed over a defender than jammed it home, those thoughts were shattered. Wicker still has a good stroke from three and if he can duplicate Friday's performance and improve his defense in front of the right coaches, he could get some offers.

For a team that had only had five practices together and didn't plan to enter the event, Florida Future did a great job in reaching the semi-finals. While Darius Morales was his usual shot-blocking self inside, we were most impressed with John Thompson from Jones. The 6'2 guard makes things happen with his quickness and athleticism. He didn't show much in the way of a jumper but his finishes in transition and traffic as well as his defensive energy really provided a spark for his team.