2008 Boost Mobile Elite 24: Recap

Submitted by Albert_Chen on Sun, 08/24/2008 - 11:47pm.


	Rucker Park

The stars aligned Friday at the 3rd Annual Elite 24, which featured a bevy of top high school hoopsters at the famed Holcomb Rucker Park in Harlem, NY.

The event kicked off with a Slam Dunk contest in front of a boisterous, packed crowd. St. Patrick's (New Jersey) 6-3 wing Dexter Strickland outshined Dominguez (Compton) Jordan Hamilton with a crowd pleasing double windmill over a randomly chosen child from the crowd. Strickland showed tremendous explosiveness and had the charisma and creativity to take home the title.

Hamilton displayed a knack for theatrics, despite a stoic demeanor, with various assaults of the hoop. He seems to be molded perfect for a small forward position with a lucid game although he showed nothing overly inventive in the contest. He had a solid performance with 13 points displaying a "mature" game.

As is typical in All-Star games, the guards controlled the flow and tempo of the game acting as distributors and pace setters. The two teams were named after Earl "the Goat" Manigault aka the Godfather of street basketball culture and his modern day predecessor Team Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston.

Coaching Skip to my Lou was Chauncey Billups with Dwayne "Tiny" Morton and the GOAT team had Kenny "Chibs"Anderson and Queens coaching great Ron Naclerio. The final score in a rather competitive game had Team Skip to my Lou victorious with a 135-121 ending.

John Wall and Dominic Cheek were awarded Co-MVPs for the Skip to My Lou Team in a high octane 135 to 121 victory.

Wall was clearly the best athlete of the entire Elite 24 with long arms and tremendous acceleration as well as strong explosion at the rim. Despite finishing with just 10 points, he had the two plays of the game with a left handed windmill in traffic, as well as a 2 handed throw down. Wall also displayed a strong handle and great floor vision, setting up teammates for a number of baskets.

He hammed it up for the Rucker crowd with a Matrix-style air windmill fake pass while bringing the ball up at one point. Wall faced off against a physically stronger Stephenson as the marquee match up.

Wall's teammate and co-MVP (St Anthony's) Cheek showed good range and an offensive arsenal that catered to his outside shooting skills filling it up for 23 points.


	Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson had a game high 29 points

Local hero Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson scored a game high 29 points utilizing a variety of fakes, stutter steps, and cross-overs to get to the cup and score. Physically, Stephenson was by far the most chiseled, and his game is tailor made for the all star setting as he has all the playground moves and thrives in isolating and using his one-on-one ability to score.

He opened the game with a long range bomb but the majority of his game is slashing to the hoop, using his advanced strength to overpower and quickness to beat opponents. As he progresses, his physical advantage will not be as pronounced and he will need to improve his range and skill level. But at the high school level, he is a physical specimen and has the strength/speed combination to "outclass" the competition.

It should be noted that, sitting courtside, Lance displayed clear cut leadership as an added bonus and was vocal throughout the game, all positive qualities.

The long limbed Strickland was one of the more gifted athletes in the game dropping 17. He pushed the tempo leaving little doubt that North Carolina has found another gem as a future combo guard.

The team also included Lil Wayne look-a-like Brandon Knight who exhibited a ghost-like first step, full court speed as well as the finishing touch on lay ups to boot. Knight had quality control of the ball and a strong basketball IQ finishing with 12 points.

Separated from his AAU backcourt-mate Knight, Kenny Boynton helped the blue squad get the victory with his great quickness and aggresiveness getting to the basket. Boynton finished with 16 in impressive fashion.

Villanova bound PG Maalik Wayns stood out, getting by opponents for some buckets (10 pts). No stranger to the streetball setting, he was a handful with good ball control and a knack for finding teammates with thread-the-needle dishes.

San Diego big man Jeremy Tyler did his best to clean up misses and patrol the paint showing his vast talent effortlessly hammering home a few dunks off the break. Although he had one brain-fart blowing back to back bunnies at one point, but finished with 8 points.

Highly ranked big man Derrick Favors set the tone with put backs and was on the receiving end of some nice assists. Favors has a solid feel around the hoop and a strong and a chiseled body to throw around, finishing with 16 angry points. Favors was hungry for boards and let the ball know it. He also took some aggression out on the rim, apparently trying to rip it off the backboard and take one home as a souvenir.

Fellow big man Joshua Smith (11 pts) also showed good post presence and a propensity for making the rim pay for looking at him that way.

Rising junior Doron Lamb was fast and sly while dropping a bushel of points, 25 to be exact. His game appears to be silent but deadly as he showed control and poise to go with a well polished mid-range stroke. Though still in need of physical development, his wily game appears advanced as he utilizes a strong "feel" with understanding of spacing and change of pace moves.

Other player point totals included: Abdul Gaddy 0, Dion Waiters 8, Durand Scott 15, Erik Murphy 9, Jared Sullinger 6, Karron Johnson 4, LaQuinton Ross 9, Nolan Dennis 4, Ryan Kelly 2, Tony Wroten Jr. 4, Trae Golden 5, Tristan Thompson 4

Court side highlights included Bobbito the Barger from the Lower East Side providing comedic commentary, of note the mentioning of a referee as a Cuba Gooding Jr. look-a-like that drew laughs from the crowd as well as puns of Lance Stephenson's name which ranged from "Born Ready" to "Born Again" to "Sir Lancelot".

Bobbito noted that when Lance was born, his sonogram was in the mold of a jump shot and when players undershot or overshot he would quote that "he shot that 10 footer like a 25 footer" or reversed. Nate Robinson was also in attendance as was Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys who at the original Elite 24 made a documentary "Gunning for that Number One Spot", centered around the game and players such as Mike Beasley, Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, Donte Green, etc.

In conclusion, the Elite 24 is a celebration of street basketball, a coach's nighmare but a crowd pleasing event with a number of the country's top high school talents strutting their stuff. Fancy dribbling, dunking and showmanship are at a premium as the athletic gifts of the hoopsters were on display. Conversely, fundamental basketball, boxing out, setting screens and getting into a defensive position are a bit of an afterthought. The mid-range jumpshot, in particular, continues to decline in popularity although it remains essential in an organzied setting, and highly effective for those that were able to use it such as Cheek and Lamb.

Rosters:

White Squad - The Goat

Pos.	Name	Hgt	Wgt	High School (Hometown)	Class
SG	Lance Stephenson	6-5	210	Lincoln (Brooklyn, NY)	2009
PG	Brandon Knight	6-3	180	Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, FL)	2010
PG	Maalik Wayns	6-1	190	Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, PA)	2009
SG	Dexter Strickland	6-3	175	St. Patrick (Elizabeth, NJ)	2009
PG	Abdul Gaddy	6-3	180	Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, WA)	2009
PF	Jeremy Tyler	6-9	235	Senior (San Diego, CA)	2010
SG	Nolan Dennis	6-5	185	North Richland Hills (North Richland, TX)	2009
PG/SG	Dion Waiters	6-1	200	South Kent School (South Kent, CT)	2010
PF	Jared Sullinger	6-7	260	Northland (Columbus, OH)	2010
SG	Durand Scott	6-4	180	Rice (New York, NY)	2009
SF	Tristan Thompson	6-8	210	St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, NJ)	2010
PF	Erik Murphy	6-9	215	St. Mark's (Southborough, MA)	2009
Coaches: Kenny Anderson, Ron Naclerio (Cardozo)

Blue Squad - Skip To My Lou

Pos.	Name	Hgt	Wgt	High School (Hometown)	Class
PG	Trae Golden	6-2	200	McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.)	2010
SG	Dominic Cheek	6-5	170	St. Anthony (Jersey City, NJ)	2009
SG	Tony Wroten	6-4	185	Garfield (Seattle, WA)	2011
PG/SG	Kenny Boynton	6-2	190	American Heritage (Plantation, FL)	2009
PF	Derrick Favors	6-9	225	South Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)	2009
PG/SG	Doron Lamb	6-4	170	Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn, NY)	2010
PG	John Wall	6-4	190	Word of God (Raleigh, NC)	2009
SF	LaQuinton Ross	6-7	185	Calloway (Jackson, MS)	2011
PF	Karon Johnson	6-7	225	Mount Zion Academy (Durham, NC)	2009
SG	Jordan Hamilton	6-7	200	Dominguez (Compton, CA)	2009
PF	Ryan Kelly	6-9	220	Ravenscroft (Raleigh, NC)	2009
C	Joshua Smith	6-9	300	Kentwood (Covingon, WA)	2010
Coaches: Chauncey Billups, Tiny Morton (Lincoln)

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