Hoophall: Monday Recap & All-Tournament Team

By Christian Bradley | Monday, January 16th, 2012

Duke’s Mike Kryzewski, VCU’s Shaka Smart, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Providence’s Ed Cooley, and Harvard’s Tommy Amaker headlined the lengthy list of college coaches on hand for the final day of the Hoophall Classic on Monday. In a tournament where stars were expected to shine, #1 ranked recruit Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA-bound Kyle Anderson, future Oregon floor general Dominic Artis, and the sharpshooting UNLV-signee Katin Reinhardt came to play on Monday afternoon on one of the biggest stages of their high school careers.

Monday’s list of coaches in attendance includes: Hofstra, Charlotte, Connecticut, Virginia Tech, Drexel, UCLA, Monmouth, Oregon, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Temple, St. Bonaventure, Robert Morris, Pittsburgh, Arizona, Arkansas, Longwood, Ohio State, Princeton, and Penn.

St. Anthony’s(NJ) 60, Miller Grove(GA) 48

Future UCLA forward Kyle Anderson had one of the top performances of this star-studded event as he finished the Friars’ battle with Miller Grove with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. “Slo-mo,” as he is so famously called, made some very tough shots from all over the floor, often took the leadership role for the Friars’ playcalling in the halfcourt, and played a pivotal role defensively as he was a part of a strong team effort that held future high-major big man Tony Parker to just six points. St. Anthony’s guard Josh Brown displayed the type of immediate-impact he will be able to make once he begins his college career at Temple. Brown, only halfway through his junior year, showed incredible upside for a guard because of his craftiness, hangtime, tremendous upper body strength, and disregard for any contact that may come his way when driving to the rim.

Bishop Gorman(NV) 73, DeMatha Catholic(MD) 65

Shabazz Muhammad, with Coach K and John Calipari looking on, stole the show in what was a game jam-packed with high-major Division 1 prospects. Muhammad is such dominating force because of his rare combination of strength and athleticism that he has proven to be the toughest high school player in America to defend. Despite his gifted physical abilities, what makes Muhammad (37 points, 6 rebounds) stand out the most is his relentlessness, even late in the fourth quarter he was the only player on the floor whose motor was running just as hard as it did at tipoff. Future Stanford wing Rosco Allen(18 points, 9 rebounds) had one of the most impressive performances of his season, giving Gorman a consistent rebounding presence, an athlete who can push the ball and run the floor, shoot long-range threes, drive to the rim, and capitalize on all the defensive attention given to Shabazz.

Dematha’s junior point guard Jairus Lyles is a player whose stock has the potential to blow up in the coming months. Lyles is such a smart, intuitive floor leader who can shoot the long-range trey and finish inside, and as he continues to cut down on his turnovers he is going to become quite a big-name point guard prospect. Future Pittsburgh guard James Robinson also had 13 points and 6 rebounds for DeMatha in the losing effort.

Findlay College Prep(NV) 75, Simeon Career Academy(IL) 50

Simeon, led by top 2013 recruit Jabari Parker, was able to keep this game within single digits at halftime, but they ultimately were unable to hang with the ultra-talented Findlay College Prep, who was without star forward Anthony Bennett. To Parker’s credit, he scored 24 points and 12 rebounds, but was unable to see a lot of production out of his supporting cast, and definitely struggled at times as he was clearly forcing some questionable shots in an attempt to create instant offense. The story of this contest was the way Findlay blew Simeon away in the second half with a stellar defensive effort and intelligent play on the offensive end by pounding the ball inside and taking great shots (Findlay was a blazing 16-23 on field goals in the second half). Oregon-commit Dominic Artis (21 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) proved to be one of the top performers of the tournament, showing off his unbelievable athleticism and strength to score nearly at will against inferior Simeon defenders. Artis was fearless when going to the rim, having no problem taking any contact that may come his way, and go on to most likely finish the strong lay-up anyways.

Other Monday Scores:

Our Savior New American(NY) 87, Mount Saint Joseph(MD) 64
Mater Dei(CA) 88, Christ the King(NY) 50
St. Joseph’s Central(MA) 66, Granby(MA) 52

Tournament Awards:

Most Outstanding Player: 6’6 senior Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman)
Local Most Outstanding Player: 6’ sophomore Tyler Nelson (Central Catholic)

Hoophall Classic All-Tournament First Team:

6’6 senior Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman)
6’11 junior Nerlens Noel (Tilton)
5’11 senior Tyler Lewis (Oak Hill)
6’5 senior Aaron Thomas(Brewster)
6’9 senior Kyle Anderson (St. Anthony)

Hoophall Classic All-Tournament Second Team:

5’11 senior Dominic Artis(Findlay College Prep)
6’5 junior Kris Jenkins (Gonzaga College HS)
6’5 senior Katin Reinhardt (Mater Dei)
6’10 senior Grant Jerrett (LaVerne Lutheran)
6’8 junior Jabari Parker (Simeon Career Academy)

Hoophall Classic All-Local Team:

6’2 senior Tyrell Springer (Springfield Central)
6’ sophomore Tyler Nelson (Central Catholic)
5’11 junior Joseph Crapps (New Leadership)
5’9 junior Jaylen Brantley (Wilbraham & Monson)
6’3 junior Kamali Bey (Wilbraham & Monson)