Las Vegas – Day 2 Recap

New England Recruiting Report | Saturday, July 23rd, 2011

The boys from New England were putting together impressive performances across Las Vegas on Saturday as pool play came to a close in both the Adidas Super 64 and the Fab 48 with bracket play set to begin first thing Sunday Morning. 

• CBC put together a strong second half to knock off Houston Hoopstars and finish their super pool undefeated.  Andre Drummond continued to lead the way while the young duo of Kahlil Dukes and Sean Obi also stepped up to make big contributions off the bench. 

• The New England Playaz finished second in the super pool as Terry Brutus has continued his breakout summer while Joe Bramanti is creating a bit of a buzz following his late game heroics from day one along with his trademark toughness. 

• The Mass Rivals are also heading to the gold bracket at the Adidas Super 64 after winning their pool with a 62-55 decision over Jam on It Gold.  Noah Vonleh had coaches buzzing throughout the city on Saturday and with Zach Auguste and Cedric Kuakumensah the Rivals have been getting it done up front while Dimitri Floras, Steve Haladyna, and Ryan Hartung have solidified things in the backcourt. 

• The New England Playaz u16 squad went 2-0 on Sunday continuing to get strong play from their backcourt as Adrien Oliveira continues to impress at the point while Aaron Calixte put up numbers throughout both games.  Jarred Reuter stood out by dominated the paint in the team’s nightcap. 

• Connecticut Select is proving to be one of the major stories at the Fab 48, going 2-0 in their invitational pool on Friday including a big win over a loaded Team Jennings squad from California as Ben Pollack and Rohan Brown showed well.  It was the guards’ turn on Saturday as Torin Childs-Harris showed off his improved shooting range while Zaquan Nelson was putting points on the board in bunches as well. 

• Deonte Burton was phenomenal for TP Elite, going blow for blow with Amile Jefferson and actually coming out on top of the individual match-up with one of the top 10 players in the national class of 2012.  The Brewster forward has diversified his attack and smoothed out his skill set and looks poised to make a major climb up the rankings in 2013. 

• Kahari Beaufort, Kuran Iverson, and Zach Lewis all played important roles for Long Island Lightning’s u16 team that is playing up in the u17 super pool division at the Fab 48.  The Lightning locked up with Mac Irvin Fire and Jabari Parker on Saturday, ultimately falling in a hard fought battle but literally filling the auxiliary gymnasium at Bishop Gorman High School to capacity with coaches including Roy Williams, Thad Matta, and many others. 

• Aim High won two games on Saturday to advance to the gold bracket of the Adidas Super 64.  Tyler Huffman led all scorers with 18 points and 6 assists in the day’s opener while Jerome Harris and Billy McDonald also showed well.  James Jennings was the hero in the second, knocking down two three-pointers in the final two minutes to lead a come from behind win over Colorado.  Huffman was also clutch drilling a three of his own to tie the game while Jennings made the winning free-throws with .06 on the clock.  Pat Hopkins was the key defensively, patrolling the paint. 

• Michigan head coach John Beilein was front and center to watch his future two-guard perform on Saturday and Nikolas Stauskas didn’t disappoint as he stroked it from behind the arc while continuing to show off his complimentary skill set.