Sneaker Circuit Recaps

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

The one live period of the spring took place this weekend and that meant all three of the national sneaker circuits were in action. 

In Atlanta, the Nike EYBL had their first session of the season with Expressions Elite and BABC continuing to represent the region. 

Expressions finished the session 2-2 opening with a 76-56 win over Team United behind 24 points from Terrence Clarke and 11 points and 5 rebounds from Christ the King 2021 big man Moussa Cisse. Saturday morning Expressions lost a narrow decision to All-Ohio Red. Clarke again led the way with 26 while Bensley Joseph (12), Dyondre Dominguez (10) and Cisse (10) also scored in double figures. Enoch Cheeks (13 points on 4-4 shooting) and Aaron Gray (12 pionts on 5-6 shooting) sparked a 68-63 win over Mokan while Gray went for 16 and 5 rebounds on Sunday in a loss to Team WhyNot from California. Clarke finished with 19 points 6 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss while Joseph added 13 points and 7 assists. 

BABC finished with an uncharacteristic record of 0-4 on the weekend despite the play of Matt Cross, who finished with 24 point sand 5 rebounds on Friday night before dropping 20 more Saturday morning against Alabama Fusion. Matteo Whelton (18 points and 4 steals), Judson Martindale (14 points and 4 assists), Josh Ogundele (11 points and 9 rebounds) and Quest Harris (10 assists) also played well for Fusion. Cross continued to raise his game Saturday night, going for 29 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Harris added 11 points and 5 assists in a narrow 75-72 loss to Georgia Stars. Harris had his best game of the weekend against Team WhyNot, going for 21 and 5 while Cross added 15 and 7 rebounds and Martdinale scored 16. 

There were plenty of New England prep products playing on other EYBL teams, many of them from New York. Max Edwards had a breakout performance Friday night for the New York Lightning, going for 26 points on 10-13 shooting while adding 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Primo Spears had 7 points and 4 assists while Jalen Leach saw 28 minutes of action. The trio also made big contributions in a win over Brad Beal Elite as Edwards had 15 points and 6 rebounds, Leach 9 points, and Spears 6 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. Edwards finished the weekend with 11 points against Team Takeover and 9 against Indy Heat. 

Jamal Mashburn Jr. and Hassan Diarra both had big weekends in the backcourt for a PSA Cardinals team that went 3-1 on the session averaging 17 and 15 points respectively. Mashburn scored in double figures every game and then exploded for 25 points, including 6 threes, in a 78-72 win over MEBO on Sunday morning. Diarra was equally steady, dropping 21 on Meanstreets, 17 on MEBO, and 15 on Phenom U. Richard Springs had his best game of the weekend against Phenom, going for 11 points and 7 rebounds. 

The Rens also went 3-1 on the weekend. Nate Tabor was in double figures against PSA and Team Final while Elite 75 alums R.J. Davis had a breakout weekend averaging 21.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Fellow Elite 75 alum Adam Sanogo, a 2021 big, put up nearly 9 points and 9 rebounds per game. 

Symir Torrence and Myles Wilmoth played key roles for the City Rocks. Torrence stuffed all columns of the stat sheet with 18 points, nearly 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Wilmonths averaged over 7 points and nearly as many rebounds. 

Under Armour Association

New England's only Under Armour sponsored program went undefeated last week in Kansas City as NE6 finished with a perfect 4-0 record. Cairo McCrory scored a team high 18 points in a 73-60 win over Mudiay Elite on 7-10 shooting from the floor. Hasan Ward anchored the interior with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Josh Menard was on fire from deep, connecting on 4-5 attempts from three. Corey McKeithan led the way over both Atlanta Express and Florida Vipers, scoring 17 and 22 respectively. Ward added 12 against Atlanta while McCrory had 16 against the Vipers. NE6 now has an overall record of 7-1 and sits atop the HOVR division heading into session three this weekend in New Jersey. 

Elsewhere in the UAA, WeR1 also went 4-0 on the weekend with a group of local products contributing including Hamden native Ronnie Ellis, Sacred Heart's Omar Rowe, Master's guard Jaylen Ricks and Hamden Hall guard Jackson Benigni. 

Salisbury forward Brandon Roughley and Choate wing Hayden Peek saw action in all four games for New Heights and Team Rio respectively. 

Adidas Gauntlet

Kadary Richmond was nearly perfect in a Friday night 90-64 win over Kevon Looney going for 25 points and 5 assists on 10-12 shooting from the floor with 0 turnovers. Dallion Johnson and Jordan Geronimo were also impressive with 15 and 12 points respectively. After a hard-fought loss to D1 Minnesota on Saturday morning, the Rivals rebounded for a 52-46 win over Iowa Barnstormers Saturday night. Johnson scored a team high 15 points while Marty Silvera had 10 points and Cameron Tongue 7 points and 5 rebounds. They fell to Wildcats Select 56-54 on Sunday morning after a controversial call but got good production out of Demarr Langford with 16 points and 7 rebounds while Johnson, Tongue, and Femi Odukale all finished with 8 points and Silvera dug out 9 rebounds. The Rivals are now 6-2 on the season and have qualified for the Gauntlet Finalze in Los Angeles in July.