City of Palms - Finals

In the 42^nd City of Palms, the teams and players put on a show throughout the six day event. Future NBA players were in almost every game and the championship game was a reflection on the competitiveness of the games throughout the week. It can’t get much better than a close championship game featuring the top two seniors in the country.

Wheeler (GA) 72 Montverde Academy (FL) 65

In a close and hard fought championship game featuring the two top players in the senior class, Wheeler won their first City of Palms championship and prevented Montverde from winning their third in a row. In a game billed for its star power, Ben Simmons and Jaylen Brown definitely lived up to the billing. Despite fouling out, Brown finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. With the game tied with 2:25 to go, Brown made a ridiculous steal of an attempted entry pass to Simmons and got fouled going coast to coast. He made both free throws to give Wheeler a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. On the next possession Simmons had a lay-up go in and out and that was all she wrote for Montverde. Ben Simmons finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds and both players combined to miss only 10 shots total. 

While Brown and Simmons were the lead actors, senior guard Shembari Phillips won the best supporting actor. He came up with big plays time and time again and ended the night with 20 points while going 9-13 from the floor. Phillips scored crucial baskets in the fourth quarter and was one of the most under-rated performers of the tournament. 

Top Performers:

Jaylen Brown, 6’7”, SF, 2015, Wheeler (GA)

The Stanley Johnson clone was in attack mode from the get go and began the game with three and-one’s. The first came as he posted up a smaller defender and the other two were the result of powerful drives to the hoop. In the first half, Brown put together a 17 point, seven rebound performance. He wasn’t as dominant in the second half, but came up with key plays that sealed the win. As noted above, Brown forced a turnover and turned it into two points from the free throw line. After that Brown dished out an assist to put his team up five before fouling out. With the win, Brown was named tournament MVP after averaging 24 points and 10 rebounds.

1st Half: 5-8 FG's, 2-2 3PT, 5-7 FT's - 17 points, 7 rebounds 

2nd Half: 1-2 FG's, 6-6 FT's - 8 points, 5 rebounds plus key steal with tie game

Ben Simmons, 6’8”, SF, 2015, Montverde (FL)

Simmons did not start out as aggressive as Brown, but he caught up in the 3^rd quarter where he scored nine points on 4-5 shooting. For the game, Simmons was 11-17 and used his versatility to finish around the hoop. With Montverde down two, Simmons had a lay-up go in and out which effectively sealed the game for Wheeler. He continuously attacked the defense with his strong ball-handling skills and despite the loss he put together a tremendous performance.

Harry Giles, 6’10”, PF, 2016, Wesleyan Christian (NC)

A man amongst boys, even when one of them is a year older and committed to Louisville. Yesterday, Giles had a dominant first quarter, but hung around the perimeter too much. Today he took just three shots outside of the paint including a 12 foot left handed hook that he used to begin his dominant night. Throughout the game, Giles was throwing down monster dunks down low and over powering any defender in his way. He also added a right hand hook and a short jumper in the lane in addition to a vicious one hand tip dunk. For the game, Giles finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds on 12-20 shooting while staking his claim as the top player in the junior class.

                                12/22 (6-12) played outside                 12/23 (12-20) dominated inside

Kobi Simmons, 6’5”, PG, 2016, St. Francis (GA)

St. Francis ran way with the game in the fourth quarter primarily due to a four possession stretch from Simmons (who might have had the best overall performance of the tournament). With the ball at the top of the key, Simmons nailed a deep three well behind the line. Next up was a three from the right corner before a behind the back pass on the break for a Malik Beasley dunk. To cap it off, Simmons hit a three from the left wing. The uber-athletic point, finished with 26 points and seven assists (only two turnovers) on 8-14 field goals and 4-7 from three. In the first half, Simmons caught a highlight reel one hand put-back dunk that drew loud applause from the crowd. During the tournament, Simmons might have established himself as the top point guard in the 2016 class.

Kaiser Gates, 6’7”, F, 2015, St. Francis (GA)

While Simmons helped St. Francis pull away in the fourth, it was the senior Kaiser Gates that gave the Knights a 14 point lead. In the first half, Gates went 6-10 from the field including 3-6 from three. The combo forward finished the game with 22 points and eight rebounds on 9-17 shooting and also added five assists. With his size and versatility, Gates was a match-up problem for Paul VI throughout the game.

Renathan Ona Embo, 6’4”, G, 2017, Balboa City (CA)

With the defense focused on sophomore Deandre Ayton, Ona Embo was the main offensive threat for Balboa City throughout the game. He ran the point, but Ona-Embo was looking to score which he did to the tune of 22 points on 9-17 from the floor. Sporting high major athleticism Ona Embo got to the basket in both the half-court offense and on the break. He finished in the post and also put together some impressive forays to the basket. While the fans came to see Ayton, they all left impressed by Ona-Embo and his scoring ability.

V.J. King, 6’7”, SF, 2016, Paul VI (VA)

It was a forgettable individual performance against Mater Dei, but King bounced back nicely in the tournament’s fifth place game. In an up-tempo game suited to King’s skill-set the athletic junior was able to attack the paint which he did early and often. His drives to the basket opened up his perimeter game where he hit one three in the second half in addition to a few pull-up jump shots. Overall, King scored 27 points to go with 11 rebounds on 11-22 shooting. Despite the loss, King bounced back and ended the tournament on a high note.

Other Notes:

After a slew of transfers in the off-season, Paul VI employed a youth movement and in addition to gaining the services of junior V.J. King, the Panthers also play three freshmen. 6’5” wing Vincent Lee got the start, while 6’4” Brandon Slater scored five points in 19 minutes, and 6’2” Devon Sims played 11 minutes. The Panthers also have sophomore point guard Aaron Thompson who sat out the tournament due to injury.

It was a rude awakening for the Danube City Timberwolves who traveled 5,230 miles to face one of the top teams in the country in La Lumiere. In their first half of the tournament they face a 30-14 deficit, but then played almost even in the second half. In their second game against Balboa City, the Timberwolves built on their second half performance against La Lumiere and came away with a 57-50 victory. Three players scored in double figures including Georg Beychlag who took just two shots from the field (10-13 FT’s), Marvin Ogunsipe, and Dejan Kovacevic. At 6’9”, Kovacevic noted that he was a “European forward” and had an inside-outside game. He hit all three of his outside attempts and also added four rebounds. Against La Lumiere it was athletic 6’5” wing, Karim Jallow who led the way with 15 points. Danube City is the home of Utah freshman Jakob Poeltl who is currently generating lots of NBA noise amongst scouts.

Freshman EJ Montgomery showed his vast talent in the first half. The Tayshaun Prince look alike went 3-5 with a fade-away, three, and hook shot. He struggled a bit in the second half before fouling out, but he certainly showcased his skill-set on a big time stage.

While Shembari Phillips was the best supporting actor for Wheeler, sophomore guard Darius Phillips also showed confidence down the stretch finishing with 15 points. He didn’t shoot that well from the field, but Phillips hit seven free throws and wanted the ball in his hands. He’s a quick guard with strong handles and poise.

Point guard Howard Washington went 4-10 from the three point line and answered Wheeler’s shots with big ones of his own in the final stanza.