Nike EYBL Dallas Review:

In last week’s preview there were 5 games listed to look out for. The top two games lived up to their match-up, while the other three came up short. Here is a quick recap of last week’s predicted top games of the week along with answer’s to the “Will……?” section.

The #1 game in the preview featured California Supreme vs. E1T1. E1T1 won the game 69-66 thanks to the 2014 duo of point guard Joel Berry and center Dakari Johnson. Berry finished the game with 23 points and used his size and strength advantage over Parker Jackson-Cartwright to get to the basket and free throw line. Johnson finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and the highly anticipated match-up with Marcus Lee never materialized due to two quick fouls. Lee only played 11 minutes and scored 2 points. Despite losing the game and giving up a significant size advantage, Parker Jackson-Cartwright went 6-9 and helped give Cal Supreme a chance to win at the end of the game. E1T1 won the game in part due to their pg/center combo winning the individual battle with their Cal Supreme counterparts. While this game was well played and tight to the end, the top game of the tournament goes to CIA Bounce vs. Indy Spiece Heat.

CIA Bounce came into Dallas at 9-0 in the EYBL. Based on their schedule over the weekend, the Indy Spiece game looked like the one potential road bump to a 14-0 record. Indy did not disappoint and behind the play of Trey Lyles and the shooting of Trevon Blueitt, Indy Spiece led throughout the game. CIA started to make their comeback late in the second half and eventually tied the game with 2 minutes left. Despite 3 other top notch games going on at this time, the crowd was gathered around Court #3 to see what the top player in the country, Andrew Wiggins, could do. He did not disappoint with two jaw dropping drives to the basket that resulted in powerful two hand finishes at the rim. Wiggins wowed the crowd with his drives to the basket and offensive rebounding abilities while finishing with 31 points and 15 rebounds. 

Highlights 

CIA stayed undefeated and Wiggins laid claim to being the top player in the country.

The BEAST

Friday night featured a Chicago / Detroit showdown. Mean Streets from Chicago delivered a beatdown to the Motor City boys 77-43. James Young had his first subpar game of the spring with 8 points and his cohorts E.C. Matthews and Wesley Clark did not break into double digits either. Kendrick Nunn led the way for a balanced Mean Streets attack with 22 points which consisted of three-pointers and strong drives to the basket. Mean Streets looks to be one of the best coached teams on the AAU circuit.

The highly anticipated point guard match-up between Tony Barber of Boo Williams and Tyus Jones of Howard Pulley never materialized on Sunday due to a sickness keeping Jones away from Dallas. In this Sunday game, Barber took advantage of Jones’ absence and had his top game of the weekend. Barber finished with 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

The CP3 vs. BABC wing match-up fizzled between Wayne Selden and Theo Pinson, both 2014 five star recruits. CP3 played primarily zone defense throughout the game and Selden was content to shoot jump shots. Selden went 1-10 for the game (1-5 from 3) and did not make it to the foul line. Known as an attacking wing, this was a very uncharacteristic game for Selden. Pinson played up to par in helping CP3 to the victory. Pinson had 16 points on 7-10 shooting. Due to the CP3 zone, BABC point guard Jaylen Brantley had ample room to fire up 3 pointers and connected on 7-12 on his way to a 28 point outing.

WILL………

CIA Bounce lose its first game…..Not this weekend. After Dallas, CIA sits 14-0 with a 2 game division lead. Indy put up a tough test, but at the end they had no answer for Andrew Wiggins.

All-Iowa win its first game….Not this weekend. Iowa sits at 0-14 and featured numerous double digit defeats.

Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins take control of the top spot in the country…..Jabari played well over the weekend, but I think it is safe to say that Wiggins might have taken control with his 31 point, 15 rebound performance. Wiggins showed off his elite athleticism that gives him the edge over Jabari.

Troy Williams break out of his slump….Yes, Williams put together several solid games including a 8-12 performance against James Young and The Family. Williams played well this weekend, but is definitely a top 30 player in his class compared to the top 10 ranking that most sites previously had him at.

Anyone catch fire like Jujuan Johnson did in Hampton….While there weren’t any players coming out of nowhere, there were several noteworthy performances. Malik Newman from the class of 2015 scored 26 points in a Saturday win over Baltimore, Roshcon Prince from ICP shot 25 free throws on Sunday (making 17), Sindarius Thornwell scored 35 points for Team United trying to make up for the absence of big man Kennedy Meeks on Saturday night, and the 7 foot, “8^th grader Thon Maker blocking shots, running the court, and shooting jumpers like it was nothing. 

Part II coming soon.