Pitt Jam Fest - Day 1

The first live recruiting session of 2013 tipped off at North Hills High School last night with a plethora of high major assistant coaches on hand to check out some of the top Under Armour teams going head to head. Here are some quick hitters from the opening night:

Team Thad - Chris Chiozza

1)      The first game on the docket featured Team Thad from Memphis versus the Atlanta Xpress. Team Thad was one of the most entertaining 16U teams to play on the circuit and received a number two ranking from Five Star entering this year’s 17U bracket. Despite the lofty expectations, Team Thad struggled in their first game with one of their stars, Leron Black out with an injury. Team Thad was down 10 at the half before falling down 17 points in the second half before battling back numerous times behind their full court press and defensive intensity. They cut the lead to three points on numerous occasions, but couldn’t get over the hump until a game ending three brought the final score to 79-78 for the Express. Overall, Team Thad showed strong intensity on the defensive end, but struggled mightily with their shooting.

With Black out of pocket, 5’10” point guard Chris Chiozza stepped up to lead the team with 25 points. Chiozza displayed strong ball handling skills the whole game and found the open man when needed. He was active on the defensive end and never quit the whole game in trying to lead his team back. While he did hit four threes in the game, it took him 14 tries. A tough, quick guard will benefit when Black comes back to take some of the scoring load off his shoulders.

2)      On to the winners, the Atlanta Xpress were led by 7’1” center Trayvon Reed. Reed dominated the game on the defensive side with numerous blocked shots and pretty much made Team Thad’s inside game useless. With his lanky frame, Reed ran the court well and finished with some powerful dunks in transition. With his athletic stature, one would like to see Reed play with a bit more of a motor throughout the game. Two players that had their motor going the entire game were juniors Temarcus Blanton (6’4”) and Jabari McGhee (6’7”). Both wings have strong frames and attacked the basket all night long. 

3)      The last time the Louisville Magic and DC Assault teams faced off, future Maryland guard Romelo Trimble hit a lay-up to give DC Assault a triple overtime win in the NY2LA Summer Jam. While some of the faces changed on the teams, the game was another close one with the Magic pulling out a one point win this time around. Trimble had a solid game for DC Assault, while his Louisville counterpart, Quentin Snider led the Magic with 21 points. While they got the win and showed off their trademark full court pressure, it was obvious that the Magic miss guard D’Angelo Russell. The Magic are ranked in the Five Star top 10, but after dominating the 15U and 16U circuits look to have a tougher task ahead of them this year on the 17U circuit.

4)      6’7” forward Derrick Jones Jr. of the We R 1 Delaware team drew a lot of attention from coaches in his first tournament game. Bentil is very intriguing with his length and athleticism. At times, Jones showed off a strong shot blocking ability and also ran the floor with grace and strong finishes at the basket. 

5)      Isaiah Whitehead looked to prove that he is one of the top scorers in his 2014 class. Playing against the Arkansas Hawks in the 10pm night cap, Whitehead used his physicality and athleticism to lead his team to the win. Last year Whitehead had a tendency to disappear in games, but this year he has the potential to become one of the more dominant players on the Under Armour circuit.

6)      Despite playing in a game that started at 10pm and without a single college coach in attendance, the 16U Showtime All-Stars from North Carolina managed to advance to the second round after a win against Wayne PAL. Showtime only scored 16 points in the first half, but showed a strong defensive intensity led by 6’7” shot blocker Jalyn McKoy.

7)      Never assume a team has won the previous game. The 17U Karolina Diamonds team featuring 2016 standouts Kwe Parker, Junior Smith, and Raekwon Long played their first game at 6:05pm EST and then at 8:25pm EST if they won. Despite a combined 36 points from Parker and Smith the Diamonds team lost to Maryland 3D and were not warming up for their 8:25pm game when Kansas assistant coach Norm Roberts walked in. Upon seeing this, Roberts got right back in his car and raced back to North Hills High for some more action. 

8)      Some of the head coaches noted in attendance were Jim Laranaga (Miami), Mark Turgeon (Maryland), Mick Cronin (Cincy), Stan Heath (USF), and Paul Hewitt (George Mason) along with assistant coaches from Louisville, Kansas, Florida, UNC, Clemson, Florida State, Syracuse, and Florida Gulf Coast.