City of Palms: Day 2

On day number two in Fort Myers, FL, spectators were treated to a full day of action. The City of Palms kicked off with West Linn (OR) redeeming their 39 point day one performance with a 21 point win and concluded with Westerville South (OH), the number 15 ranked team in the country turning in a 14 point win over Michael Porter’s Father Tolton squad. In between, Mike Rice, the former Rutgers coach made his high school debut and Jayson Tatum and Tony Bradley matched-up in a preview of next year’s Tobacco Road rivalry.

3 Stars:

Jayson Tatum, 6’7”, G/F, Chaminade (MO)

It didn’t take long for Jayson Tatum, a consensus top three player in the country to get going. In the first half, Tatum hit five three-pointers turning in one of his finer outside shooting performances. He scored 19 points in the first half and finished with 36 on the night going 10-20 from the floor. The smooth wing attacked the basket and had his Kobe-esque step backs and fade-aways going as well. The Red Devils have been taking on opponents from all over the U.S. so far this season and next-up they will have a match-up with Wheeler (GA) before a pending game with defensive minded Patrick School.

HIGHLIGHTS (HomeTeamHoops)

Tony Bradley, 6’10”, C, Bartow (FL)

Bradley’s team was over-matched by Chaminade throughout as Bradley squared off against two twin towers in 6’9” Tyler Cook and 6’10” Will Gladson. Despite the size, Bradley was a beast in the paint and went 14-20 from the floor while recording his sixth double-double of the season with 33 points and 13 rebounds. There wasn’t a player all day that played with the intensity that Bradley did. As the game progressed, Bradley’s energy increased and in the fourth quarter he was a man possessed on the boards and running the floor. Bradley scored on four of his last five shots and used his right-hand hook several times against Cook and Gladson.

Bam Adebayo, 6’8”, PF, High Point Christian Academy (NC)

In a 23 point, nine rebound performance, Adebayo looked like a mini Dwight Howard. With a chiseled physique that is too much for most high schoolers to handle, Adebayo was dominating in the paint and throwing down ferocious dunks all throughout the second half. With an ever evolving offensive game, John Calipari certainly won’t need to teach effort-level next year in Lexington.

Other Notes:

-Mike Rice made his debut for The Patrick School. In a game against Norland (FL), it was only a 6-6 game after one quarter, but then TPS started to make a run behind its guard play of Jordan Walker and Bryce Aiken. TPS uses its length and intensity on defense to shut down Miami bound Dewan Huell, who Rice referred to as a “young LaMarcus Aldridge.

-Tyler Cook missed the first quarter of action for Chaminade, but finished with 12 points. He was impressive early on at the basket and with an elbow jumper. He should make an immediate impact for Iowa.

-Bam Adebayo was definitely not a one-man team for High Point. Ty Graves scored 18 points while going 4-5 from three. He was tough to contain off the dribble although he did finish with six turnovers.

-Westerville South was led by a balanced team effort against Michael and Jontay Porter. Overall, the team shot 8-12 from the three-point line and had six players score in double figures.

-Montverde Academy took it to Spain Park (AL) early, but junior forward Austin Wiley finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman R.J. Barrett led the way for Montverde with 16 points.