Finals set for Peach Jam
A Nike Peach Jam final in North Augusta, S.C., is set for a match up between Boo Williams and the SYF Players. Boo Williams continued its dominant play, easily taking care of Friends of Hoop, and led by the versatile play of Robbie Hummel, SYF survived a late comeback by the Houston Hoops.
SYF Players 77, Houston Hoops 75
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Offensive rebounding kept the SYF Players on top throughout the game, and then after the Houston Hoops made a furious comeback to tie the score with 14 seconds on the clock, a tip in at the buzzer by Scott Martin claimed the victory for the SYF.
Down by double digits throughout the game, the Houston Hoops mounted a comeback in the final two minutes behind the heroics of Brandon Brown. Brown scored 9 straight points on three three-pointers to cut the margin to two points. He also recorded 2 steals during that one minute stretch.
Jamil Tucker, Tyrone Appleton, E'twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel all played well for the SYF Players, but most outstanding was Hummel's versatile play.
He handled the point guard duties against the constantly trapping and swarming press of the Hoops, and on the defensive end, he guarded Gary Johnson down low.
Tucker and Moore scored the bulk of their points on offensive put backs and on finish around the basket after Hummel and Appleton broke the press.
Besides passing the ball well, Appleton scored his points in the midrange area and at the basket. Appleton also held the hot Nic Wise in check on the defensive end. He did, however, miss four free throws in the last minutes of the game.
Boo Williams 73, Friends of Hoop 64
Holding leads from the final margin of 9 to as much as 18 points, Boo Williams won this game behind a tremendous defensive effort by Duke Crews as he held Spencer Hawes to 4 points, which all came in the first half. Hawes did nothing to help his cause at the free throw line, where he went 0 for 7.
Crews moved his feet defensively, continuously fronting Hawes in the low post. It did not hurt, either, that he had a little help on the backside fromVernon Macklin.
Both Crews and Macklin caused havoc inside on the offensive end, scoring on put backs, with post moves and in transition.
The backcourt trio of Eric Hayes, Scottie Reynolds and Greivas Vasquez played very strong games for Boo Williams as well.
Coming off a very strong defensive effort against Jon Scheyer, Hayes held Ryan Anderson in check while also knocking down 4 out of 5 three pointers while running the point.
After making two early three-pointers, Reynolds struggled shooting from outside but was able to drive past the slack perimeter defense of Friends of Hoop to score on lay-ups and kick the ball out for shots.
Vasquez came off the bench early to spark the Boo Williams offensive attack and did not come out of the game until intermission. He knocked down a three-pointer and repeatedly drove past Anderson enroute to a number of crowd pleasing passes.
For the Friends of Hoop, Isaiah Thomas stood out on the offensive end, scoring in the paint and from behind the arc. Defensively, he struggled against the experienced Boo Williams guards.
Jamelle McMillian had a solid all around game, especially playing well on the defensive end. Rarely did his man score or penetrate the lane.
School Lists
Robbie Hummel has picked up another high-major offer.
"I don't have any favorites, but I was pretty excited when North Carolina State offered me after the Nike Camp," said Hummel.
E'twaun Moore named Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Miami, Iowa, Oklahoma and UNLV and claims offers from Purdue, Miami and Iowa.
Jamil Tucker will now wait and see how his recruitment develops, since Ohio State is not ready to accept a verbal commitment from him.
"Ohio State has been talking to my coach, and he said that they were iffy about me committing," said Tucker. "So I am just going to wait. It is still the same schools, Ohio State, Purdue, Indiana, USC and UCLA."
Jamelle MicMillian likes North Carolina State, Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Northwestern and North Carolina. As of yet, he has no offers and plans to finish his high school career in Seattle.
Greivas Vasquez claims offers from Maryland, North Carolina State, Boston College, Texas, Gonzaga and Virginia Tech.
Chris Wright is listing Duke, Maryland, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Kansas, Notre Dame, Connecticut, Virginia and Texas. Maryland, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Virginia have offered according to Wright.
Watching the semifinals were head coaches from North Carolina, Washington, St. John's and Stanford and assistant coaches from Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma State, UCLA, North Carolina State, Washington State and Maryland.