gymrat94

Surprised everyone from NKy has not responded to the comment. Jazz have a very good team, they are deceiving. Their bigs are not really tall, but have good length and can jump. Their group is very hard nosed and they just smacked DS in the chin from the start. They jumped out early and then it was catchup after that. The new guys that were picked up have never played in that type of environment and they were on their heals the whole game. The Jazz only has about 3 players from their old team and the new additions were hungry and excited about the opportunity. They beat a very good Charlotte Court in the championship so you have to give them props. I do believe if DS and Jazz played again it may be a different outcome. Their coaches have always done a good job and have class. Hats off to them.

I definitely give the Jazz props on the win, both against Ds and the whole AAU tourny. Speaking of the win against DS, Al Murry tore his ACL 5 days prior, Adam Decker (point guard) did not play the last 4-5 minutes of the game due to chipped bone in left hand. Jazz up by 2 and DS had the ball with a minute left. One of the new guys took a bad shot, Jazz got fast break and the player who took the bad shot fouled the player and the Jazz made the basket. He yelled at the ref and then got a tech. 3 point play, technical shots and the ball. DS had to foul and the lead pushed up to 10. DS hit zero 3's for the game. No excuses made, Jazz were hungry and deserved to win. You can always say what if, live and learn.

Fair enough, no harm intended:thumb:

Very talented team, only practiced twice due to highschool involvement and other issues. See post 56 and this may answer your rhetoric question.

We are traveling to Vegas July 21st-27th, which is the most important gap to fill, the other 2 sanctioned tournaments would be a bonus for the young man.

Derek Smith Allstars

Looking for a big guy (16 & under) for the month of July. Our 6'6" and 6'7" are not available for the big tournaments. We will be going to 3 big tournaments, 2 of them NCAA sanctioned.

Lost to NKY Jazz in pool play (went 2-1). Came out flat and never really got going. Picked up two new big guys two days prior b/c Al Murry tore his ACL the week prior. This caused them to play Charlotte Ct first round of the tourny. Charlotte on fire from behind the arc, Bud Mackey got in a zone and a few guys who don't normally shoot well hit some key 3's. Adam Decker missed the first half due to PRP awards. 2nd half down by 20, cut it to 5 but couldn't get over the hump. Disappointing weekend for them over all. Couldn't seem to bring it together as a team.

The word is Charlotte court has players such as Bud Mackey, Victor Moses, Aaron Boyd. Quinn Anvils athletic team out of L'ville. N.Ky Royals mostly kids from Dixie Highschool and another school up in N.Ky, small and scrappy. Higher Level kids from L'ville, several from Trinity. Livewire from Lex, couple of nice guards, one from Tates Creek. N.Ky Hawks much different team w/o Arrez if that is the case. Derek Smith (mostly kids from Ky Lightning) 3 time state champs losing last yr to Hawks in a scrappy game, didn't get many good calls and Hawks were hungry. DS will be going for 4 out of 5 yrs w/ that group but will have some competition. DS definitely the favorite and anyone who knows this age group could not dispute that. They have only lost 2 games in 4 yrs to instate teams. Ironically both to Hawks, one yr on a half court shot to win and last yr. Should be a competitive tournament.

Darius played with Derek Smith last yr in Vegas and did very well. This is a good assessment, being a 3 in college. He is certainly good enough to play D-1 at the 3 spot. He is still young as far as maturity goes and his "killer" attitude on the court must improve, which it will. He looks better in the summer b/c at Mason Co he is keyed in on. In the summer, with D-1 greyhounds and some with DS he has a whole team of good players and the double teams or sag defenses don't work. It is surprising though to see the players ranked nationally, most of them I have seen and not see Darius with any love. He comes from a great family and should get more hype than he does from those ranking these kids.

No problem, you are correct. The kids like being a part of the DS group and as we have found out traveling everyone knows of Derek Smith and the program so we are flying under a different flag this yr. You are also right about Heyman, a physical beast, dominates in the post and his attitude is great. He will have a very successful future on and off the field (div 1 football prospect for sure).

You are mostly correct, adding 6'4" Dexter Heyman from Male and 6'6" Dean Pruett from J'town certainly doesn't hurt, Dexter has 7'1" wingspan and is a beast in the paint. There doesn't need to be "nothing more" since they were state champs 3 yrs in a row, only losing to Kentucky Hawks last yr w/ Arez Henderson by a few points (whom they have beaten more times than I care to count) with the free throw difference being 26-5 in favor of the Hawks. Anyways, this team is still quiet good and has improved.

The DS 16's have a nice squad. Winning the tourny up in Florence last weekend and making the semi's in the King of the South in Nashville. They tied for 1st place in their pool with 2 other teams and when 2 of their big guys had to go back to L'ville for awards ceremony they lost in a nail biter to a team from Augusta, Ga. The team they had down by 16 in pool play (Smyrna Stars) won the whole thing. Several college coaches approached the coaching staff raving about players, attitudes and chemistry. Most of them together since 6th grade.

You make a good point, as you have prob observed with summer ball it is very hard to slow a game down. There are very little fouls called and the pace is normally up and down the court. I know last yr the west added Justin Benadetti, a 6'5" shooter from Providence in Indiana. I am not sure what he is doing to do this yr, probably join up in July like last yr and go to Vegas and California. He has a nice stroke from outside and can knock it down.

DS west for sure, Beaumont and Twany out front with Johonne on the wing. You also have Coleman in the middle and no one the west could stop Pettigrew. He is a man on the boards and has an outside touch. Novsel is strong in the middle but not on that level yet. East has a 7ft soph but slow footwork. Portwood and Smart do not rebound very aggresively. I like Vanhoose with the ball and Haddix is strong but his handles are shaky. Too much team speed and the west has been playing together for a while now. I have seen both teams and that is my observation. I know that the west did well in Atlanta last yr and held their own in Vegas against stellar competition.

Tyler must be able to score with penetration from the point and receiving the kickout. He does not like to put the ball on the floor and avoids contact whenever possible. In the East/West Exec Inn I am not sure if he even scored. He does have range and height and is a great kid though. Over the yrs he has grown and hasn't added size or strength, when/if he does he will be that much better.

Eddie Ford would not let the 16 & under Derek Smith Allstars in either. We were given confirmation by his assistant and the credit card was charged. The next day, after Eddie saw our roster he sent an email that said he would not allow us to play and the account had been credited. This coming after we were told there was plenty of room. He has dodged emails and phone calls since then. Our reasoning is this, he travels to several out of town tournaments and boasts to have two of the best tournaments going (the other is in July). That being said, he would have a hard time getting players he allowed Derek Smiths to attend his tournaments, he charges somewhere around $1800 to play for him, so if you could play for another team who will travel as much and also go to his tournaments for a cheaper club fee and be better that Ford's groups, why play for him. Check on some of the teams from Ky, they may have some sponsorship by Nike or Jordan (as in one of the Louisville teams going) and he is ok w/ that. He doesn't want to compete w/ other teams in this state b/c when he loses he may get pressure from his sponsor, which I believe is Nike. Any thought?

Can you post the national rankings for 2008?