Sweet Sixteens!
July 28th, 2007 Posted in AAU Basketball, UncategorizedMarquis Daniels would be proud. Some coaches at The Milkhouse in Lake Buena Vista, though, were simply awed by Daniels’ Showtime Ballers, a squad of 16U players competing in the AAU 17U national championship tournament (full coverage including photo and video highlights) on the Disney’s Wide World of Sports property.
The Showtime Ballers, composed of several Central Florida players, including four from Olympia High School, won for the third straight time Saturday afternoon to clinch the top spot in their four-team pool and guarantee a spot in the bracketed championship tournament, which begins in earnest on Sunday. The Ballers play Pool GG’s top team, the Jackson Panthers, at 1:30 p.m.
“We played that last game without two of our best players,” said Showtime Ballers Coach Diana Neal.
Among those who watched from the bench was William Green, a 6-6 rising junior forward at Olympia High. Green received one fine show Saturday afternoon in a lopsided game that saw the Showtime Ballers pound the top seed from their pool, North Carolina’s Kappa Magic.
The game was well decided when 6-5 Godby High’s rising junior, Darius Redding pulled off a show-stopper. Redding, who had failed on an alley-oop jam attempt moments earlier, took a pass from a teammate and soared for a windmill jam that brought onlookers to their feet in the game’s final minute.
Redding, though, was only a sideshow. While he scored nine points, teammate Charles Ford, a rising junior at Dr. Phillips High in Orlando, poured in 29 points. Guard Bak Bak, a rising junior at American Heritage, added 11 points.
“We came out here to play,” said Neal, who coaches at Central Florida Christian High School. “We’re ready for anyone, and we’re not going to be intimidated.”
Despite such professions, the Marquis Daniel Showtime Ballers could have their hands full as they move on and face equally talented athletes with an extra year of seasoning. Bak Bak will play a key role in determining the team’s fate. While his 6-8 frame presents issues for opposing post players, his slight frame is a liability.
