Breakdown Breakfast
July 30th, 2007 Posted in AAU Basketball(tournament coverage, photo, and video highlights here)
Team Breakdown feasted on the Philadelphia Patriots for a blowout 85-47 victory Sunday evening in the AAU 17U Boys Basketball National Tournament. The victory moves Team Breakdown one game closer to its ultimate goal, a national championship.
“We lost in the championship of the Reebok Roundball Classic, so we have a chip we need to get off our shoulder,” said Breakdown coach Kenny Gillion. “I don’t think a Florida team has ever won the AAU nationals, so this is a big deal for us.”
The Breakdown started to hack away at that chip in a lopsided game that saw Pine Crest High rising sophomore guard Brandon Knight and 6-1 Ely guard Kenny Boynton lead the way. Both had double-digit scoring numbers, but Gillion was just as happy after the game with talking about his point guard, Ray Taylor, a speedy 5-6 rising junior from Miami Pace.
“He’s always a crowd favorite. He’s a tough guard. He’s a great defender, and he can handle the ball and shoot,” Gillion said.
Taylor has already received interest from smaller Division I schools, and Gillion said he expects more calls this winter.
At the moment, though, the team is focused on playing its way through the remaining tournament games, which feature some taller guards who present problems for Taylor, or so it seems.
“I don’t worry about that. I just find the shortest path between two points, and I go around them,” Taylor said.
The Breakdown need to feast on the Georgia Blazers, their opponents in Tuesday’s 10:30 a.m. national quarterfinal if they hope to play in front of the cameras in a cable-televised game to be played Tuesday evening.
