Boo Is Scary Good
July 29th, 2007 Posted in AAU Basketball, BasketballWith pool play concluded at the 2007 AAU Boys Division I National Basketball Championship, Boo Williams has positioned itself as one of the teams vying for the crown. With a verbal commitment to the University of North Carolina already tucked into his hip pocket, 6-8 power forward Ed Reed is prepared to finish his AAU career in grand style, and his coach expects nothing less.
(Full video and photo highlights here).
“So far, we’re rolling along, taking it game by game. We have to come out and play every game,” said Reed’s coach, Boo Williams.
Asked how much the outcome of the games truly impact kids whose primary goal is showcasing their skills to college coaches, Williams said folks shouldn’t be so quick to discard them as scrimmage games.
“These games matter. The kids get caught up in what’s going on,” Williams said. “We’re excited to be starting to play in the bracket.”
Undoubtedly, the team will be ready for today’s likely 9 p.m. matchup with the D-1 Greyhounds, who handily defeated Boo Williams in last year’s championship game. The Greyhounds lost a 58-55 game Saturday night to fall to the No. 2 spot in Pool I. That sent the Greyhounds into today’s noon game against Florida’s 16U Team Breakdown squad. The winner faces Boo Williams tonight.
Williams said all 11 of his players provided part of the fuel in the team’s Pool C dominance. Boo’s 17U kids started the tournament with a 62-44 Friday afternoon victory against Cincinnati’s Royals-Black squad. Then Boo Williams blasted the Spartanburg Bucks 80-42 Friday evening. On Saturday, Boo Williams coasted to an 85-52 win against Georgia’s Team Albany Bearcats.
“We have great cohesiveness, and all 11 of our guys have something they can contribute,” Williams said of the team.
Boo Williams, though, isn’t the only Virginia team to achieve great success in the Friday and Saturday pool-play round. The GESUS Ball team also won its pool. GESUS pounded top-seeded MOV Jam, of West Virginia, 79-49 Saturday evening to earn a top spot in the brackets announced in the wee hours of Sunday morning. GESUS, which won 91-77 and 77-63 in Friday’s pool play, faces Florida’s Gold Coast 16U team today at 1:30 p.m. The winner moves on to play at 10 a.m. in Monday’s third round.
The Suffolk Blazers also won three straight pool play games to reach the bracketed tournament as a top seed. The Blazers squeaked past Metro Boston 66-64 Saturday evening. Suffolk also won 93-57 Saturday morning and 66-58 against top-seeded Spiece Select 2008 on Friday afternoon.
The Boo Williams 16U team, the Richmond Metro Gold and the Richmond Squires failed to reach the bracketed tournament and will participate in consolation bracket games. The Squires fell victim to a 73-72 Friday evening loss to eventual Pool D winner Team Breakdown 17U. Had they pulled out that victory, they might have earned a berth in the championship bracket.
