After a pretty successful Adidas 3 Stripes tournament, I felt confident knowing we would have good chemistry for the Reebok Big Time. We played 6 games in LA going 4-2 and making it to the consolation finals. We had 4 new guys different from the Spring, and without Royce, roles would definitely change a bit. Guys like Mike Topercer, Donte Medder, and Jordan Sims would emerge as crucial parts of the team for the Summer. We played 3 games the final day so I got a good look at how much gas in the tank we would have when needed. Mike led us in scoring including a 26 pt game, and Byron played great avg 16ppg. TP did his thing with the highlight plays, and Jordan and Stephen emerged as 2 of the better pure shooters in AZ.

We played some great competition in this one, facing 2 different Bay Area Hoosier teams, a very athletic team from Bakersfield with two super athletic bigs, and ISAF who ended up winning the 'A' division title at Reebok Summer Championships later in the month.

On to Vegas...

We went with 9 guys, 1 Mother, and a players' older brother... That's it. What a tournament! We stayed away from the strip, I told the guys we were there for business, and surprisingly they agreed. They played like a true team, no egos, and played extremely well. A brief description of what I remember:

Grand Rapids Storm(MI):

They were BIG, and all white, except for their PG. They had 3 or 4 guys over 6-8 and their starting wing was a 6-7 shooter and you could tell in warmups he was their best player. We were quicker though, and knew we could use our speed and ball handling to pressure them on both ends of the floor. Id say there were about 75 coaches lined up around the Green Valley Aux gym, It felt packed! We were groovin right from the start, Jon Hawkins made some sweet plays in the first half, and our execution on offense was awesome! Bobby Cremmins commented to me after the game how well disciplined we played in the half court, like a college team, and remembered my team from last year. It's a testament to those kids and how they believed in the system and knowing each other will do their job. Byron really stepped up with Travis, Mike, Oliver, and Jon making HUGE plays down the stretch. Capped by a couple dagger bang-outs by Byron, we cruised away towards the end. Travis gave them FITS all game long and their guards were frustrated with not being able to catch Donte when he came in. Man that kid is a wizard with the rock. Won by 12.

Florida Elite:

This one was frustrating to be a part of. Byron was in early foul trouble, and late foul trouble lol, fouling out with only 4 pts and playing maybe 8-10 minutes of the game. All the kids that missed shots when we scouted them earlier happen to be hitting everything against us, and crucial missed layups and free throws towards the end spelled disaster for us. Florida built a big lead with 6 minutes to go, but with 5 guards in and the fullcourt press on, they played their asses off all the way to the buzzer. I think we lost by 8, but Florida played a great game, made their FTs, and you cant expect to win games in a Super Pool without converting easy baskets and FTs right?

Full Court Athletes(TX):

Another full gym of coaches for this one at Green Valley Main. Their PG was going to Univ of Kentucky, so Travis was all jacked up ready for this one. We built a comfortable lead with a 15-0 burst to start the game, but former local product GJ Vilarino made some nice plays towards the end of the first half. Mike played a great 2nd half hitting a bunch of huge shots from deep and at the bucket, and of course Travis and Jon capped it off with two unbelievable dimes to Byron for some showtime! Stephen Topercer also stepped up huge in this game hitting a bunch of 3s. Won by 12. Coming out of pool play 2-1 was alright, but a little bittersweet knowing we kinda gave one away the day before with a bad game against a team I know we beat 8/10 times.

Old School Cavaliers(PA):

1st game of bracket play and I actually woke up early to watch this team beat up a tiny team from Idaho at 830am.. They had a big 6-10 white kid that wasnt bad, and two athletic scorers but werent very well organized and had like 13 guys on their bench. Why would you bring 18 kids to Vegas? wow. We had to play in tiny Silverado Aux.. I HATE that gym. Its freezing and horrible lighting. I guess it didnt bother the guys, as we were all BUZZSAW right from the tip! They had NO answer for Travis as he dissected their fast break transition. We played outstanding defense, with Oliver collecting 22 rebounds in the game! With a handful of coaches their specifically to watch just our players, they performed when it mattered. Stephen and Jordan Sims came off the bench and rained in some threes, and highlights of the game went this way... Travis made a great stutter step off of a pick n roll, followed by a perfect bounce pass to Byron who was closing in on the rim and the big 6-10 kid. Byron pulled a Tom Chambers, and hit him and actually went HIGHER over the top of the Big dude, Byron threw it down so hard he missed it hard off the back of the rim and bouncing out of bounds. So we go down on the other end and the Big man makes a good spin off of a missed steal attempt by Byron, Turns to two-hand, gorilla smash the rim, but misses just like Byron did. So we tracked down the loose ball and go the other way with Travis making a similar move and sweet dime to Byron who takes two steps and rises over the Big again who steps right in the way to block it and gets banged on! face full of Byrons' chest! The little gym went crazy! I turned and looked at the Air Force coach who was one of the coaches their to see Byron. He turned to the coach next to him, said something, laughed, shook his head and left the gym smiling. 3 or 4 possessions later TP once again found Byron for an exclamation point down the middle and we were feelin good heading into the next showdown against Belmont Shore. Won by 36.

Belmont Shore(CA):

We saw them play earlier in the tournament, so the team felt comfortable with their matchups. They weren't necessarily big, just extremely athletic, with big egos. One good punch in the mouth figuratively speaking, and they might be a different team. We played inspired basketball. They tried man first, so we went through every set twice. They couldn't stop us, switched to a trapping 1-2-2 zone, then a soft 2-3 which didn't work. The guys passed the ball beautifully and we knocked down a lot of shots with Oliver getting some crucial offensive putbacks and defensive rebounds. The team of Travis, Jon, and Mike played D-1 defense against Darius Morris, Cezar Guerrero, and Hollis Thompson, and took control of the game late. Morris tried his best to take Travis off the dribble in the closing minutes but was met by TP getting a crucial offensive pushoff by Morris in frustration. The ensuing play ended in a two-handed crushdown by Byron off of a pinpoint pass from Mike on the press break. What a win! Lots of coaches at this one, and a chance to scout the next game, winner of Illinois Wolves vs NorCal Pharaohs with Markovich. Won by 5.

NorCal Pharaohs:

We were at the gym ready to play for hours since we had checked out of our hotel earlier in the day. I figured when I made reservations we could always get another night if we win.. NorCal showed up looking a little tired I thought. Travis would check their main guy, I thought anyways, and Mike would check the hot guy from the game we watched prior. Needless to say, the ending stats didn't lie. Travis' guy had 4 pts and fouled out 6 minutes to go in the game, extremely pissed off to say the least, and Mike's guy had 6 points, and really was a non-factor. Nick Markovich really kept them in it hitting a bunch of tough shots and making free throws, until Travis' man fouled out and I switched Travis on to him.. Game was over after that. We built an 18 point advantage, and were beaming with confidence! Won by 12. Elite 8 at the Reebok Summer Championships ? Are you serious? 200 teams, I couldn't believe it, they were playing just great basketball.

DC Triple Threat(MD):

Man they were BIG! Lots of D-1 guys and very intimidating to most. Not to us. We started out great executing our sets, with Mike hitting some nice buckets and Byron more than holding his own against Braswell . We were up 3 with a few minutes to go and the momentum changed. They hit a 9-0 run on us and we were behind from there. Second half was just a good game. We made a run, they countered our run, we made a run again. Travis buried a 3 and Mike stole the ensuing out of bounds pass and was fouled at the rim, but the ball toilet bowled out and he missed the free throws. They went down and hit a 3 which sank the sails. We missed 8-10 easy chippies, and add the missed free throws or it woulda been much closer. I think the moment got to them, with all the fans and coaches and cameras. We were down 6-15 points in the 2nd half depending on who was on the run, but they definitely used their depth and size well, and we just didn't make shots like we did all tournament. Lost by 18. Either way a great showing for the team, especially without Royce. I told them not to hang their heads at all, we outlasted everyone in our state once again, and we had to refocus and drive back to PHX right now, cause 3 more of the premier teams in the nation were sitting at home waiting on us.

On to the Desert Duel in PHX...

We drove back from Vegas, and I literally walked into the door, threw my bags down, and had to drive to the host hotel to register our team for the Duel. Looking back it was definitely a grind, but how fun for those kids?! We didn't get any rest and had to play two QUALITY programs out the gate after 7 games in Vegas.

Texas D-1 Ambassadors:

They had good size, great athletes, and shot the HELL out of it against us! The kid Judkins going to UofA was nice, the athlete going to Baylor had Bounce that reminded me of Lloyd Hickinson from my team last year, and their Big white kid was stepping out to NBA range. But the marquee matchup ended up being TP and their PG goin UTSA. He hit every big shot with Travis all over him. It was a 4 point game with 8-10 minutes to go, basically they made most of their shots down the stretch and we didn't. We gave up some easy buckets at the end trying to press, but I came away thinking it was a well-played game by both teams. Lost by 17 maybe 15..

Beach Ball Select(SC):

This game was also a very competitive game. We busted out a lead early before their PF decided he was Kevin Love for the day and rained in a bunch of threes out of nowhere. They built a double digit lead in the 2nd half before Travis decided to bring us back with the help of Donte Medder.. We traded baskets the last 5 minutes or so and just couldn't quite get the stops we needed to. Every time they needed a basket they turned to their Franchise...Milton Jennings.. Top 15 player in the nation going to Clemson.. He was a physical specimen, but I gotta say Byron played him very strong! I wish I got video from this game because Byron made an unbelievable spin, drop-step move on him and two-hand dunked all on his face.. The ending stats showed Jennings with 21pts and Byron with 19pts.. The difference was they made 14 threes in the game. We played well but another team just shot the lights out. Lost by 6

Arizona Dream Team:

Won by forfeit. I felt bad for Vern and his guys, even though they only had 4 with jerseys. I know he puts a lot of effort into it, and I know how sometimes your job can creep into the picture. I actually had to run to work right after the game, and come back later for our second game. I also felt bad or Coach Colburn. He kinda got stuck in a bad situation. For my guys it was a blessing sort of, since we had played 9 games in six days, we needed the rest. And it sucks playing that REAL early game.

Arizona Premier Blue:

I felt nervous before this one since I knew our team would be overconfident and that Premier program always plays hard. Both teams. We played a decent first half and held a 15-20 point lead in the first half, which coulda been more. The clock operator ran the clock the whole first half and said she was told to run it since they were behind? I thought Morin played an excellent game, and Tresnak actually made some nice moves to give them a little run in the second half, but Donte got it goin halfway through the second half and I gotta chance to play Ben, Jordan, and Stephen. I thought we rebounded the ball well in this game and they really had no answer for our guard play. But it was a great game and those young guys for Premier really played well together.

Portland Legends(OR):

Another early game! ugh. I thought we would look like a sleeping zombie, but we actually played one of our best halves of the whole season in this one! Our offense was awesome. They made every extra pass and played extremely smart, letting Travis and Mike set the tempo. We built a 15 point lead 10 minutes into the game, but then.....Why does every team catch fire against us!? hehehe. Their PF white kid knocked down 5 consecutive three ptrs and pulled them to within 4 at the half. The second half, their 2guard railed off 7 straight threes, literally pulling from 35 feet from the basket! I couldn't believe it. Once again we made a huge run later in the game after they built a double-digit lead after all those threes. Down 4 with a few minutes to go, we missed a huge dunk attempt and they ran down to hit another three which really daggered us. I don't even remember what the final was but I think we lost by 12-14 after all the fouls in last minute. Those two kids combined for 15 threes between them.. Good thing I didn't play zone. Lol

In hindsight. I thought we played well in this tournament as well, just had to play 3 of the better teams in the tournament, and they all shot extremely well. I also thought our legs were tired towards the end of every game, but playing 18 games in 11 days will do that to you.

For the year.. I couldn't be prouder. 1 Final, 2 Final Fours, 1 Final 8 and a consolation final in 6 tournaments. We played extremely well all year, played a BUNCH of major programs in front of tons of coaches. They played together the whole way and represented Arizona like we knew they could.

Here is some info on our results and recruitment in case your curious. I didn't add the two showcases we played in (AzPreps Showcase, Phoenix Showcase) because we didn't have but 5 or 6 guys for each game since those weekends kids had other commitments for school.

Record: 25-10

Teams we Beat (in no order):

Golden Gators(CA)

Team AZ 15U

LV PolyNation 15U(NV)

Bay Area Hoosiers 16U(CA)

West Valley Select 3.0(CA)

West Valley All Stars(CA)

Bay Area Ballers(CA)

Arizona Rebels Seniors

Arizona Dream Team

Arizona Premier Blue

Old School Cavaliers(PA)

Bakersfield United(CA)

Riverside Elite(CA)

Bay Area Hoosiers Alaska(AK)

IEBP All Stars(CA)

1 Tough School(CA)

Grand Rapids Storm(MI)

Full Court Athletes(TX)

Bay Area Warriors(CA)

Las Vegas DogCatchers(NV)

Martin Brothers Select(IA)

NorCal Pharaohs

Double Pump Elite(CA)

Belmont Shore(CA)

Teams we Didn't:

Arizona Celtics

ISAF(CA)

1 Tough School(CA)

Northwest Panthers(OR)

Pump n Run Elite(CA)

Florida Elite

DC Triple Threat

Texas D-1 Ambassadors

Beach Ball Select(SC)

Portland Legends(OR)

Jeff Hart signed with Mesa St. Oliver Lewinson signed with Duquesne. Royce Woolridge committed to Kansas. Byron Fulton has a bunch of schools all over him...Utah St, Weber St, Air Force, Pepperdine, Central Michigan, UCSB are some of them. He will take his SAT next month, take five visits and hopefully make a decision when the signing period comes.. Mike Topercer has three schools hot on his trail with American Univ being his leader. Travis Payton will go to Central AZ Juco, but with his play this season, Rutgers, TCU, and Utah St have taken interest in him going forward. Travis literally shut down Abdul Gaddy (4 pts), Elijah Johnson(6pts), Darius Morris(15pts), and Darren Payne(4pts), and gave them the biizznneess.. If you know those players, then you know how well he played. Thanks to all these guys who tolerated me.

Spring:

Travis Payton

Royce Woolridge

Jeff Hart

Byron Fulton

Oliver Lewinson

Jon Hawkins

James Ellisor

Lee Ames

Stephen Topercer

Jordan Didier

Summer:

Travis Payton

Mike Topercer

Jon Hawkins

Byron Fulton

Oliver Lewinson

Donte Medder

Stephen Topercer

Jordan Sims

Ben DeMarr

Aaron Butler

Kenny Mullins

Head Coach - Arizona Metro