Under Armour Association Basketball Circuit National Finals at LakePoint July 13-16
Kyle Sandy, SandysSpiel.com, contributed to this report.
LakePoint Sporting Community in Emerson will play host next week to one of the most prestigious youth basketball events in the nation.
The Under Armour Association Grassroots Basketball Circuit Finals will take place at the new LakePoint Indoor Pavilion Wednesday, July 13 through Saturday, July 16.
The national finals will include many of the top travel teams and individual players in the 15U, 16U, and 17U divisions.
High profile college coaches from across the nation will be in attendance as well as basketball scouts for multiple amateur and professional levels.
Several of the top players in Georgia will be on three different age level teams for the Atlanta Xpress.
The top scorer (20.7 ppg) in the 17U division of the Under Armour Association circuit is M.J. Walker Jr. Walker is a rising 6-5 senior wing from Jonesboro HS, GA and a two-time state champ. Currently listed as the 18th-ranked player in the country, Walker plays with the Atlanta club. Kyle Sturdivant, the point guard for the 17U Xpress, is a rising sophomore who starred at Norcross HS, GA this past year but is transferring to Pace Academy, GA for his sophomore season.
The Atlanta Xpress has major size inside with Michael Durr (Westlake HS, GA) 6-10; Kentrevious Jones (Central Macon HS, GA) 6-10, 280; and Ahsan Asadullah (North Clayton HS, GA) 6-8. Asadullah usually comes off the bench, but is a skilled scorer and passer. The top-ranked player in the UAA is Trevon Duvall. The 6-4 guard from Delaware is ranked No. 5 in the ESPN100 Class of 2017 rankings. He plays for WE R1 and leads his club with 15.9 points per game and 4.9 assists.
Kris Wilkes is a 6-8 forward for the Indy Hoosiers. He is the No. 11 ranked player in the nation and brings a 20 point average and six rebound average on the circuit to the national finals. Jalek Felton might be the best all-around guard. The UNC-commit is ranked No. 24 in the nation and averages 19 points, 5 assists and 2.5 steals per game for Team Felton. In terms of record, the top three teams are Team Charlotte (11-1), DC Premier (10-2) and Houston Defenders (10-2). Team Charlotte is led by Ty-Shon Alexander. The 6-3 guard from Oak Hill Academy is ranked No. 51 and is committed to Creighton. He averages 16.1 points and 4.2 rebounds. DC Premier boasts Naji Marshall (247sports 4-star), Nate Watson (ESPN 4-star) and junior Prentiss Hubb (ESPN 4-star). Marshall averages 15.5 points, 6-foot-8 Watson averages 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds and Hubb, a point guard, goes for 11.4 points and 5.9 assists. 6-foot-7 Savion Flagg is ranked No. 67 in the C/O 2017 and leads the Houston Defenders at 14.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
16U Division
The Atlanta Xpress had a rough season in the 16U division as well as the only Under Armour team from Georgia going 4-8. They do have Khavon Moore, the No. 9 ranked player in the Class of 2018 from Westside-Macon HS, GA. The 6-foot-8 point-forward averaged a team-leading 15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks. Isaiah Kelly from Pace Academy GA is the second most sought after prospect on the team, averaging 9.5 points as a 6-foot-8 forward. Kelly has already drawn interest from basketball powers Xavier and Wisconsin.
Team Thad is 11-1 and enters with the best record in the 16U division. The backcourt of Tyler Harris (4-star) and Drue Drinnon (3-star) leads Team Thad. Harris averages 15.9 points and 5.5 assists. Drinnon, who has played at East Jackson HS GA the past two seasons, is transferring to Pebblebrook HS GA this year with a handful of other blue chip D-1 prospects. Drinnon is averaging 13.6 points as a point guard on the UAA circuit.
4-star guard Anfernee Simons of Team Breakdown (7-5) leads the league in scoring with 22.9 points per game. Simmons has bounced between Edgewater HS FL and Montverde Academy FL, but is set to return to Edgewater for his upcoming junior season.
DC Premier is 10-1 in the 16U division while the Florida Vipers are 10-2. Big man Darius Days anchors the Vipers with 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game inside. 5-foot-11 point guard Derquan Washington leads the DC Premier in scoring at 12.9 points per game.
15U Division
Following a trend for Georgia basketball in the UAA, the Atlanta Xpress has struggled to a 3-5 season. Anthony Edwards is a talented 6-foot-3 guard from Therrell HS GA. He leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points. Toneari Lane (Central Gwinnett HS GA), TJ Bickerstaff (Sandy Creek HS GA) and Amir Langlais (Parkview HS GA) are names to keep an eye on this season. All are very long and skilled.
KC Run GMC finished the season 8-0 heading into this week’s UAA finals. Zach Harvey (14.6 ppg), Lamel Robinson (13.8 ppg) and Jeremiah Robinson (13.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg) lead the charge.
DC Blue Devils’ Marvin Price leads the league in scoring at 22.9 points. The 6-foot-4 guard attends Dematha Catholic HS MD.
Connecticut Basketball Club arrives at LakePoint with a 6-2 mark and has arguably the best next level prospect in Chol Marial. The 7-foot-2 center averages 11.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks.
Pool play begins for all three age groups Wednesday at 5pm with games on all 12 courts scheduled for 5pm, 6:15pm, 7:30pm, and 8:45pm.
Tournament competition continues Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with games beginning at 8am each day and continuing through the evenings on Thursday and Friday nights.
Championship semifinal bracket play is scheduled to begin Friday evening with Championship and consolation play on Saturday taking place from 8am to 2:15pm.
There is a daily $5 parking fee for the event at LakePoint Sporting Community’s Indoor Pavilion on Stars Way in Emerson. Admission each day includes access to all games in the Pavillion. Tickets are $10 Wednesday evening and $15 for each of the other dates. No tournament pass is available.
