Tatum Co. Beat Boo
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The 2015 Nike EYBL opened on Friday night with the St.
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Louis Eagles taking on Boo Williams, the AAU host at his Sportsplex in Hampton,
VA. Since it fell during the 'live
period,' for recruiting on the NCAA calendar, that enabled college coaches from
all over the country to check out some of the premier High School Basketball
prospects.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>As the likes of Kentucky's
normal'>John Calipari, Michigan's
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>John Beilien,
Virginia Tech's Buzz
Williams, Auburn's Bruce Pearl,
Kansas State's Bruce Weber and
several others watched on, it was St. Louis cruising to an 81-63 victory.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We played a great team with the #1 player in the
country, but we shot 5-for-26 from the three-point line and you can't win shooting
5-for-26 from the three-point line. They
out-rebounded us 40-18, and you still can't win," said Boo, the longtime AAU
chairman and Hall of Famer.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I was disappointed in our effort.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> We have to play much harder than we did
tonight. I can take losses, but I can't
take losses because of the lack of effort."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Clearly, the numbers illustrated dominance by the Eagles,
who were led by five-star recruit Jayson
Tatum, a versatile guard who filled the stat sheet while scoring a
game-high 21 points, 14 in the second half, on 6-of-13 shooting from the field
and 9-for-10 at the foul line.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I respect his game.
He's 6-7 and can score the ball in multiple ways," said BWSL Class of
2017 point guard Matt Coleman, who
recently pulled in an offer from
normal'>Shaka Smart and
Texas, out of Maury High in Norfolk.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"He can play and makes plays.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> But I can make plays, too.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You go in with that mindset that he can't
guard you."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Problem for Boo's bunch was they didn't have anyone who
could guard him or contain the other weapons, namely
normal'> 6-foot-8 forward Tyler Cook
and 6-foot-6 forward Xavier Sneed.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>A teammate of Tatum's at Chaminade
College Prep, Cook ended up with 19 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor
to go with nine rebounds. Sneed chipped
in 11 points, converting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and supplied much of the
offense in the early going.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I don't know about the best I've seen, but he's a very
good player," commented Boo of Tatum, who on Friday trimmed his list of college
suitors down to Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and St. Louis.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I think what killed us more than Tatum was they had a
lot of big bodies. That hurt us more
than anything. And our perimeter kids
have got to play better."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Boo's squad battled back from an early 9-2 deficit to
tie the score at 11 on one of two makes from long range by
normal'>Deshawn Corprew, a 6-foot-5 wing out of
Quality Education in North Carolina that previously attended Virginia Beach's
Princess Anne High.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The Eagles would go up 21-13 when it was
class=SpellE>Corprew bringing them back again, down just 22-21 after an
explosive take to the hoop. However, St.
Louis would close the first half on a 17-6 flurry, including a four-point
possession, to claim a 12-point lead at the break.
115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Corprew
style='font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
bunched 12 of his team-high 17 points in the first half, slowing down after
intermission when the Eagles put it in another gear, and in particular,
Tatum. His one-handed rim-rattling slam
pushed the deficit to 25 with under three minutes to
play.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We came out lackadaisical.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They killed us on the glass, but I don't
think they're 20 points better," Coleman said.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> "We just didn't hit shots.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> It's going to take some time to jell.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> I think as time goes on, we should get better
as a team."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>One of the bright spots in a reserve role for Boo was
Phoebus product Robert Smith, a
high-energy 6-foot-3 small forward that scored seven points in limited time.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"I thought Robert Smith played really hard and got
after it," Boo said of the local Class of 2016 talent that was a Second Team
All-State performer in Virginia's Group 4A classification.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>It's a very different looking BWSL team than the one
that reached the Final Four of the EYBL Finals at Peach Jam last summer and
went on to win AAU Nationals in Kentucky.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Boo's front-court still felt the stinging effects of five-star
prospect Bam Adebayo defecting to the
Team Loaded travel program shortly before the grassroots season.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> A pair of Top 100 recruits from the Class of
2015 graduating also left voids to fill.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"We don't have the shooter in Kenny Willliams,
Bam inside and no Chris Clarke. You lose
three guys of that magnitude and you've got to adjust," Boo noted.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Boo knows they have to rely on Coleman,
class=SpellE>Corprew and 6-foot-4 Huntington Prep (WV) guard
style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Curtis Jones, who started his High
School career at Highland Springs in the Richmond area before transferring to
Paul VI in Fairfax. Jones struggled
through a 4-for-15 shooting night, ending up with 10 points.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"Those three guys have to play well for us.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> They have to be able to get 60-65% of the
scoring," Williams added.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Up next is a Saturday morning tilt with Team Takeover,
considered to be one of their AAU rivals due to the proximity of the two
programs. Takeover, which won its opener
over Spiecy Indy Heat by a count of 69-46 as
Pittsburgh commit Corey
class=SpellE>Manigault posted a double-double of 11 points and 11
rebounds, features a mix of players from the D.C./Maryland/Virginia border.
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>"The gym will be packed," Boo said.
style='mso-spacerun:yes'> "Hopefully we'll be able to compete with them."
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>
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