Showdown in the Valley

Midland- It didn’t take long for Lou Dawkins’ AAU program, Team Pride, to make some noise on the AAU circuit and this past weekend Dawkins and company made even more noise by launching the first annual Team Pride: “Showdown in the Valley” tournament.

Credit has to be given to the city of Saginaw, despite teams flocking in from all around the state; Saginaw featured atleast one team in every championship game.  Below is a breakdown of each age division:

17:under

Championship: Team Detroit over Team Pride

MVP: Trey Zeigler, Team Detroit

Notable performances in 17-u division:

Dwaun Anderson, Parallel 45

Derrick Davis, Team Pride

Justin Fowler, OAA Select

Maurice “Pookie” Jones, Team Detroit

Thomas Lovachis, OAA Select

Tommie McCune, Team Pride

Garrett Mortenson, Parallel 45

Richaud Pack, Team Detroit

Corey Petros, Team Detroit

Walter Pitchford, Team Detroit

Demarco Sanders, Team Pride

AJ Thomas, Team Pride

Recap: On paper Team Detroit came in as the obvious favorite but they were missing standouts Ray McCallum (Adidas Nations) and Brandan Kearney (USA National Team).  While Team D tried to find some cohesiveness, the competition took advantage.

Team Pride squeaked out an overtime win in pool play behind the play of Tommie McCune and the sharp shooting of Demarco Sanders.  Parallel 45 also pushed Team D to the limits in pool play, as Team D needed a heroic effort from Trey Zeigler to escape with an overtime win.  One of the biggest individual plays of the tournament came when Zeigler drove baseline and threw down a dunk right in the face of a P-45 defender while being fouled.  The free throw helped send the game into overtime.

Team Detroit and Team Pride met again for a rematch in the championship game but this time the guard play of Pookie Jones, Richaud Pack, and Zeigler proved to be too much for Team Pride to handle.  Team Pride couldn’t keep Pookie out of the paint while Pack cashed in a handful of open looks from downtown as Team Detroit cruised to a double digit victory.

16:under

Championship: Saginaw All or Nothing over Team Pride

MVP: Marquavis Ford, Saginaw All or Nothing

Notable performances in 16-u division:

Trey Babers, Team Pride

Lee Bailey, Team Detroit

Percy Gibson, Team Detroit

George Goodman, Camp Jordan

Kenny Knight, Team Detroit

Ray Lee, Team Detroit

Kevin Marshall, Saginaw FOH

Evellis McGee, Saginaw All or Nothing

Christian Vaughn, Team Pride

Recap: The biggest shock of the weekend came Sunday morning when Saginaw All or Nothing upset Team Detroit.  In a very intense and emotional game, Team Detroit found their selves down but a run late in the game, along with free throws from Lee Bailey and Ray Lee tied the game.  With time running out Marquavis Ford drove to the basket but a foul sent the 6-1 guard to the line for what would be the game winning foul shots.

All or Nothing took that momentum into the championship game, where Ford was at it again, and helped lead his team to a surprising championship.

15:under

Championship: Team Pride over Parallel 45

MVP: Kenny Kaminski, Team Pride

Notable performances in 15-u division:

Dominique Jackson, Team Pride

Donald Fisher, Team Pride

Recap: Team Pride 15’s showed just how good they really are by boasting the championship without star players- Dorain Dawkins (sick) and Matt Costello (band concert). Ohio native, Kenny Kaminski picked up the scoring load and showed his ability to score in the post and the perimeter.  

14:under

Championship: Superfriends over Saginaw All or Nothing

MVP: Steve Haney, Superfriends

Notable performances in 14-u division:

Derrick Walton, Superfriends

Dre Johnson, Superfriends

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