Elite 24 Media Day
Words. HShoop
John Wall (Photo. Kelly Kline)
Yesterday the high school hoop crew went to check out the ESPN Boost Mobile Elite 24 scrimmage at the Sports Club/LA in Manhattan. Aside from the talent at the event, what wowed almost everyone in attendance was the observation deck of the club, where club members were sprawled out on beach chairs catching some sun. Back to basketball.
The 24 athletes in attendance got a world class work out by Denver Nuggets trainer, Steve Hess. Hess is a short but stout in your face, high intensity type of guy and demands full effort from everyone. He works players out so hard, he himself sweats. A panel of current and former NBA players — Chauncey Billups, Allan Houston and New York City legend Kenny Anderson– as well as A-list journalists Steven A. Smith and Chris Broussard was set up to talk to the athletes. They spoke about what to expect as they go forward in their careers and about building good character. After the panel said their words to the players and no one except 6-10 forward Ryan Kelly Ravencroft HS (NC) had a question, Mr. Quite Frankly made it his business to call out the players, giving them a mild tongue lashing.
Missing from the workouts and the scrimmage was Lincoln HS (NY) shooting guard Lance Stephenson. When you’re a top prospect all eyes are on you, and that’s nothing new for Stephenson. The one downside is that there will always be detractors of your game, your lifestyle and even how you tie your shoelaces. Before even knowing the reason for Stephenson sitting out, there were rumblings around the gym that he was just being lazy and acting like a prima dona. In actuality he was nursing a nagging ankle injury and didn’t want to hurt his chances of playing in tonight’s game at Rucker Park., where he will try to break Brandon Jennings’ assist record (23).
“I’ve scored enough, everyone knows I can score,” said Stephenson. “I’m gonna try to break Brandon Jennings assist record.”
Somehow we find that hard to believe. A scorer is a scorer and when in the moment he will revert to his old ways of giving opponents major buckets.
Some players that stood out were Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick’s (NJ), John Wall of Word of God (NC), Tony Wroten of Garfield HS (WA) and Dominic Cheek of St. Anthony’s (NJ). Strickland got to the basket at will and made a strong baseline drive that he finished with a two-hand flush. Cheek is a special player, he really understands how to play the game and can really shoot it. Wall is lightning quick, he made a gorgeous move where he left his defender frozen stiff with a lefty in and out dribble then exploded to the cup for a two-handed dunk. Wroten is an excellent passer for his age. He had a couple highlight passes that got the attention of the crowd, the only problem is that his teammates weren’t expecting them most of the time.
In tonight’s game let’s hope that Stephenson is 100% so that everyone can see the matchup of Wall .vs. Stephenson. Injured or not Stephenson shines best when the lights are on, as he showed in last years game with 38 points. Wall is a great player in his own right and what better place to show it than at Rucker Park, against the city’s own Lance Stephenson.
