Words. HShoop

Jeremy Tyler (Photo. Kelly Kline)

The most anticipated game of the Nike Global Challenge opening day ended up exceeding expectations. USA-3 has arguably the strongest roster in the field, featuring John Wall and Jeremy Tyler, considered by many to be the #1 players, respectively, in the ’09 and 2010 classes, plus 2011 sensation Michael Gilchrist and ’09 stud center Daniel Orton. Not to mention USA-3 was supposed to have ’09 two-guard Xavier Henry, a Top-10 talent who isn’t playing this weekend due to injury. MORE >

Words. HShoop

DeMarcus Cousins (photo. Kelly Kline)

The Nike Global Challenge is for real. Unlike many other summertime camps and tournaments on the high school scene, the games here at the Liberty H.S. gym in the Portland, Ore., suburb of Hillsboro are always intense, hard-fought, and the teams genuinely want to win more than show off for the scouts.

Nike flew in five international teams — Puerto Rico, Serbia, Lithuania, Canada and Senegal — of teenagers and young men to compete against three teams of high schoolers from the United States. The American teams represent a cross-section of some of the best players from the 2009, 2010 and 2011 classes. Games are played by FIBA international rules.

The opener saw Senegal take on USA-1. MORE >

Words. HShoop

Brandon Jennings (photo. Kelly Kline)

WORDS. AUSTIN BURTON

Notes from Saturday’s Jordan Brand All-American Classic…

PRE-GAME Blame the Spurs vs. Suns game for my not getting to MSG before tip-off. If Mike Finley and Tim Duncan hadn’t conspired to send that game into double-overtime, I would have gotten an earlier start on my laundry and would have left the house earlier. Oh well … As I’m getting my press pass at the VIP/media entrance, Jadakiss and crew show up. “What’s up with those Styles P floor seats?” Jada wants to know. One of the MSG employees informs ‘Kiss he’s got nine tickets for him and his boys. Of course, he wants 11. Before they get it worked out, I’m in the elevator …

FIRST HALF Just as I get out to the court, 6-11 Tony Woods (Wake Forest) gets a vicious dunk over everybody. Yep, this is a high school all-star game alright … All of the players are wearing Jordan 23′s designed to match the Blue and White team unis. I’d take the blue/black/white kicks, but both are actually pretty sick … MORE >

Words. HShoop

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl just lost All-SEC senior Chris Lofton, and his #2-seed Volunteers didn’t go as far in the NCAA Tournament as most people thought they would. But Pearl couldn’t have been too upset for too long — he just landed a commitment from one of the high school Class of ’08′s best previously-undecided players: Scotty Hopson, who ripped it up at University Heights Academy in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Words. HShoop

On Martin Luther King Day, Renardo Sidney led his Fairfax (Calif.) squad up to Seattle to take on Franklin H.S., one of the Evergreen State’s best teams, in the King Holiday Hoopfest at the University of Washington’s Edmundson Pavilion.

At 6-10, Renardo towered over everyone on the Quakers’ roster, dominating with 24 points and 22 boards. But Franklin’s guards — including Class of ’09 star Peyton Siva — had the edge over Fairfax’s backcourt, and the Quakers were up by double-digits at halftime before a big Fairfax rally. Siva dropped 23 points for the game, and with his squad down by one in the final seconds, his missed three-pointer was tipped in by teammate Sterling Carter to give Franklin the win.

Rick Pitino was in the crowd watching Siva (4-for-18 FGs 14-f0r-17 FTs), who lists Louisville as one of his top schools along with Washington, Kansas and Arizona. Renardo is said to be looking at Ohio State, Florida, Texas, UCLA and USC, among others.

Words. HShoop

Jeremy Tyler had some trouble against Renardo Sidney. (Photo. Kelly Kline)

At the Amare Stoudemire Invitational Classic in Davenport, Fla., Thursday’s big matchup was — or better yet, was supposed to be — Renardo Sidney versus Jeremy Tyler, two of the country’s premier underclassmen front court players.

But when Sidney’s Fairfax H.S. (Los Angeles) squad played Tyler’s San Diego H.S. team, it ended up being a rout, both on the team and individual scale. Sidney, a 6-foot-10 junior forward, dominated Tyler, a 6-foot-9 sophomore center, giving him 32 points and 9 boards on a variety of outside jumpers and points on the block; Sidney knocked down 10 shots in a row at one point. Tyler did reject seven shots — including Sidney’s first three attempts — but he didn’t score, going 0-for-10 from the field. As for the game, Fairfax won by 32 points in a blowout.