AugBball Fall League Report: Laney tops Alleluia

AugBball Fall League Report Video Outline

Laney tops Alleluia in a very entertaining game

Last week I revealed the top 4 area teams in my preseason top 10. If you’re keeping score at home, this is where things stood entering the weekend:

Laney's Tahj Tanksley defends in a 2015 state playoff game.

1. Laney
2. Josey
3. Richmond
4. Thomson

I planned to place Alleluia in the 5th position. Saturday’s Laney-Alleluia fall league matchup was a great chance to see two of the area’s best compete.

Laney’s seniors didn’t play. But junior Tahj Tanksley and sophomore Donald Henley led the Wildcats to a close win. Both guys compete and defend fiercely. Both have looked great since the summer in their new roles on a team that is not as deep as last season’s. And both continue to show they can put the ball in the basket.

Alleluia's Ben Dresser and Mac McBride helping
and recovering in a Spring AAU game

I feel confident about putting Alleluia into the 5th slot in my area rankings.

In the video above I talk about the difficulty in comparing Alleluia to the area’s best because they don’t play them during the regular season. Most importantly, Alleluia’s coach Dennis McBride continues to remind me my, or anybody’s, preseason predictions are meaningless because teams earn what they get on the court. Amen.

 

Catching up: Two weeks ago I watched Evans beat a solid Butler team in Fall League play and got my first look at transfers Joel Grant and Chris Stone with their new team.

I’ve known Grant is a player. Stone looks like a pure shooter. And I appreciate 6’6” senior center Michael Steflik’s ability. But I was most interested in learning more about sophomore Serron Spann, who tallied five assists in the first half of this fall league game alone. Coach Kevin Kenny appears to have a strong core of players. I think I’ll soon be placing the Knights into my preseason top 10.

Aquinas has a solid, young backcourt. 

Sophomores Tre Gomillion and Gerald Merriweather were impressive in a narrow loss to Brown’s Suns (mostly players from Richmond Academy) in the league’s first week. I end the video above with a look at the Fighting Irish’s likely leaders come November.