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| Every June the hoops community gathers at Butler High to watch the summer league. |
The high school boys summer league is an eight session season played every Monday and Wednesday in June at Butler High School. Fans, parents and high school players present and past seem to all gravitate to the games, which begin at 3:00 and end at 8:00. Monday's opening session featured impressive performances by teams like Laney and Cross Creek, which finished at or near the top of their region's race last season. And traditional powers like Josey and Glenn Hills, which ended last season on a sour note, showed they are determined to begin the summer on the right foot.
Individuals distinguished themselves as well. Cross Creek's Kobe Stewart and John Whitehead and Emmanuel Jones of Glenn Hills showed why they were invited to the GHSA Top 100 Camp (June 28-29). All three used some combination of size, skill and athleticism to wow the crowd at different points. Laney presented its case for why it should be the favorite to win a seventh consecutive region championship when the combined forces of three returning starters from last season's final four team, and two "returning transfers" who were once Wildcats, and once again will be, put on the day's most impressive rout. And Josey gave its faithful fans reason to believe its two year drought might be ending soon behind a strong effort from both a familiar name, and a new one.
Josey's game was the first of the day and by far the most competitive. So let's get deep into the details from that one to start things off:
Game 1: Josey 48, Hephzibah 44
Maurice Williams, younger brother of Josey legend Darius Williams, who is entering his senior season at Prairie View A&M, led the Eagles with 19 points on the way to a somewhat surprising win over a Rebel squad that returns all the key players from last season's region runner up squad. Williams played a physical game and attacked the basket and the offensive glass with abandon. He also made key mid range jumpers to help the Eagles maintain a two or three possession lead throughout almost the second half.
It was during that second half that Kedar Bodie first made his presence known on a varsity court. The Butler transfer who helped lead the Bulldogs to a junior varsity championship last season scored on a baseline jumper to give Josey a 32-24 advantage, its largest lead of the game, with under 12 minutes remaining. The well built sophomore showed skill beyond what most players his age possess by "sweeping" out of the triple threat position and creating enough space to step into a sweet one dribble pull up jumper that swished in nicely.
Bodie would also slam the door shut on Hephzibah's late game surge, following an 8-2 Rebel run with 4 straight points that put Josey ahead 46-44 with 39 seconds remain after he made a 14 footer fading away on one foot. Those final 3 minutes of back and forth action made for the game's most compelling stretch because three of Hephzibah's top contributors got into a rhythm and appeared to be on their way to sparking a Rebel victory.
The stretch began when rising senior Robert Johnson swished a pretty turn around jumper from the right block, which was immediate followed by an impressive slam by Josey's Williams that gave the Eagles a 42-38 lead. But before you could blink, Jaylen Blount answered on the other end with a deep three from the left wing and Quentin Friendly turned a steal near half court into a three point play to put the Rebels ahead 44-42. Bodie's poise was impressive, as the youngster attacked the basket to draw a foul on the next possession and calmly drilled two free throws before making the go ahead bucket on the next play, which was enough to earn the win with the help of a pair of free throws by Aragus Creech with 5.6 seconds left on the clock.
It should be easy to see why I think Bodie has potential when you combine the shot making he showed in the second half of yesterday's game with the athleticism he displayed last Winter in the championship game of the Richmond County JV tournament:
Bodie scored 12 points to add to the 19 from the senior Williams. Blount led Hephzibah with 15, while Johnson added 10 and Friendly chipped in 9. These are the highlights from the full game:
Game 2: Cross Creek 56, Butler 43
I would say the consensus among the area's most attentive fans at Butler yesterday was that Cross Creek showed itself to be the league's team to beat when the Razorbacks convincingly disposed of Butler 56-43 in the second game. Led by three players with listed heights of 6-4 or taller, the runner up in the area's class 4A region last season might enter next season as its team to beat as well.
Kobe Stewart, a 6-6 guard who can do it all, probably showed the most potential of any player on opening day. The smooth lefty drew praise not only from the in person viewers. But even Don Coleman, Butler's all time leading scorer who will play his senior season next year at South Alabama, noticed on Twitter the work put in by one of his younger proteges, saying Stewart looked like a "baby Kyle Anderson out there."
Almost as impressive to me was the inside play of Cross Creek's low post duo of Monroe Atkins (6-5) and Corey Trotter (6-4). In addition to their size and ability to rebound and finish in the paint, both showed a knack for handling the ball and knocking down free throws and mid range jumpers.
The size and skill of the Razorbacks certainly overshadowed the speed and tenacious play of Butler, which will be led this season by its returning backcourt duo of Ronnie Striggles and Richard Visitacion, who both showed last season they can help lead a winning team. Their potential comes through in the full game highlights below. Wednesday's session will be telling for both of these teams because Butler will try to get on track against a red hot Laney squad and Cross Creek will get the chance to extend its strong play against what should be a hungry bunch from Hephzibah.
After each transferred and played their junior seasons elsewhere, seniors Jonathan Taylor and Dykese King have returned to Laney. They will join juniors Jordan Stringer and Dajuan Collins and senior Luther Reid to form what might be the most skilled starting five in the league at Butler. The group played like a well oiled machine Monday, building up a 34-10 lead over Evans, a sweet 16 round class 6A state playoff team last season, only 2 minutes into the second half.
Laney will be tested Wednesday when the Wildcats face region rival Butler. And Evans will get the chance to get on track when it faces Thomson, which beat Westside Monday in the only game I didn't get to watch.
Kobe Stewart, a 6-6 guard who can do it all, probably showed the most potential of any player on opening day. The smooth lefty drew praise not only from the in person viewers. But even Don Coleman, Butler's all time leading scorer who will play his senior season next year at South Alabama, noticed on Twitter the work put in by one of his younger proteges, saying Stewart looked like a "baby Kyle Anderson out there."
Almost as impressive to me was the inside play of Cross Creek's low post duo of Monroe Atkins (6-5) and Corey Trotter (6-4). In addition to their size and ability to rebound and finish in the paint, both showed a knack for handling the ball and knocking down free throws and mid range jumpers.
The size and skill of the Razorbacks certainly overshadowed the speed and tenacious play of Butler, which will be led this season by its returning backcourt duo of Ronnie Striggles and Richard Visitacion, who both showed last season they can help lead a winning team. Their potential comes through in the full game highlights below. Wednesday's session will be telling for both of these teams because Butler will try to get on track against a red hot Laney squad and Cross Creek will get the chance to extend its strong play against what should be a hungry bunch from Hephzibah.
Game 3: Glenn Hills 50, Jenkins County 21
The four games I covered ended with two blowouts. The first was between an overmatched Jenkins County squad and a highly talented group of returning players from Glenn Hills, which sputtered at the end of last season by losing three straight post season games, two in the region tournament and one in the first round of the state playoffs. That stretch was one of the most surprising developments of the season because the Spartans exited the regular season with a 21-4 record and a regular season region championship under their belts.
Led by returning seniors Naquan Pernell (14 points), Antonio Jones (13), John Whitehead (12) and Emmanuel Jones (10), the Spartans took a first step towards making the most of the summer preseason under new head coach William Cunningham, who starred at Glenn Hills in the 90's before playing college basketball at Temple and professionally in various places, including multiple stops in the NBA.
Game 4: Laney tops Evans
After each transferred and played their junior seasons elsewhere, seniors Jonathan Taylor and Dykese King have returned to Laney. They will join juniors Jordan Stringer and Dajuan Collins and senior Luther Reid to form what might be the most skilled starting five in the league at Butler. The group played like a well oiled machine Monday, building up a 34-10 lead over Evans, a sweet 16 round class 6A state playoff team last season, only 2 minutes into the second half.
Laney will be tested Wednesday when the Wildcats face region rival Butler. And Evans will get the chance to get on track when it faces Thomson, which beat Westside Monday in the only game I didn't get to watch.
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