By most accounts, the 4^th Annual Buckeye Prep Report Invitational Tournament was a great success!  This year’s tournament drew over 60 teams from various parts of the country from as far away as Seattle, Washington, Georgia and North Carolina. There were five divisions in the tournament from 6^th- 10^th grades. In terms of competition, there were three defending AAU National Champions represented in the tournament.

In terms of exposure, the tournament attracted several scouting services including: John Stovall (Prep Spotlight), Chris Johnson and Patrick Stanwood (Hoop Scoop), Brian Snow (Rivals), Spencer Pulliam (Generation Next), Jeff Rapp (Bucknuts) and Jason Singletary (NCAA First Team Program).

As always, there were several upsets throughout the tournament. Starting in the 10^th grade division, in pool play, a scrappy Gem City All-Stars pulled what was then, the biggest upset of the weekend, when they defeated Ozie Davis’s Queen City Prophets team in pool play. As expected, All-Ohio Red, the defending AAU National Champions in that age group, ran through the tournament with little resistance. The addition of Cincinnati’s Jordan Sibert at the wing, and the return of Jarred Sullinger, Juwan Staten and Adrian Payne, will make this team difficult to beat this spring and summer.

In the freshman division, the biggest upset of the tournament occurred in the championship game, where All-Ohio Red defeated the defending AAU National Champions, Ohio Basketball Club. Despite the addition of Chane Behanan, and the return of all 5 starters and key reserves, OBC struggled to contain J.D. Weatherspoon and All-Ohio’s transition buckets. Key for All-Ohio Red was Weatherspoon’s momentum changing dunks and superior rebounding.

Although OBC jumped out to a 9-1 lead, All-Ohio remained poised, and out hustled and scrapped they’re way back in the game, and to an eventual 55-46 victory. The leading scorers in the game were J.D. Weatherspoon (16 pts), Treavon Jackson (14 pts), Stevie Taylor (12 pts) and Jehvon Clarke (11 pts).

As was the case last year, the 8^th grade division featured a super pool.  This year, All-Ohio Purple, North Carolina Raptors, King James Shooting Stars South and Indiana Elite matched up in pool play. After the dust settled, All-Ohio Purple, the defending National Champions, finished 3-1 before advancing to bracket play. Although it looked like King James was on their way to an undefeated record in pool play, a Chane Behananless All-Ohio squad made a furious comeback to claim bragging rights.

Although the super pool was stacked, there were several other quality teams in that division including: the Wisconsin Gators Elite, Ohio Basketball Club, Seattle Rotary, Georgia Stars and the Detroit All-Stars. Had the Gators arrived in Columbus with their full compliment of players (they only had six), some of who were elite players, the final outcome might have been different.

The 7^th grade division was won by Andre Reed’s Ohio Basketball Club team, which features some of the top 7^th graders in Ohio. OBC is blessed with great guard play and good size in the post.

I’m very proud to report that the 6^th grade champions were Mike Harris’ Buckeye Prep squad, who went undefeated to claim the title.  Although small for an elite team, Buckeye Prep has excellent guard play; the players are disciplined and are well coached.

Below are the rest of tournament results.

10^th Grade Results

Championship Game

All-Ohio def Detroit All-Stars 69-43

Semi-Finals 

All-Ohio def Queen City Prophets

Detroit All-Stars def Gem City All-Stars

All-Tournament Team

Jarred Sullinger-MVP-All-Ohio

Jordan Siebert-All-Ohio

Juwan Staten-All-Ohio

Dominique Pointer-Detroit All-Stars

Devon Long-Detroit All-Stars

 

9^th Grade Division 

Championship

All-Ohio def Ohio Basketball Club 55-46

Semi-Finals

Ohio Basketball Club def West Virginia Wildcats

All-Ohio Red def D-I Greyhounds

All-Ohio Tournament Team

Treavon Jackson-All-Ohio-MVP

Chauncey Orr-All-Ohio

Jake Forrest-All-Ohio

Trey Burke-All-Ohio

Chane Behanan-Ohio Basketball Club

Jehvon Clarke-Ohio Basketball Club

 

Other Notables: Tyrone Johnson (Team New Jersey Elite), Stevie Taylor (OBC), Perry Henry (OBC), Travis Trice (D-I Greyhounds), George Fant (D-I Greyhounds), Chase Fischer (West Virginia Wildcats), JaQuill King (Team Dayton) and Damon Powell (All-Ohio White).

 

8^th Grade Division

Championship Game

All-Ohio def North Carolina Raptors 49-37

Semi-Final

All-Ohio def Wisconsin Elite

North Carolina Raptors def Ohio Basketball Club

Elite Eight

All-Ohio def Detroit All-Stars

Wisconsin Elite def Indiana Elite

Ohio Basketball Club def King James SS South

North Carolina Raptors def Seattle Rotary
 

All-Ohio Tournament Team

 Adolphis Washington-All-Ohio-MVP

Jalen Lowe-All-Ohio

Josh Lemons-All-Ohio

Tommy Kreyhagen-All-Ohio

Reggie Dillard-NC Raptors

Tyler Lewis-NC Raptors

 

Other Notables: Cameron Wilson (Ohio Basketball Club), Junior Lamomba (Wisconsin Gators), Isiah Rogers (Ohio Basketball Club), Tony Parker (King James) and Chris Harrison (Uptempo Elite), Jordan Van Treese (Indiana Elite One), Spencer Turner (Indiana Elite One), Dwayne Stanford (All-Ohio), Pierre Wright (Seattle), Andrio Adams (Seattle), Brendon Ortiz (Wisconsin Gators) & Mfon Udofia (King James).

 

7^th Grade Division

Championship Game

Ohio Basketball Club def All-Ohio Connection-35-32

Semi-Finals

Ohio Basketball Club def PA Storm

All-Ohio Connection def Seattle Rotary

All-Tournament Team

Austin Adams-Ohio Basketball Club

Demonte Flannigan-Ohio Basketball Club

Tyler Ulis-Ohio Basketball Club

Marc Loving-All-Ohio Connection

Nigel Hayes –All-Ohio Connection

 

6^th Grade Division

Championship Game

Buckeye Prep def Team Lima Panthers

Semi-Finals

Buckeye Prep def Dayton Nets

Team Lima Panthers def Ohio Tar Hills

All-Tournament Team

Devin Rogers-Buckeye Prep-MVP

Deion Lindsey-Buckeye Prep

Shamar Waughl-Buckeye Prep

Manuel Powel-Buckeye Prep

Malcom Glenn-Team Lima Panthers

Austin Gutting-Team Lima Panthers

Patwaun Hudson-Team Lima Panthers

Doran Hendley-Dayton Nets

Vincent Edwards-Ohio Tar Heels

Darion Burns-Fleming County Bobcats

 

I would like to thank all of the coaches, players and parents for attending the event and making it one of the top youth tournaments in the country.