Tony Hargraves’ 17U New Rens team won the Hoopville Spring Finale title over the weekend in Boston, Mass. (New Rens)
Team SCAN’s 16U team’s push for the top spot in the nation continued last weekend, even with national prospect Chris McCullough – one of the team’s key components – in Chicago for the Kevin Durant Skills Academy.
SCAN, ranked second in the nation in its age group by FiveStarBasketball.com, cruised to the Agame Super Shootout championship in Pottsdam, Pa., winning all five of its contests for its sixth AAU title this year. It won the title with a 60-40 rout of the Philadelphia Ballhawks as Cardinal Hayes’ Shavar Newkirk, Our Savior Lutheran’s Terry Larrier, Our Savior New American’s Cheick Diallo, Friend Central’s (Pa.) Conrad Chambers and St. Joseph’s (Conn) Quincy McKnight all scored in double figures.
Archbishop Stepinac’s Naim Thomas, Blair Academy’s (N.J.) Mike Silverthorn, St. Joseph’s of Montvale’s (N.J..) Michael Jurzynski and Eric Long of Cheshire Academy (Pa.) all performed well.
In addition to the win over the Ballhawks, SCAN also defeated Team Nelson (Pa.), Team Speed (N.J.), Cross-Over Elite (Calif) and Team Hines (N.J.)
“It shows we have a lot of a lot of talented kids that understand how to play their role,” SCAN coach Terrence (Munch) Williams said. “It’s not taking anything away from Chris. There’s a situation where he had some individual success and we still need to continue on as a group. If we’re going to pride ourselves on being one of the top teams in the country, we can’t take off when Chris McCullough doesn’t play.”
Williams said there wasn’t a clear MVP from his team over the weekend. There were times Newkirk, Diallo, Chambers and McKnight all took over. Diallo, in particular, was impressive at both ends of the floor.
“What he brings to the table is real different in New York at his age,” Williams said of the 6-foot-9 standout. “He blocks shots, he alters shots, he rebounds the ball, finishes down low, runs the floor. He gives it to you every single game. What he did was so consistent it stood out to me.”
“They’re a confident bunch that thinks they can win at any time,” Williams said. “Chris said himself he knew we were gonna win.”
New Rens 17U win Hoopville crown: Tony Hargraves’ 17U New Rens team is getting hot at the right time.
For the second time in three weeks, the AAU team won a title, claiming the Hoopville Spring Finale title over the weekend in Boston, Mass. Two weeks after winning the Game Over Classic on Long Island.
The Rens were made up of an eclectic group, such as South Shore point guard Terrence Samuel, Thomas Jefferson forward Ed Ogundeko, Westminster School (Conn.) guard Kris Hargraves and Trinity Catholic (Conn.) standout Jason Boswell, who made his debut with the Rens over the weekend. Hargraves and the highly recruited Samuel worked well together in the backcourt, Boswell made an impact on the perimeter and in the paint and Ogundeko did a fine job off the glass, Hargraves said.
The Rens beat Blackstone Valley Chaos (Mass.), Extreme Ballers and Horizon in pool play and knocked off Connecticut Select (Conn.) in the championship game, 72-68.