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Spiece Run-N-Slam Day 3 Notes
Brian Stinnette May 3, 2004 Email Questions/Comments To [email protected] Here are some notes from Day 3 action at the Spiece Run-N-Slam in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Illinois Fire showed a lot of heart in coming back to beat the Spiece Indy Heat. In pool play, the Spiece Indy Heat defeated the Fire by 20 points. However, the Fire responded with a victory when it mattered the most. Spiece Indy Heat’s Greg Oden, the #1 Class of 2006 prospect in the country, did his usual thing inside with an arsenal of massive dunks and blocked shots. However, the Fire featured enough beef inside with 6-7 DeAndre Thomas (Chicago Westinghouse), 6-8 Robert Eppinger (Rockford Jefferson), 6-7 Jeremiah Bryant (Chicago Harlan) and 6-3 muscle-man Nate Minnoy (Chicago Hales Franciscan) to keep the game close. The Fire just kept throwing big bodies at Oden. Factor in strong performances from the Fire’s backcourt duo of Tony Freeman (St. Joe’s) and Jeremy Pargo (Chicago Robeson), and you have a recipe for a big Fire win. A now healthy Josh Tabb (Century), served notice over the weekend that he is without question one of the elite Class of 2005 prospects in the state of Illinois. Tabb, who last week committed to Southern Illinois, despite having high major offers on the table, was a machine slashing to the hole for the Illinois Warriors all weekend. Tabb looked to assert his offensive prowess every time he touched the ball. 6-8 Robert Eppinger (Rockford Jefferson), a Class of 2006 prospect, is known for his size, and his ability to bang inside. However, Eppinger has developed a nice soft touch on his mid-range jumper, and can even put the ball on the floor a bit. Phillip “Mickey” Perry (Proviso East) came up huge for the Illinois Warriors on Sunday. The Warriors trailed Eric Devendorf and the Michigan Hurricanes by double-digits early in their quarterfinal matchup. Then Perry absolutely, positively went to work! En route to a 26-point effort, Perry unleashed an offensive barrage of four three-pointers and several drives to the hole that turned a double-digit deficit into a double-digit lead. Jarvis Walker (Rich Central) had a very, very nice weekend for the Illinois Fire. In addition to his game winning three-pointer against Martin Brothers, Walker did some of everything on the basketball court. Walker hit the boards, made nice passes, stuck some tough shots and played defense. The Illinois Warriors 15-U and Ferrari 15-U squads met in in the quarterfinals of the 15-U bracket with the Warriors pulling out a victory in the closing seconds of the game. Ferrari’s Derrick Rose (Chicago Simeon), who played on a bad ankle all weekend, pumped in 28 points before having to exit the game in the 3rd quarter due to injury. The Warriors bowed out in the semifinals to a very talented Fox Valley Skillz team. Fox Valley played the Spiece Central Stars for the 15-U Championship. In the 16-U bracket, The Illinois Warriors and Ferrari squads also went to war in the semifinals. Ferrari, led by Jeremy Nash (Chicago Marist), Mitchell Bouie (Chicago Marist) and Jerome Randle (Chicago Hales Franciscan) pulled out the win. The game featured a nice matchup of strength and athleticism between Nash, and the Warriors Mario Little (Chicago Washington). Ferrari then advanced to the 16-U title game before falling to a very strong King James Shooting Stars team. Full Package played a real, real nice tournament before bowing out on Sunday morning. Full Package used a nice, balanced effort to go undefeated in Pool Play, and to advance to Sunday’s action before falling to the Michigan Hurricanes. Marcus Williams of Seattle Rotary Select is good. Real, real good! If you liked the big time battles that took place at Spiece over the weekend, you will love the field that is slated for the Adidas May Classic which is set for May 14-16. The Illinois Warriors, Illinois Fire and Meanstreets are competing with a loaded field that also includes the Atlanta Celtics and Indiana Elite……..Look Out! |
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