Plenty of sustenance for a basketball junkie in Conway
Xavier Henry, considered by many analysts as the best shooting guard in the country for the high school class of 2009, has narrowed his college choices to Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA and Texas.
If you're paying attention, you'll note that, in order, those were the top teams in this year's NCAA tournament.
Henry is just one of several highly regarded underclassmen who will be in action this weekend at the AAU Old School Showcase Super Regional.
If you're into star-watching for college futures, celebrity coach watching, good young player watching or just wall-to-wall basketball watching, there's plenty of opportunities Saturday and Sunday at the AAU tournament, one of the largest sports events with a quality field ever held in Conway.
Ron Crawford, longtime AAU coach and official and tournament director, notes that Conway has a bit of a history in hosting stars to be. Most basketball fans are familiar with Stephen Curry by now. He's the guard who led Davidson to a shot short of making the Final Four. His father, former pro Del Curry, played for a Virginia team in an AAU tournament here in the 1980s. A similar tournament here attracted University of Oklahoma star-to-be Waymon Tisdale.
A new tradition of highly regarded players should be established this weekend in Conway. As a general rule, the top players and the older teams will play at the Farris Center at UCA and Grove Gymnasium and the Wellness and Athletic Center recreational courts at Hendrix College. The younger players and teams, 13-and-under and up, will play at the Conway Sports Center, the McGee Community Center and UCA's HPER Center.
Now, depending on what the fan wants to see, here is a guide and primer to the weekend.
HIGH-PROFILE COACH AND PLAYER WATCHING
This is the first weekend of the April NCAA evaluation period, where coaches are allowed to watch, but not contact, top high school underclassmen. In addition to their playing responsibilities, you can bet the highly recruited players will be scanning the stands for coaches of note. If coach A is there and coach B isn't, that's a negative for coach B.
Many coaches will be shuttling between the Real Deal on the Hill in northwest Arkansas, where many other top players will be on display, and the tournament in Conway. No big deal. It's often easier and quicker to drive from Fayetteville to Conway than from one end of the Houston area (or the Dallas Metroplex) to a gym in another area of town or a suburb for one of the mega-tournaments. It's hard to determine when the top coaches will be in Conway (Saturday night and Sunday's title games at the Farris Center might be a good bet) but they'll be here at some point. There are too many good players to ignore and a savvy coach might even be able to identify a sleeper at some of the younger levels.
Any game the Oklahoma Athletes First team and the Memphis YOMCA team play in the 17-and-under Plantinum Division will likely attract a coach or two of note. That includes Xavier Henry and 6-foot-10 Daniel Orton, the No. 1 senior center in the country by rivals.com, who has narrowed his college choices to UConn, Oklahoma, Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA. Kyle Hartwick, a 6-8, power forward, has committed to Oklahoma.
The highest-profile player on the Memphis team appears to be Leslie McDonald, ranked No. 4 by Rivals among shooting guards. His choices have apparently narrowed to Memphis, North Carolina, Duke, Indiana and Tennessee. Power forward Ferrokhon Hall will apparently go to either Florida, Arizona, Kentucky and Memphis. Johnnie Williams, a 6-9 center, has narrowed his choices to Memphis, Louisville, Indiana and Ole Miss.
A. J. Walton of Little Rock Hall, a member of the Arkansas Wings Gold team, is one player fans will see University of Arkansas coach John Pelphrey watching at some point. He's also being heavily recruited by Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri and Colorado. Alandis Harris of Little Rock Central, also on the Wings Gold Team, is apparently being courted highly by Arkansas and Colorado.
"This tournament is full of players with SEC and Big 12 potential," Crawford said.
Want to catch a glimpse of a coaching celebrity? The general rule is to go where the top players are.
LOCAL FLAVOR
Conway's Terry Tidwell, is also a member of the Arkansas Wings Gold, which upset Oklahoma Athletes First last weekend in a Dallas tournament.
"And I still don't know how they did it," Crawford said. "That Oklahoma team is big and good."
Conway's Kenyon McNeiall and Preston Purifoy are members of the Wings Gold 16. Micah Delph plays for the Wings Elite 15.
GAMES OF NOTE
The feature games Saturday, all at the Farris Center, will begin at 4:45 p.m. when the Wings Elite 15 takes on Team Texas. The Wings Gold 16 will play the Tennessee Travelers (Knoxville) at 6, followed by the Wings Gold 17 vs. Athletes First (one of the best matchups of the tournament) at 7:15 followed by the Wings Red 17 vs. Memphis YOMCA at 8:30.
The Wings Gold 17 team will open the tourney with the Tennessee Travelers at 8 a.m. Saturday at Grove Gymnasium at Hendrix and the Alabama Lasers at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center.
Athletes First from Oklahoma will play at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at Grove Gymnasium and at 2:15 p.m. Saturday at the Farris Center. The Memphis YOMCA 17 team will play at 11:45 a.m. Saturday at the Farris Center and at 4:45 p.m. at Grove Gymnasium.
The Wings 16 Gold will also play at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Farris Center and at 1 p.m. at Hendrix. The Wings 15 Elite team will also play at 11:45 a.m. Saturday on Hendrix's WAC recreational court, at 4:45 p.m. at the Farris Center and at 8:30 p.m. at the WAC.
Most of title and consolation games in the 17U and the 16U division Sunday will be played at either the Farris Center or the HPER Center. The title and consolation games in the 15U division will be played at Grove Gymnasium or the WAC courts at Hendrix.
UP AND COMING
ARKANSAS STARS
Delph is among the top ninth-graders on the Wings Elite 15 team. That also includes 6-9 Hunter Mickleson of Jonesboro Westside (described as a "Stephen Hill who can shoot"), 6-5 Darren Griswald of Dumas and 6-4 Kyle Madden of East Poinsett County, a cousin of UA football standout Marcus Monk whose sister, Jordan (who has already committed to Baylor) will be one of the top female players in the state next year.
A fan can pick and choose as many games as he can stand for a $20 weekend pass.
Pretty good deal for a basketball junkie who would like to boast "I saw him when ..."
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