Every year at the Spiece Run'N-Slam All-Star Classic at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, it seems like we get a preview of things to come during the summer. Two years ago we saw the CMH 76ers get upset early in the playoffs, despite the fact they had three of the pre-summer top five rising seniors in the nation in Korleone Young, Jaron Rush, and Corey Maggette. He also got a sneak preview of just how good Rashard Lewis would be at the adidas ABCD Camp a little of a month later. Last year we saw the Fresno-EBO team, which also didn't win a major tournament all spring or summer, get knocked off in the first round of the playoffs. That team was also loaded, as it included three legitimate top 10 players in their classes nationally in Brett Nelson, Carlos Boozer, and DeShawn Stevenson. Instead, it was two Wisconsin teams in the finals and Caron Butler, who now ranks among our top 10 nationally, as the MVP. This year history seemed to be repeating itself, as the Michigan Mustangs had more potential than most college teams with 6'9 Soph Robert Whaley from Benton Harbor (H.S.) MI, 6'4 Jr Desmond Farmer from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'3 Soph Kelvin Tolbert from Flint (Northwestern) MI, 6'1 6'5 Jr Eugene Seals from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, 6'1 Frosh Anthony Roberson from Saginaw (H.S.) MI, but were upset both in pool play and in the third round of the playoffs by Cincinnati AAU #2. As a matter of fact, it was 53-30 when the Mustangs forfeited the game and went home.

However, this wasn't the only major surprise, as the Alabama Ice, which was the #1 seeded team in the tournament lost in their first game of the playoffs. The #2 seeded Illinois Warriors A and the #4 seeded Houston Hoops both made it the semi-finals, but #3 seeded Bloomington Red was upset in the quarterfinals. As a result, everything seemed to fall right for the #13 seeded Tim Thomas Playaz, which took home the title by beating the Massachusetts Wildcats, 69-54, in the championship game. The MVP of the tournament was 6'8 Jr Eddie Griffin from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, but he probably lost his spot in the top five nationally in the junior class after this tournament. Not because he was bad, but he wasn't as good as he was last fall. Also 6'9 Jr Darius Miles from East St. Louis (H.S.) IL, who takes Griffin's spot in our top five, was out of this world. Is he the next Kevin Garnett?  That's what some people who saw him at Spiece are saying. Others say he has no weaknesses in his game and that he can play any position on the court. But the thing we remember most is that he just makes plays. When he touches the ball something good almost always happens. He's also developed a lot more consistency, more maturity, and a better understanding of the game since we saw him last summer.

The other big story at Spiece was the Team Texas, which easily won the Sophomores-To-Be Division beating the Spiece Central Stars, 77-54, in the semi-finals and the Spiece Pistols, 85-62, in the championship. The leading scorer in the championship game was 6'3 Frosh Bracy Wright from The Colony (H.S.) TX with 27 points, but 6'4 Frosh Seneca Collins from Duncanville (H.S.) TX also has a tremendous future and 5'10 Frosh Bryan Hopkins from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, who was named the tournament MVP, might just be the best freshman in America. Hopkins makes great decisions and gets everybody involved in transition, but he can also score both inside and outside, as was evident by his 20 points in the championship game. However, it was his monster dunk in the semi-finals that had everybody shaking their heads. As a matter fact, that was probably the best play of the entire tournament. When was the last time you saw a 5'10 freshman drive into traffic and slam it in everybody's face? Hopkins is also a tremendous passer, excellent defender, outstanding student, and great kid. As a result, he has the complete package. Collins has a great body, excellent body control, is terrific on the boards, and is very effective a getting his shot in the lane. Wright has great hands, rebounds extremely well for his size, and is extremely versatile. As a result, he too is a legitimate top 30 freshman nationally.

We didn't see any of the Championship in the Juniors-To-Be Division, but we did watch part of the game when the DTA Team Warriors upset the Illinois Warriors Black in the quarterfinals. The Illinois Warroirs featured three of the top sophomres in Chicago in 6'11 Soph Eddy Curry from South Holland (Thornwood) IL, 6'7 Najeeb Echols from Chicago (Whitney Young) IL, and 5'11 Soph Jason Straight from Chicago (Dunbar) IL, but in the end Curry ran out of gas and DTA had three big time sophomores of their own in 6'7 Soph Quemont Greer from Milwaukee (Vincent) WI, 6'2 Soph Latrell Fleming from Milwaukee (Whitefish Bay) WI, and 6'7 Soph Marques Lewis from Milwaukee (Tech) WI. Also impressing us in the Juniors-To-Be Division was 6'5 Soph Dennis Coutee from Jeffersonville (H.S.) TX, who is a big-time athlete who makes a living off transition and promises to be the next great player from Southern Indiana. We also saw 6'7 Soph Mario Killingsworth from Lanier (H.S.) MS play in the Seniors-To-Be-Division, but he was the star in this Division for The Challenge team from Alabama, along with two multi-dimensional athletes with lots of talent and potential - 6'4 Soph Donell Taylor and Soph Ronell Taylor, also both from Lanier (H.S.) AL. We were interested in the Shreveport/Bossier Select team, which featured 6'7 Frosh Starwisky Hampton from Gibsland (Gibsland-Coleman) LA, who is a legitimate top 15 freshman nationally, 6'4 Soph Michael Clayton from New Orleans (Christian Life) LA, 6'5 Soph Antonio Hudson from ??????? (???????) ??, 6'2 Soph Aaron Branch from Hammond (H.S.) LA, and 5'9 Frosh Billy Smith from Rustin (H.S.) LA.

Getting back to the Seniors-To-Be Division, Massachuetts Wildcats landed four players - 6'8 Jr Scott Hazelton from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA, 6'2 Jr Kevin Reed from South Yarmouth (Dennis Yarmuth) MA, 6'4 Jr Jeff Babul from North Attleboro (H.S.) MA, and 6'1 Jr Bill Mandell from Peabody (Bishop Fenwick) MA - all on the all-tournament team, but the big reason why they advanced all the way to the championship was 5'11 Jr Anthony Anderson from Lynn (H.S.) MA, who now ranks among our top 100 juniors nationally. Anderson is a quick little point guard who makes great passes and excellent decisions in an uptempo game. The Tim Thomas Playaz beat the Houston Hoops in the semi-finals, but we actually liked the Houston Hoops better. They had 6'7 Jr Nick Anderson from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, who is a legitimate top 30 junior nationally due to his a versatility, athleticism, and great body, and two big guys in 6'10 Jr Nolan Butterfras from Houston (Cypress Creek) TX and 6'10 Jr Jason Klotz from Houstn (Klein Forest) TX. They also had 6'4 Soph Marcus Spears from Baton Rouge (Southern Lab) LA, who is built like a tank, and 6'2 Soph Carlos Hurt from Alief (Alief-Elsik) TX, who is streaky, but extremely talented. Hurt is also a great passer and he is excellent at getting his shot off the dribble. But like so many Texas point guards, we question his decision making.

As a matter of fact, Hurt plays a lot like 6'1 Jr Imari Sawyer from Chicago (Martin Luther King) IL, who played in this tournament for the Illinois Fire. However, Sawyer was not at the top of his game, as his team got beat in the third round of the playoffs. Also very disappointing for the Illinois Fire was 6'10 Jr Reo Logan from Country Club Hills (Hillcrest) IL, who refuses to take care of business inside. Instead, all he wants to do is stand out on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers. And unlike fine wine, which gets better with age, Logan has gotten really soft just like 6'11 Jonathan Bender from Picayune (H.S.) MS, although Logan isn't as talented nor as athletic.  Instead, head coach Mac Irvin might be better off if he plays Logan less and 6'8 Soph James Peters from Chicago (Julian) IL a lot more. Peters does all the blue collar work inside and so does 6'5 Jr Imoriche Akhioi from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, although he's undersized for the high Division I level. We also were very impressed by 6'3 Soph Lavar Seals from Chicago (Providence-St. Mel) IL, who is a high flyer who thrives in the open court. Nobody jumps higher or has more flare for the spectacular. Also playing well was 6'3 Frosh Sean Dockery from Chicago (Julian) IL, who makes much better decisions than Sawyer, despite the face he's still only a freshmna. If that weren't enough, 6'2 Jr Aaron Carr from Chicago (Lincoln Park) IL is like a jack-of-all-trades for this team.

One of the biggest surprises of the entire tournament was 6'7 Soph Sean Kline from Huntington (North) IN, who, along with 6'10 Jr Jared Jeffries from Bloomington (South) IN, was the best player for Bloomington Red. Kline doesn't pass the look test, but he does pass the play test, because he's got great skills and he's a killer inside. We also liked 6'0 Soph Chris Thomas from Indianapolis (Pike) IN and 6'3 Andre Owens from Indianapolis (Perry Meridian) IN, but he wasn't as good as some people had told us he was. However, we've seen 6'0 Jr Brody Boyd from Dugger (Union) IN play a lot better than he showed here. There were several other good teams from Indiana, including the S.Y.F. Players, which featured 6'8 Jr Brett Buscher from Chesteron (H.S.) PA and 6'5 Jr Shane Power from Gary (Andrean) IN, and the Spiece South Stars with an overweight and out of shape 6'9 Jr Zach Randolph from Marion (H.S.) IN. However, he still did show flashes.

We mentioned earlier that the Alabama Ice was the #1 seeded team in the entire tournament, but we didn't think they were that good when we saw them the first night against Bray Center NIKE. And 6'7 Jr Gerald Wallace from Childersburg (H.S.) AL is a terrific athlete, but he was a lot skinner than I expected and he is absolutely wild. He does have a good outside shoot and does have tremendous natural talent, but right now he's still very raw. As a result, we liked 6'9 Jr Mario Austin from York (Sumter County) AL better. Austin is a physical presence inside, which makes him tough the boards. He also has good athleticism and surprisingly good body control. The Ice also had several other big bodies in 6'11 Jr Darrell Galloway from Quinton (West Jefferson) AL, who has the potential to get some big time looks; 6'10 Jr John Christian from Tuscaloosa (County) AL, who is a project at best; and 6'8 Darneil Thomas from Greensboro (H.S.) AL, who didn't play much, but like they say, "you can't teach size." He's huge and he also has pretty good hands.

Also among the bigger disappointments in the tournament was 6'5 Frosh Antonio Lawrence from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL, who was ranked as the #1 freshman in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP. However, his shot wasn't falling and he didn't know when to quit. However, the Tallahassee Wildcats did feature two other players worth mentioning in 6'4 Jr Jarvis Bracey from Jacksonville (Wolfson) FL and 6'5 Jr Orion Green from Gainesville (H.S.) FL. Bracy doesn't have a position, so he makes a living in transition and he's pretty good at it. He also assured us that he can hit the jumper, but we told him it would be nice if he showed it once in a while. As a result, we'd like to see him again. Green does a little bit of everything, but ultimately he will be a point guard, because 6'5 guards who can handle and distribute like he can don't grow on trees.

The Double Pump All-Stars didn't have a lot of size, but they more than made up for it with their excellent guard play. Showing why he is considered to be one of the top point guards on the West Coast this year was 5'10 Jr Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR. He's got good speed and quickness, excellent handling skills, and makes good decisions. His best decision was to find 6'1 Soph Salim Stoudamire from Lake Oswego (H.S.) CA, who was on fire from beyond the arc. Stoudamire is just like his older brother Damon Stoudamire, but he's well ahead of 6'2 Soph Derrick Cravens and 6'2 Soph Errick Cravens, both from Torrance (Bishop Montgomery) CA. However, they too certainly lived up to their billing. They're both very versatile, rebound well for their size, are extremely quick off the dribble, and excellent on the perimeter where they can pass, handle, and shoot. They are also very athletic.

One of the best 3-point shooters in the tournament was 6'9 Jr Brian Boddicker from Duncanville (H.S.) TX, but sometimes he also needs to remember to take care of business inside. However, when Boddicker is open from the corner that role is assumed by 6'7 Andrew Bryant from Denison (H.S.) TX. Some may think Bryant is a little undersized, but really it doesn't matter. He's a killer on the boards and does all the dirty work inside. Yet another team from Texas, the Houston Superstars featured 5'10 Soph Terrance Ford from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX and 6'3 Soph Daniel Ewing from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, but we may have caught them at a bad time, as they were coming off a disappointing opening game lost to the Michigan Mustangs. We did find 6'9 Jr Ronnie Davis from Beaumont (Central) TX and 6'6 Jr Corey Valsin from Port Arthur (Lincoln) TX to be intriguing.

Everybody always talks about 6'7 Jr John Gilbert from Minneapolis (Patrick Henry) MN, but he's a power forward all the way and he still needs another inch or two to be a powerful force in the Big 10. That's why our favorite player on the Howard Pulley Panthers was 6'2 Jr Adam Boone from Minnetonka (H.S.) MN, who is a legit top 50 junior nationally in our book. He's quick off the dribble, can hit the three, is an excellent passer, and makes good decisions. Plus he's a nice kid and an excellent student. This team also has 6'1 Jr Jake Sullivan from Oakdale (Tartan) MN, but he lacks speed and quickness and we're not sure whether he's a one or a two.

He's streaky, but when 6'1 Jr Sharif Chambliss from Racine (St. Catharines) WI is on, which he was when we saw the Bray Center NIKE team, he's one of the best shooters in the nation. One of the other teams from Wisconsin featured 6'9 Jr Scott Merritt from Wauwatosa (East) WI. We didn't know about him before Spiece, but this Brad Daugherty look alike has incredibly quick hands and excellent moves. However, the key is his potential, because right now he's not very aggressive, especially when going to the hole. We also didn't know about 6'3 Jr C.J. Massingale from Tacoma (Mt. Tacoma) WA and 6'3 Jr  Aaron Brown from Shelton (H.S.) WA, both of whom played for the Friends of Hoop Black team. Massingale's game is transition and he has big time moves to the hole. Brown is a combo guard with a strong upper body, good moves to the hole, and a good 3-point shot. He also uses his long arm span to his advantage on defense.

In addition to Miles, the Illinois Warriors featured a much improved 6'8 Jr. T.J. Cummings from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL, a pair of excellent 3-point shooters on the perimeter in 6'3 Jr Matt Lottich from New Trier (Winnetka) IL and 6'5 Jr Brett Melton from Mahomet (Seymour) IL, and 6'6 Jr Todd Townsend from Chicago (Morgan Park) IL, who does a lot of the little things that often go unnoticed. Unfortunately for head coach Larry Butler, a solid point guard, except when Miles had the ball out front, was missing. Last, but not least is the Michigan Mustangs. Whaley ranks as the #2 sophomore in America by the HOOP SCOOP, but he'd better play harder than he did here, if he wants to maintain his position. A few fancy moves, great athleticism, and a tremendous body may be enough for the NBA guys, but remember, we ranks players the old fashioned why - we make them earn it. The player we liked the best for the Mustangs was Roberson, because he makes great decisions and is savvy well beyond his years. However, that wasn't enough to overcome Seals, Tolbert, and Farmer, who took turns doing something sensational going to the hoop. To tell you the truth, there just weren't enough basketballs for so many high flying athletes.