Game recaps: Championship Saturday in Las Vegas

Super 64 17U Open Championship:
Grassroots Canada Elite 88, Compton Magic 79 2OT

Grassroots Canada entered the adidas Super 64 17U title game looking to become the first Canadian travel ball program to win a major summer AAU title. The Compton Magic had their own title aspirations, but clearly did not play their best game of the five-day tournament.

Still the Magic had all the momentum after guard Roberto Nelson nailed a three-pointer with 8.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 68-68. The Magic had trialed by nine points (53-44) with 6:30 remaining, but Grassroots Canada didn't fold in the first five-minute extra period.

"Don't give up&they might have the momentum but our coach told us we could to get it back," remarked tournament MVP Tristan Thompson, who scored 19 points and nailed some clutch free throws in both overtime periods. "He told us don't think about the score."

Grassroots Canada even had a chance to win the game at the end of the first overtime, but missed an uncontested lay-up at the buzzer with the scored tied at 75-75. The Magic's chances to win the game were severely hurt when center Joe Burton picked up his sixth foul and was disqualified from the game only 30 seconds into the second overtime. Burton had scored 23 points and was the only player on the Magic's roster making any impact on the interior. The Compton Magic only scored four points in the second three-minute overtime while Grassroots Canada Elite put 13 points on the board to secure the win.

Most of those points came off free throws from Thompson or drives to the hoop by guards Jason Calliste and Junior Cadougan. That duo gave the Magic's defensive-minded guards more trouble than any other they faced at the tournament. Calliste scored a game-high 29 points while Cadougan, one of the most well-rounded guards in Las Vegas, capped off an excellent week with a 22-point performance.

"He [Cadougan] showed everyone he could play with the best guards in the country and lead his team to a major tournament title," Thompson remarked.

Nelson finished with a team-high 26 points for the Compton Magic, but he and the rest of the team looked completely drained near the end of the second overtime period. They went as far as a team could, but had come up just short against one of the most consistent teams at any of the three tournaments.

In the highly-anticipated semifinal match up against the Atlanta Celtics earlier in the day, the Compton Magic fell behind early but picked the defensive intensity in the second half to record a 96-87 victory.

The Celtics took a 27-16 lead as the outside shots of Andre Malone and Trae Golden were falling early. The Magic cut the lead to 27-22, but the Atlanta Celtics regained the momentum and took a 41-33 lead into halftime.

The tide of the game changed when the Magic's Shannon Sharpe was assigned to guard Golden. He stopped his deep penetration and the Celtics had a tougher time getting off a high percentage after the rest of the team followed Sharpe's lead.

A three-pointer by Roberto Nelson cut the lead to 59-57 and the Compton Magic took the lead at 64-63 on a big three-pointer by Justin Hawkins. On the next possession, Joe Burton whipped one of his signature outlet passes to a streaking Hawkins for a scoop lay-in and the Magic were in business. The lead eventually grew to ten points (74-64) but the Celtics, who played without bruiser Terrence Shannon, got back in the game behind Derrick Favors.

He showed everyone why he is the top 2009 prospect in the country, as he scored on a variety of baseline spin moves and dunks where he simply got off the ground too quickly for Burton or anyone else. When he threw down a power dunk off a missed free throw with 2:28 to play, the lead had been cut to 80-78 but the Celtics could get no closer. Favors finished with a game-high 33 points and five blocked shots. Golden finished with 13 points and Noel Johnson added nine points.

Nelson pumped in a team-high 28 points for the Compton Magic. He scored on a variety of shots around the paint, although against the trees of the Celtics he did have some of his signature pump moves blocked. Burton had some trouble with Favors on the defensive end, but he also made some nice offensive moves of his own and finished with 20 points. Hawkins netted 16 points and Sharpe nine points while the Magic also got a solid all-around effort on both ends of the floor from Xavier Thames. He finished with 17 points.

Grassroots Canada Elite advanced to the finals with a surprisingly easy 79-55 victory over Pump N Run Elite. Grassroots Canada was riding an emotional high after their quarterfinal victory over Seattle Rotary and were in complete control during this game.

Their lead was 42-28 at halftime and they never let up against a weary Pump N Run club. Junior Cadougan led the way with 22 points and Tristan Thompson had a solid game with 10 points. Christian Kabongo also played well, scoring 16 points for the victors.

Chase Tapley scored 19 points in a losing effort for Pump N Run Elite.

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Canadians' huge win raises profile for hoops program
By Victoria Sun, Special for USA TODAY
 

LAS VEGAS — In the midst of explaining what it means to be a part of Canadian amateur basketball history, Tristan Thompson was gently interrupted by one of his teammates, who wanted to remind him to utter the team's mantra.

"What (are) they (gonna) say now?" Thompson repeated proudly. "We just showed the U.S. that we've got basketball players in Canada."

No talking was necessary after Thompson's Grassroots Canada Elite team beat the Compton (Calif.) Magic in double-overtime 88-79 to win the adidas Super 64 tournament on Saturday.

By winning one of the three major AAU tournaments that ran concurrently here and defeating the Magic, one of the most respected programs in the U.S., the Canadians staked their claim in amateur hoops after years of being dominated by their American counterparts.

"We made a major statement," said Ro Russell, who founded the Grassroots program in 1992. "It's the biggest win in our program's history and Canadian amateur basketball history.
"Now people will take us seriously," he said.

Thompson, Rivals.com's No. 2 player in the class of 2010, has verbally committed to play at Texas while point guard Junior Cadougan, ranked No. 21 by the Hoopscooponline.com in the class of 2009, has verbally committed to attend Marquette.

Thompson's decision was based on the fact that he got to watch Texas on TV and because of his recruiting relationship with head coach Rick Barnes and assistant Rodney Terry.

"I used to watch (former Texas and current Portland Trailblazers forward) LaMarcus Aldridge and I liked their style of play," tournament MVP Thompson said. "I liked coach Barnes and coach Terry.

"When you go on a visit to some schools, you're like, 'I don't know, it's all right.' But when I went to Texas, they treated me like family."

Russell's relationship with Marquette head coach Buzz Williams and assistant Tony Benford influenced Cadougan, who followed point guard Damon Stoudamire when he was with the Toronto Raptors and is a huge Baron Davis fan.

"My top three choices were Wake Forest, Memphis and Marquette, but Coach Ro didn't really know the other coaches so Marquette was the greatest choice for me," Cadougan said.

Providing Canadian players with proper training, surrounding them with the highest level of competition and getting them the exposure they need to earn college scholarships are reasons Russell started the program formerly called Toronto Elite.

Russell, a Jamaican who moved to Toronto 35 years ago at age 4, was just like the kids he coaches today. He wanted to earn a college basketball scholarship, but had very limited support because ice hockey was the most popular sport.

Through his own research and networking, Russell played at Keene State in Keene, N.H., and Gordon College in Wenham, Mass. Once he finished competing, he returned home to Toronto to become a high school coach and founded what has developed into a fertile training ground.

Many Grassroots players have earned Division I college scholarships including highly touted guard Devoe Joseph, who will play for Tubby Smith at Minnesota this season, former Arkansas and current Canadian national team member Olu Famutimi and former Missouri swingman Duane John.

Russell's players have gotten more attention because he has been able to help them enroll at different American high school or prep schools via student visas so that they can be seen by more college coaches and play against much better competition.

Without enough exposure, Canadian Steve Nash, an NBA all-star and former two-time MVP, ended up playing at Santa Clara because no high-level Division I school recruited him.

"Steve Nash has shown us it is possible for us to play in the NBA," Thompson said.

Thompson will be a junior at famed St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), coached by former Duke guard Bobby Hurley's father, Dan Hurley, while guard Myck Kabongo will be a sophomore at St. Benedict's.

Cadougan will be a senior at Christian Life Academy in Waco, Texas, where former Texas A&M forward and current Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan attended, and Dwight Powell will be a junior at IMG (Bradenton, Fla.). Three other Grassroots players, Jason Calliste, Renaldo Dixon and Christian Kabongo, attend Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Pembroke, N.C.

Almost all of Russell's players are being recruited by Division I teams or at least being evaluated more closely.

"Ro Russell specifically has done an unbelievable job in elevating basketball in Canada," Williams said. "All of the best players in Canada play for Ro and his relationships with coaches in the United States have been beneficial in regards to helping those kids."

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Northern Neighbors Prevail!
By Ryan Greene · July 26, 2008 · 11:05 PM

Las Vegas Sun

The Grassroots Canada Elite squad poses for photos following an 88-79 double-overtime win over the Compton Magic, clinching the title at the 2008 adidas Super 64 Saturday night at Rancho High.

Ryan Greene

The Grassroots Canada Elite squad poses for photos following an 88-79 double-overtime win over the Compton Magic, clinching the title at the 2008 adidas Super 64 Saturday night at Rancho High.

Coach Ro Russell was in no hurry to downplay the significance of his Grassroots Canada Elite squad's championship-clinching win Saturday night at Rancho High in the adidas Super 64 tournament.

"This is the biggest win for Canadian basketball in amateur history - A major tournament, with all the top-ranked teams," Russell said. "It's huge for our program, for our country. People were saying Canada is still behind and we're not as developed as the Americans. With the U.S. pounding us last night in the exhibition game, we're starting from young, to get our guys experience of Americanized basketball, so when these guys get to that level, we're not going to let that happen."

The Toronto-based prep squad - comprised of Canadian players, most of whom compete for high schools in the United States - finished its unexpected run through the elite field at Rancho High with a thrilling 88-79, double-overtime win over the Compton Magic.

"We were working hard, hard work pays off," said Grassroots guard Junior Cadougan. "We were waiting for this moment, to win a big-time United States tournament, to make people know Canada really does have some ballplayers."

Making the team's run through the bracket even more improbable was that organizing time to practice was pretty much impossible before showing up in Las Vegas, due to how spread out the entire team is throughout the year.

Grassroots dropped its opening game of pool play, and after that, never looked back. And after knocking off Seattle Rotary Friday night in the round of eight - advancing them to their first semifinal appearance in an American tournament this summer - seeing SportsCenter highlights of Team USA's 120-65 drubbing of Canada at Thomas & Mack added the final splash of motivation.

Cadougan - a senior-to-be who plays high school ball just outside of Houston and is already committed to Marquette - helped Grassroots keep the pace throughout much of the night with his aggressive point play, but Compton was the toughest team yet for them to crack.

"So far in the tournament, every team we've played, by halftime we've had them cracked," Russell said.

Compton's late regulation push was capped by a three-pointer from Roberto Nelson atop the key. But thanks to clutch free-throw shooting from junior-to-be (and Texas commit) Tristan Thompson and the hard slashing style of Jason Calliste, the Magic couldn't ultimately hold on. It became even tougher once big men Joe Burton and Darnell Shumpert fouled out.

Thompson finished with 19 points and earned tournament MVP honors, while Cadougan scored 22. Nelson dropped a team-high 26 points for Compton, Burton had 23 and UNLV commit Justin Hawkins added 10.

But Calliste - who scored a game-high 29 points, including a no-look and-one bucket in the second OT to seal things - may prove to be the prime example of what this win could do for the lesser-known Canadian players.

Calliste - a 6-foot-2 shooting guard who plays during the season at Mt. Zion Academy in North Carolina - had drawn interest so far in the recruiting game from Syracuse, Pitt, Duquesne, George Mason and Colorado. But now, things could turn up a notch.

"You can see, players like Jason Calliste, that people didn't know about, he's on the map now," Cadougan said. "He didn't have any (scholarship) offers before this tournament. That'll change big-time."