arizona slam roster

Since we can't possibly hope to cover every player who participated this past weekend at the adidas Double pump Spring Tournament at Cal State Dominguez Hills, we decided to do the next best thing: Provide you with all of the rosters, and some selected player highlights, and, where possible, a team recap.

Arizona Slam/Jam (really, this team couldn't make up it's mind what it was called. . . in the coaches' packets, it was "Slam" but the jerseys said "Jam". . . ) is coached by Jeff Meadows. Jeff sent us a roster last Wednesday, before the tournament started, which was slightly different than the one in the Pumps' coaches' packet, but no matter, it wasn't all that much different. Here's the one from the booklet at the tournament:

Brian Freeny	6'-8" So. PF	Mesquite/Compton Centennial
Mike Smith	5'-8" Jr. PG	Coolidge
Bim Makinde	6'-0" Jr. G	Paradise Valley
Mark Bowens	6'-1" Jr. G	Glendale Cactus
Brandon Nelson	6'-1" Fr. G	Phoenix Mt. Pointe HS
Antonio Griffin	6'-6" Jr. F	Tempe McClintock HS
George Kirby	6'-7" So. F	North HS
Anthony Michaels	6'-5" Jr. F	Phoenix Amphitheatre
Jason Johnson	6'-9" Jr. F	Phoenix Tucson HS
Nick Dewitz	6'-9" Jr. F	Mesa Dobson HS
Lynzel Jackson	6'-4" Jr. SG/SF	Tempe HS
Andre Mason	6'-6" Jr. F	Phoenix South Mountain HS
Josh Griffin	6'-8" Jr. F	Avondale Westview HS

The most intriguing bit of info we got, which we unfortunately didn't get a chance to follow up on, was the e-mailed roster we got from Jeff which listed Brian Freeny at "Compton Centennial", and we're guessing that Freeny will show up there next fall as the next big post player for coach Rod Palmer, and as the player most likely to succeed Ellis Myles in the power forward spot for the Apaches. We only got to see one game featuring this team and we weren't really sure whether Freeny was there or not because there was no jersey number listed for him in the book, and before we could get over to the bench, the game was over and we were on to other things. . . still, Freeny is being touted as one of the best sophomores in the state of Arizona by Meadows and it's possible he could be coming to California for more than just a weekend. . .

Lynzel Jackson, a strong and athletic shooting guard didn't have a great weekend. Has good mechanics, and a nice shot, and defends well, but drove too much for our taste. An excellent passer, we would have liked to see him do that more rather than jacking up some shots which were destined not to go in.

Antonio Griffin is another excellent athletic player, a guy with tremendous hops and quickness, moves laterally but didnt' really defend as well as we might have liked, if he can work on his shot, he'll be a high-major recruit. Clearly one of the more athletic guys on this team.

Nick Dewitz is a guy we've seen before, but it was nice to see him progressing well and improving. A terrific rebounder, solid post skills, a real banger. Good drop step and some nice moves around the basket, a very smart player.

The Arizona Slam's first game was slotted against Rick Isaacs' "H-Squad" team, which was too bad for the guys from Arizona, because they lost, 60-70, which dropped them immediately into the losers' bracket. Arizona had real trouble (as did everyone else) stopping Tommy Johnson (6'-4" Sr. SG) from Crenshaw this weekend, and if you're wondering, as we were what a guy who has signed with Washigton State was doing in this event . . . well, we heard conflicting stories: Tommy insists that he was just "playing for fun" and that he's qualified and will be attending Washington State. But from other sources, we hear that Tommy may not be eligible and that he may wind up at a prep school or a JC. The latter was not something that Tommy floated out there, but which came from sources who claim to know. . . Frankly, we have no idea, and for now, we'll take the kid's word for it that he's still bound for Pullman. . . nevertheless, he was pretty much unstoppable. Arizona did just about everything it coud to hammer and pound the guys from H-Squad, and while this was an early game on Friday, it was one of the roughest and nastiest of the entire weekend. . .

Arizona next played the Hoopaholics Sr. All-Stars and pulled off the win, 64-60, in a game which we missed (it was, after all at 8:30 a.m., and there was no way we were getting down to Dominguez that early. . . we were at Rockfish instead. . . ). The win put the Jam/Slam up against AAB, and unfortunately, in a three-game guarantee tournament which is bracketed, two losses is all you can get before bowing out, which is what the Slam did after their 4:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon game.

We understand that this team will be traveling to Missouri during the first weekend in May for Dinos Trigonis' "Show-Me Shootout", so it looks like the next time we'll get a chance to see any of these guys will either be at the Rim Rattler All-West Camp or at the adidas Las Vegas Big Time.