SoCalHoops Recruiting News

adidas Double Pump "Best Of Summer": 
Double Pump All-Stars Defeats L.I. Panthers--(July 31, 2002)

	What:	adidas Double Pump Best of Summer Tournament
	When:	July 27-31, 2002
	Where:	Loyola Marymount University & Lynwood HS
	Who:	144 Traveling and Prep-HS Teams
		NCAA-Certified Event

We're really just too exhausted to write a lot of detail about what happened at the games here today, so we'll be adding some details later.  In the meantime, we'll pass along what happened today, during the final day of competition here at the Double Pump "Best of Summer" tournament, which was finally won by a Double Pump-sponsored team, the first time in the 8 years that this tournament has been running.  And just for the sake of clarity, this was not the "Pump N Run" team as has been reported in several newspapers but instead the "Double Pump All Stars" which is generally considered by the Pumps to be their No. 2 team....well, it's not No. 2 any longer,  not after defeating the Long Island Panthers, led by NBA-prospect Charlie Villanueva and teammate Sammy Mejia.   Admittedly, the Panthers looked tired, exhausted, like they'd rather have been anywhere else other than competing in the finals of this tournament, but they were no more played out than were the Double Pump All-Stars, as each team competed in 9 other games at this tournament to reach the finals.  Sure the Panthers also played in 5 more games at the Big Time, reaching the quarterfinals there, and they also played at the adidas Three Stripes tournament as well, but not to make any excuses for their showing yesterday, they simply got pounded into submission by a solid group of young players who played team basketball and simply got the job done.  No big reputations, no big egos, just great basketball.

The DP A/S was a team which didn't win a single game in Las Vegas at the Big Time, going 0-3 in open bracket pool play and then dropping their first single-elimination game to the EBO Jr. All Stars.  Given that track record, no one gave them much of a chance of doing anything here at the Best of Summer, and so this team became the big Cinderella-story of the summer by winning three games on Tuesday, including a double overtime game against some of the top players from Indiana on Tuesday night, and then pulling off a huge upset of an undermanned H-Squad team which just never really got going in the 9:00 a.m. game on Wednesday, a game was slightly marred by some after-game temper flares by some of the H-Squad supporters.  Double Pump won the morning game by a score of 64-46, and then it was on to the semifinals at 2:00 plm. against the CAS Warriors, a team made up mostly of players from NEPSAC and Mid-Atlantic Prep League schools, including players from The Gunnery, The Hun School, The Hill School, Trinity-Pawling,  Milford Academy and others.  It was a game that Double Pump led from start to finish, winning 66-51.   In the meantime, on the adjacent court, the Long Island Panthers were setting up the showdown at 4:30 p.m. in the Championship game by knocking off a tough DC Assault team 64-58.

The Championship game was almost anti-climactic for those of us who were waiting for the real Panthers to show up.   Double Pump wound up sprinting to a 23-7 lead after only 8 minutes, and it seemed that things were only going to get worse as the game wore on, and for the Panthers, it did.  Charlie Villanueva was contained and frustrated all game long by a box-and-one with Marcus Slaughter (6'-7" Sr. F) from JW North shadowing his every move, and when the Pump team doubled Villanueva, that typically left others open for shots, but the Panthers had no legs, and it seemed like there was a lid on the Panthers' basket throughout the first half.  Layups rolled around the rim and bounced out.  Shots came up consistently short, and the shorter DP All-Stars, led inside by two-sport star Evan Moore (6'-8" Sr. F)--who parenthetically is considering playing both football and basketball at Stanford or USC, and who is also now being pursued by a host of other schools--, Slaughter, and Chris Rucker (6'-6" Sr. F) from Loyola, consistently out-rebounded the Panthers.   In the first half it was Kejuan Johnson (6'-2" Sr. G) who looked like he was going to take over the show, picking off several steals, and going coast to coast for layup after layup, hitting 12 points, including 10 in the first half, while in the second half it was young rising junior Jordan Farmar (6'-2" Jr. G) who also finished with 12 points.   Dion Cook (6'-3" Sr. G) from Chaminade added 8 points for Double Pump, while Jake Collins (6'-2" Sr. G) added 4 to go along with Moore's 12 points.  But the big factor for Double Pump was Marcus Slaughter, who finished with 22 points in the game, an outstanding performance that is sure to help his recruitment after several other solid performances in this tournament.

For the Panthers, it was a completely different story. Josh Wright, who was not listed on the team's roster, but who came off the bench to hit the game winning shot on Tuesday night to allow the Panthers to move forward, finished with 9 points.  Sammy Mejia, as always, just quietly went out and put up some big numbers, 25 points in this game, but it was simply not enough to counter the consitent attack and transition offense of the Double Pump All Stars.  And Charlie Villanueva?   He finished with only 12 points, and was unceremoniously ejected from the game after picking up his second technical foul with only 2 minutes remaining in the game, not a very fitting way for the summer to end for a player who is clearly better and more talented than he showed in this game. While the Panthers closed to within 8, and would have closed to 5 if not for a disputed call which disallowed a three-point basket with under 3 minutes to play, once Villanueva was gone, this game was over for all practical purposes, and DP rebuilt the lead back to the final margin of 14. 

So, Gary Charles' Panthers could not defend their title from last year's championship game, and Double Pump finally put up the big numbers and consistent offense they needed to win their own tournament, a feat they had never previously accomplished in any of their tournaments.  Some say the Panthers were just not as talented as last year's loaded team, which is probably true, but that should not in any way diminish the accomplishments of the Double Pump team, which played well consistently throughout this tournament.  Congratulations to a great group of kids who hung together and managed to pull of a stunning run simply by playing fundamentally sound basketball.

Here are the rest of the scores from yesterday:

Quarterfinals:

Long Island Panthers 55, Arizona Stars 36
Double Pump All-Stars 64, H-Squad 46
DC Assault 75, Student-Athlete Broncos 60
Rockfish V 46, CAS Warriors 56 (played Tuesday night)

Semifinals:

Double Pump All Stars 66, CAS Warriors 51
Long Island Panthers 64, DC Assault 58

Finals:

Double Pump All Stars 74, Long Island Panthers 60

Consolation Finals:

Texas Warriors Red 74, Texas Blue Chip #2 64

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