City of Basketball Love

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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Over the next few days, CoBL will be looking at several of the major AAU programs in the region, with the first live recruiting period of the 2016 offseason coming up this weekend.

First up, a look at Team Final, which plays on the Nike-backed Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). The EYBL's first stop is in Brooklyn this weekend, April 16-17:

Team Name: Team Final
Coach: Aaron Burt
2015 EYBL Record/Results: 11-6; 1-4 at Peach Jam
Key returnees: Lonnie Walker
Notable Alumni: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Ja’Quan Newton, Malachi Richardson

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Roster

Nick Alikakos (2017/Episcopal)
Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree (2017/Neumann-Goretti)
Tamir Green (2017/Constitution)
Marcus Littles (2018/Academy New Church)
Jordan Money (2017/St. Elizabeth’s)
Justyn Mutts (2017/St. Augustine)
Cameron Reddish (2018/Westtown)
Daron Russell (2017/Imhotep Charter)
Lonnie Walker (2017/Reading)
Daequan Williams (2017/Camden)

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2015 Recap

Last summer was a typical one for a program that’s become accustomed to the Nike circuit, making the Peach Jam for the ninth time in the last 10 years. Led by the Penn State-bound trio of Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens and Nazeer Bostick, Team Final toughed its way to wins with a physical, Philly-style brand of ball. High-major coaches flocked to the courts to watch that trio, plus eventual ‘Nova commit Dylan Painter and one of this year’s players to watch, Reading wing Lonnie Walker.

2016 Outlook

Last year’s Team Final 16U group was one of the best in the EYBL, and that group remains largely intact plus adds Walker to the mix. Once again, this should be a team that finishes several games above .500 in the EYBL and gets an invitation to Peach Jam, where anything can happen. They’ll be exciting in transition with their guards, and have enough size in the frontcourt to hang with some of the more physical teams in the EYBL, though how their forwards play will determine just how high their ceiling is.

The Star(s)

By the end of last summer, Lonnie Walker (2017/Reading) had garnered offers from Villanova, Indiana, Oregon, UCLA, Stanford and Ohio State. And that was all before he even started preparing for his junior year, which saw him take the Red Knights deep in the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. The 6-foot-5 wing, currently ranked No. 23 in the ESPN rankings, is a powerful scorer, averaging 13.4 ppg on the EYBL Circuit last year while shooting 40 percent from 3-point range, and he’s an above-the-rim finisher as well. By the end of this AAU season, he might literally have his pick of schools.

The other potential NBA player on the Team Final roster is one of two 2018 prospects playing up on the main team. Cameron Reddish has been a name to know in the Philadelphia region since he was playing varsity basketball at The Haverford School as an 8th grader, and now midway through his high school career at Westtown he’s ready to blow up on a national level. The 6-7 guard already has offers from Maryland, UConn, Auburn, Villanova, Penn State and more, and that list should expand greatly over the next few weeks and throughout the summer.

The Sleeper(s)

It’s tough to pick a sleeper on this team, considering a good few players on the roster already have multiple high-major offers, but there are still a few players whose stock could rise over the coming few months. Jordan Money, a 6-3 guard from St. Elizabeth’s (Del.), is a sharpshooting athlete who should get plenty of low-to-mid-major looks, while Justyn Mutts, a 6-6 forward from St. Augustine Prep (N.J.), had a strong junior year and could pick up offers in the same range with his motor, strong body and developing inside-out offensive abilities.

The Supporting Cast

While Walker and Reddish look headed for the blue bloods of college hoops, they should get plenty of help from their talented supporting cast. Daron Russell, a 5-10 dynamo of a point guard, put up gaudy scoring numbers at the 16U Peach Jam last year (17.7 ppg) and has offers from SMU, Temple, VCU, Seton Hall and more already in his pocket; he’s sure to pick up a few more offers over the coming weeks thanks to an improved shot and body from a year ago.

Though he didn’t have as good of a summer last year, Nick Alikakos bounced back by averaging more than 22 ppg as a junior at Episcopal Academy, and is determined to show he’s worthy of a few more offers; Lafayette, Penn and Hartford have already pulled the trigger on the 6-7 forward with a non-stop motor. Finally, look for an impact from Littles, a bruising 6-9, 250-pound forward with great hands and footwork.

The X-Factor

You can pretty much guarantee that between Walker, Reddish and Russell, Team Final won’t have a trouble getting buckets in transition or the half-court; there might not be a better scoring trio in the entire EYBL. What will make the difference for Burt’s group is the play of its forwards. Cosby-Roundtree has come a long way in the last 18 months but he’ll have to go up against several of the top big men in the country, many of whom will have several inches and 40-50 pounds on hi. And Littles, a more physical presence, was playing 15U basketball a year ago.

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16U Roster: Justin Anderson (2018/Academy New Church), Ed Croswell (2018/Math, Civics & Sciences), Samba Diallo (2018/Pope John XXIII), Joe Dignazio (2018/Haverford School), Sean Good (2018/Trinity), Corey Greer (2018/Camden), Cliff Joseph (2018/Nottingham), Maurice Murray (2018/Timber Creek), Kharon Randolph (2018/Haverford School), Sam Sessoms (2018/Shipley)

Breakdown: It'll be interesting to see how this group learns to play together over the next few months, with a good number of key players (Good, Croswell, Diallo, Sessoms) who weren't with the squad last summer. Diallo, a 6-6 wing, is an extremely intriguing prospect with a high-major upside, but he's not the only one who could see some offers coming his way this summer; Murray, a 6-5 slasher, and Sessoms, a rock-solid 5-9 point guard, both look well on the path towards D-I territory, and the 6-11 Good already has a Penn State offer in his pocket.