City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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MANHEIM -- Hundreds of AAU players competed for hours at the gigantic Spooky Nook complex on the busiest day of the Hoop Group Summer Jam Fest on Saturday. Here’s a notebook from an eventful day:

Samba Diallo/2018/NY Jayhawks
Diallo scored the final four points as the NY Jayhawks came from behind for a win Saturday morning -- though the boisterous final two almost reversed the outcome.

He slammed home a breakaway dunk to put the Jayhawks up 61-59 with five seconds left, but he was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim (though it looked like the 6-foot-8 wing was just making sure he didn’t land on anyone behind him in transition).

The technical didn’t cost his team though, as a few missed free throws and a solid defensive possession saw the Jayhawks move on in the 16U bracket.

And with the way Diallo has been playing this summer, he’s giving coaches a reason to hang around his games.

The rangy 2018 recruit has experience playing point guard and a 6-8 frame, making for a rare combination. He also has a smooth left-handed stroke and draws out defenders with a jumper they have to respect.

“I’m a little bit like every (position),” he said. “Before I was playing point guard before I started playing (with the NY Jayhawks). Here, I’m playing a lot of 2 and 3, but I can go inside. I like handling the ball and shooting and rebounding. I like doing it all.”

Diallo, a native of Senegal, is getting a lot more D-I interest lately, and that should continue if he plays like he did Saturday.

“It’s been good, it’s been crazy,” he said. “...“I am getting so many and it still feels early. Last season, I went through the whole season without getting any offers. But now, everything is fine.”

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Collin Gillespie/2017/Team Final
Gillespie’s great week came to a quick halt last Saturday when the guard was sidelined with a knee injury.

Luckily for the rising senior, he got some good news a few days later.

Gillespie received his first D-I scholarship offer from Albany. It was a welcomed sight for Gillespie, and he wants it to be the start of something.

“I was excited, but it’s only one, so I want to keep working,” he said Saturday. “I still want to get more.”

Gillespie is currently focused on getting back out on the court. His hyperextended left knee is keeping him out of games this weekend, but he is hoping to return to action next weekend when he and Team Final Black travel to Las Vegas to close out the July Live Period.

Gillespie watched from the bench Saturday morning as Team Final narrowly defeated PK Flash Elite. The 6-1 Archsbishop Wood student was Team Final Black’s best player last week, and he was scoring in bunches at a pair of Elevate Hoops events before the injury.

It seemed like with the level of play, a D-I offer was only a matter of time for Gillespie. But he said he tried to keep it off his mind.

“I really wasn’t worried about it,” Gillespie said. “I knew I just needed to keep playing. My coach was telling me to keep playing and it will eventually come.”

It came early in the week when he got a long-awaited phone call, and he’s looking to get similar calls in the coming weeks. Gillespie has also been in contact with Lafayette, Holy Cross, Brown, Maine, New Hampshire and Delaware.

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Austin Butler/2017/PK Flash Elite
In that close Team Final Black win over PK Flash Elite, one of the best all-around performances came from Butler.

A 6-5 guard, Butler did a lot for his PK Flash Elite side including scoring, shooting and defending. The 2017 recruit picked up a West Chester offer not too long ago, and he also collected his first D-I look.

Navy offered Butler after his performance at the Midshipmen’s team camp near the end of June. As a service academy, Navy differs from almost all other D-I schools, but it’s definitely an offer Butler appreciated when he got it.

A 2-guard who is comfortable running the point, Butler often made the right play on Saturday.

“I want to basically just play how I’m capable of playing,” he said of the July Live Period. “That’s doing things like moving without the ball to get open, if I’m open shoot it and if not, find my teammates.”

In addition to the West Chester offer, he also has scholarship opportunities at Wheeling Jesuit and Fairmont State -- both D-II schools in West Virginia. The 2017 recruit has been getting noticed more in the last two weeks though, and he’s trying to use the platform as well as he can.

“I’m definitely keeping my options open and seeing how the recruiting process goes,” Butler said. “...After last week I had a handful of teams reach out, a lot from the Patriot League and Ivy League. I’m hoping to get more D-I’s.”

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Quick Hits
-- An undermanned L&L Running Rebels squad looked impressive in an afternoon win over Southern Tier. With just five players, the Bethlehem-based Running Rebels led wire-to-wire and had solid offensive production from 6-1 guard Arnel Lewis (2017/Easton) and 6-7 forward Cameron Hoffman (2017/Liberty).

-- The Middlesex Magic showed it has a backcourt that stretches from future D-I player Cormac Ryan. The Belmont, Mass. team had solid play from guards Thomas Shaughnessy and Matt Donahue in a Saturday afternoon win. Shaughnessy played the role of floor general, making a handful of smart dishes in addition to a few buckets. Donahue, who is the younger brother of Penn sophomore Jackson, was one of the best shooters at Saturday’s event and connected on a few triples. They both help take the weight off of Ryan, a 2018 guard who currently has eight D-I offers.