The Atlanta Celtics were missing three of their top players for the Grassroots Basketball of America South Regional final at Norcross High School last weekend, but were able to pull out the victory over a talented Team Breakdown for the championship.
Derrick Favors (the nation’s top center), who played sparingly in the team’s Saturday action, was held out of the final with an undisclosed injury, and Noel Johnson of Fayette County and Terrence Shannon of Mary Persons were fulfilling basketball obligations elsewhere. The Celtics, as a result, had to rely on the services of Trae Golden (McEachern), Manny Atkins (Tucker), Andre Malone (North Clayton), Robert Chubb (McIntosh), and LaQuinton Ross (a temporary pickup from Mississippi). Team Breakdown (Fl.) was headlined by top-10 guards Brandon Knight (Class of 2010) and Kenny Boynton (2009).
The Celtics lost their first game of the weekend in pool play, in a sluggish performance against the Birmingham Storm and top center DeMarcus Cousins. They defeated the Franchize All-Stars and Team Florida to reach the Sunday quarterfinals, and defeated the Memphis Magic and the Storm to advance to the championship. The Worldwide Renegades, another talented team out of Atlanta, also reached the semifinals.
The GBOA South Regional, in its first year, featured 16 teams from as far away as Arkansas, Texas and Virginia, and saw numerous top recruits take the court over the weekend. As tournament champions, the Celtics will travel to Chicago in August to take on the winners of the West, North and East Regionals in the GBOA Tournament of Champions.
GUEST COACH
However the Celtics got their mojo back after losing their first game, it couldn’t have hurt to have Atlanta Hawks star Josh Smith on the bench. Smith was a member of one of the most talented amateur basketball outfits to ever hit the hardwood, playing for the Celtics back in his high school days with the likes of Randolph Morris and Dwight Howard under legendary coach Wallace Prather.
“We had one of the best teams in AAU history,” Smith said. “It was fun just to get away from high school basketball and see where you stand at in the world, talent-wise. It was a good learning experience. I had fun and I cherished every moment of it.”
Smith, who sat inconspicuously on the bench with the team throughout the tournament, said he helps mentor the young players currently on the team. “I just give them advice on some of the things that I had to encounter, and just different things that I see in their games that I struggled with at that point in time.”
“[Smith] helps us out,” Favors said. “He just tells us to keep playing hard.”
NO OFFSEASON
With the talent that comes together at an event like the GBOA South Regional, players can polish their games against the nation’s best. The Worldwide Renegades’ Mfon Udofia, who was one of the most impressive players at the tournament, said he tries to set up his teammates and run an efficient offense.
“In the summer circuit we all come together, so I just try to be a leader on the floor,” he says. The lefty from Miller Grove plays with four players from Wheeler – Tahj Tate, Richard Howell, Ari Stewart and Phil Taylor – and says he just tries to fit in among all the other top talents.
Renegades coach Tyrone Riley says that his goal is to encourage competition among teammates, and to give them a taste of what basketball will be like on the next level.
“You look at these kids, they have the size and the depth of a college team,” he says, “but right now we have to get into how hard college teams play, and how much talent that the next guy has that will step up in your spot if you’re not ready to play.”
Smith credited playing summer basketball with the Celtics with helping him develop his game as a youngster.
“It definitely helped me a lot,” he says. “You see guys that are ranked in the nation’s best in the game. Now you got guys from Europe and China and Africa that are coming over and playing on AAU teams, so you get to put yourself with the best in the world. When you get back to high school basketball, it’s kind of easy-breezy.”
Ewalt can be reached at aewalt@scoreatl.com.
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