Baltimore Select Basketball, an Adidas-sponsored AAU Basketbal Team

Baltimore Area News

June 14, 2004

The Select team wins Best of the East Championship in both the 15U & 17U brackets

The Baltimore Select/DTLR 17 under team won the Best of the Best Tournament held this past weekend at Catholic University in Washington DC with a win in the finals against First Baptist. Tournament MVP, Jermaine Bolden (Douglas HS) won Tourny MVP by being a consistent scorer throughtout the five games . Mitch Guest (Glen Burnie HS) and Edward Tyson (Walbrook HS) were both key figures in the tournament with receiving 1st Team All Tournament selection. Robbie Jackson and Nate Irby also won honors by being selected to 2nd Team All Tournament. With this tournament championship in hand, Baltimore Select has won the Best of the Best tournament in 2002 as a 16U team, 2003 as the 17U Champion & in 2004 as the 15U & 17U Champions. With the tournament championship, the Baltimore Select team heads into the BET Pro Am with a record of 11-4 and will be looking to defend its 2003 BET title.

The 15U team was led by Dante Green and the entire team. They played team ball throughout the tournament. Dante was a force to recon with in every game. He was the biggest and most athletic player on the court and they fed him the ball as much as possible. This team plays as unselfish as we have seen in years. They play great defense and pass the ball like no other team. This was a warm-up for this team so they can continue to get prepared for the AAU Nationals. There next travel event will come with Nationals and then a trip to West Virginia in mid-July.

June 1, 2004

The Select team thankful to be back from tough weekend at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions!!!

This annual tournament brings out the best travel teams and this year was no different. This years team was in the same pool as the number two ranked AAU team in the country, the New Orleans Jazz who boasts having Tasmin Micthell, who is ranked as the number one player in the Class of 2005. Last year we went went up against the team of the 2003 summer, the Atlanta Celtics. This year was no different going up against the Jazz, but the team played well, eventually loosing 84-79. That put us to 2-1 in pool play which put the team in the Select Championship Bracket. Next up is the Best of the Best Jamfest and then we defend our 2003 Championship at the BET DC Pro-Am Summer Classic at George Washington University.

Box Scores:

vs. Team Breakdown 75-69 (W)
C. Thomas DNP, B. Chestnut 10, M. Guest 22, Carroll Mitchell 9, Edward Tyson 13, Nate Irby 8, Jermaine Bolden DNP, Ryan Hourihan 11, Robbie Jackson 2, Brandon Albert DNP

vs. New Orleans Jazz 79-84 (L)
C. Thomas 3, B. Chestnut 7, M. Guest 15, Carroll Mitchell 13, Edward Tyson 15, Nate Irby 4, Jermaine Bolden 12, Ryan Hourihan 6, Robbie Jackson 4, Brandon Albert DNP

vs. NC Gators 57-43 (W)
C. Thomas 2, B. Chestnut 2, M. Guest 13, Carroll Mitchell 0, Edward Tyson 5, Nate Irby 6, Jermaine Bolden 10, Ryan Hourihan 9, Robbie Jackson 10, Brandon Albert DNP

Round of 16 Select Championship Bracket:

vs. Atlanta Celtics 62-64 OT (L)
C. Thomas 2, B. Chestnut 8, M. Guest 8, Carroll Mitchell 5, Edward Tyson 0, Nate Irby 10, Jermaine Bolden 16, Ryan Hourihan 8, Robbie Jackson 7, Brandon Albert DNP

May 30, 2004

1st Annual Bentalou Bomber 8 and under Mid-Atlantic Shootout

The Bentalou Recreation Center will hold it's 1st Annual Pre-AAU tournament on June 19th and 20th. The tournament will have some of the top AAU programs from the mid-atlantic region. Several teams have already committed to attend: Benatlou Bombers (Maryland Gold Metal Winners), Baltimore Stars (Maryland Silver Metal Winners), Metro Sixers (DC Metro Gold Metal Winners), Slam & Jam (DC Metro Silver Metal Winners), along with verbal committments from Chick Webb, Gardenville Rec Center and the Bowie Magic. If you would like more information regarding entering the tournament, you can contact Howard Jenifer @ 443-829-9274. The cost of the tournament is $200, which covers the referee's and use of the building fees. The format will be double elimination bracket play all in one gymnasium. Tickets are sold at the door for $3.00 and children under 6 are free. Deadline for entering your team is June 11th, spots are filling up and are limited.

May 31, 2004

Win Streak Snapped!!!!!!

The Bentalou Bombers win streak ends at 17-0. This weekend the team participated in the Beast of Bowie tournament where they again made it to the finals against a familar foe, the Baltimore Stars. Today in a tight game to the end, the Baltimore Stars came up on the winning side for the first time during this spring/summer. Bentalou who had taken their record for the AAU season to 17-0 with three wins to get to the tournament final lost to the Stars 28-27. Benatalou defeated the Gold Metal DC Metro AAU winners, the Metro Sixers in the semi-final meet but could not get past the Stars in the finals. Bentalou had a four game win streak against the Stars going into the Championship game. The Bombers will attempt to start a new winning streak when they begin play in the Maryland Invitational June 11-13.

May 31, 2004

Mt. Royal continues to Roll through the competition

The Mt. Royal 15 under team competed in the Memorial weekend's Beast of Bowie tournament as both 15 under and 17 under brackets. In the 17 under bracket, Mt. Royal's 15's lost 54-53 at the buzzer to the Maryland Heat in the Championship game. The team had to then turn around and play in the 15 under Championship 20 minutes later against the DC All Stars. The game went into overtime with Mt. Royal eventually pulling out a 10 point advantage as time expired.

Additional note: In the same tournament the Mt. Royal 14 under team defeated the Virginia Pride to take that age bracket Championship.

May 24, 2004

On the three beautiful campus' of the University of North Carolina, Duke University and North Carolina State University, Baltimore Select will be competing in one of the best tournaments of the spring/summer; The Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions

Roster:

Reebok/Bob Gibbons TOC Team Roster

Mitch Guest - G/Glen BurnieHS, Nate Irby- G/Dunbar HS, Edward Tyson- G/Walbrook HS, Carroll Mitchell - G/Towson Catholic HS, Jermaine Bolden- G/Douglas HS, Courtney Thomas - WF/Mt.St. Joseph HS, Ryan Hourihan - F/Calvert Hall HS, Brian Chestnut - F/Southern Md Christian Academy , Brandon Albert - F/C Glen Burnie HS, Robbie Jackson - C/Aberdeen HS

2004 "TOC" Pools and Friday Schedule

2004 "TOC" Saturday/Sunday Schedule

2004 results - Results will be posted Tuesday June 1, 2004

May 15, 2004

High School standouts, Smith and Telfair sign with Adidas

By Darren Rovell

ESPN.com

Less than two weeks after signing New York City high school standout Sebastian Telfair, Adidas has inked an endorsement deal with another high profile high school player, Josh Smith.

Adidas signed Smith to a six-year deal that guarantees him about $12 million, but could eventually be worth upwards of $20 million, sources told ESPN.com. Telfair signed an incentive-laden, six-year contract with the same shoe company that could equal Smith's guaranteed money. "We think we now have the two gems in this year's NBA draft," Adidas spokesman Travis Gonzolez said. "Josh is more of an unknown than Sebastian is, but it's our job to help get him out there."

Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward from Smyrna, Ga., is among the most athletic players in this year's draft class. Scouts have marveled at his vertical leap and rim-rocking dunks.

"The dunk is the most exciting play in basketball and it definitely helps sell shoes," Smith's agent, Wallace Prather, said. In his senior season, Smith averaged 23 points, eight rebounds and five blocks for Oak Hill Academy, which finished the season with a 38-0 record. The school's alumni include the Denver Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony and the Washington Wizards' Jerry Stackhouse.

Smith wore adidas shoes on his AAU team, the Atlanta Celtics, which also featured potential No. 1 overall pick Dwight Howard. He had signed a letter of intent with Indiana, but instead decided to enter the draft and sign with Prather and his partner Brian Dyke. Adidas has been the most aggressive in what some consider a potential draft class that's thin on dynamic personalities. Telfair is perhaps the most outspoken, while Smith is known to reserve his flash for when he's on the court. After playing in three postseason high school all-star games, it appeared as though Smith's stock in the draft and the marketing world could drop. He only averaged 11.6 points a game in games known for the their lack of defense. But Smith was 12-for-18 from the field and scored 27 points in 33 minutes to lead Team USA past a World Select quad at the Nike Hoop Summit held in San Antonio. Smith has been projected to be a mid-to-late lottery pick in the draft, depending on what team picks where. Some scouts are still wary of Smith's shot, which could cause his stock to slide a bit.

With Telfair and Smith now signed to shoe deals, the hottest prospect in the shoe wars who remains unsigned is Shaun Livingston.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at Darren.rovell@espn3.com

May 10, 2004

North Carolina is the next stop for the Select Team

After taking time off due to the Maryland AAU Tournament, the team will be getting prepared for the yearly trek to the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina. The TOC has always been one of the challenging tournamaments over the spring/summer. It is sure to be the same this year. The tournament will be held as always on Memorial weekend May 28-30 at UNC, NC State and Duke. The team has fared well during the past few years, except for last years tourny when we ran into the "Team of the Summer" - The Atlanta Celtics.

May 9, 2004

Mount Royal dominates Maryland National AAU's

Carlton Carrington's Mount Royal team started the championships when they defeated Severna Park in overtime to take the 11 under Maryland Nationals.

Mount Royal's 14 under team defeated the Baltimore Stars, another overtime game, led by Jaman Briscoe with 33 points in the chapionship game.

Mount Royal's 15 under team defeated the Baltimore Stars 60-53. Mount Royalmade every free throw attempted in the 4th quarter. Donte Green and Eric Brooks stepped up their game due to the team being short handed with two starters, Malcolm Dulaney and Desmond Thomas, being out with injuries.

Mount Royal's 17 under team won a close one against Team Baltimore 56-55. Carroll Mitchell hit a big three pointer with the team being down by 4 with 30 seconds to go. Down 1 with 9 seconds, Nate Irby penetrated the lane and missed the floater but fights to get the rebound and knocks down the put back as time expired.

The Select 19U team runs out of gas against Cecil Kirk

With a little over 5 minutes left in the game down 3 the 19 under Select team made some crucial mistakes which allowed Cecil Kirk led by Rudy Gay and Sam Young to extend that 3 pt lead into an 8 point lead. Select was led by Justin Drummond and Brandon Albert, Select tried theri best to close the lead but came up short 83-77. Select had the halftime lead 37-32 and took an early 9 pt lead early in the second half. After a beating by the hands of Cecil Kirk a week earlier, the Select team was deternined to show that they were a better team. Both programs qualify for the 19 under Nationals held June 9-14 in Greensboro, NC.

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