The Ultimate Tournament of Champions Guide

For the past 25 years, the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions has thrilled a basketball-hungry area with future basketball stars at the college and the professional level.

When someone says Tournament of Champions, what do you think? I harken back to Alonzo Mourning, Todd Day, Anthony Peeler and even as recent as guys like Erving Walker, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall.

So, I’ve taken the time to put together the most comprehensive and interactive guide for this year’s T of C. This way, not only can you marvel at their skill, but be up on their background and be able to sound smarter when talking to total strangers in the concession line.

If you missed our post on the schedule, with a pairings, click here.

DE LA SALLE INSTITUTE (CHICAGO, ILL.)

School’s athletic website
Current record: 11-0
Last year: 19-7, Illinois AAAA sectionalist

The Stud

Mike Shaw, a 6-8 senior forward
Rivals rank: No. 58 overall, No. 9 power forward
College commitment: Illinois
Other schools that offered: DePaul, Marquette, Notre Dame, West Virginia

Shaw is a skilled big man, meaning he has guard skills? Why? He grew late and already has the ballhandling skills and shooting skills. Once he grew into his body, he became a versatile manchild. He shook off scholarship offers from more prestigious national schools to stay at home and help Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini.

Here is what Rivals.com’s Jerry Meyer writes about Shaw:

Both a physical and skilled forward, Shaw is a matchup problem with his ability to produce inside as well as make plays facing the basket. He has a feel for passing the ball, and defensively he has the versatility to defend multiple positions.

Here’s a story about Shaw and his De La Salle teammates from last season. It gives you some context into his skills as player.

For a YouTube highlight package, here is some of Shaw”s handiwork:

The rest of the team

After rumors that 6-7 stud guard Dre Hensley, who has offers from DePaul, Illinois, Iowa State and Southern Illinois, has transferred, he has popped up in box scores. He’s a late-blooming game-changer. Plus, the team has two other stud sophomores in Alex Foster, a 6-foot-7 forward who already has scholarship offers from DePaul, Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue, and 6-2 guard Jaylon Tate.

The Chicago Sun-Times ranks them as the No. 3 team in Chicago, and, the team has its own Facebook page. Smart.

DOUGLASS HS (OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA)

What looks to be an up-to-date MaxPreps page
Current record: 7-3
Last year’s state champions, 29-0

This team is going to be fun. First of all, notice how the Trojans didn’t lose a game last year. And next, they have a ton of college talent.

The studs

Dorrian Williams, 6-1 senior guard
College commitment: Missouri State
Schools that offered: North Texas and Stephen F. Austin

TAGsgf.com favorite and Rivals.com national analyst Eric Bossi writes about Williams:

Missouri State has landed a guy who should be able to step right into the Missouri Valley and contribute. He has good strength, sneaky athleticism and has turned himself into a very capable shooter from deep. His two-time defending Oklahoma state champion team lost for the first time in quite some time, but it wasn’t for lack of effort on either end of the floor. He did a terrific job of hassling 2012 four-star wing Marcus Smart from Williams.

Here is a YouTube clip of Williams:

Stephen Clark, a 5-9 sophomore guard
Rivals rank: Too young for a ranking, but would be in top 25
College commitment: Undecided

The experts say:

Clark is on many lists of the top sophomores in the entire country. He was placed on MaxPreps.com’s freshmen of the year list and is the first player mentioned when talking about Douglass, despite the amount of Division I talent on the team. For a small guy, he shoots the ball very well. He’s averaging a team-high 16.3 points. Not bad for a team that has four players that average double-figure points.

And, as you can tell from the YouTube clip below, he has a nickname — Scooter. He looks like a fan favorite in the making, because you know how the crowd rallies around the little guys.

The rest of the team

The rest of Douglass is pretty impressive. 6-7 twins Ramond and Romond Jenkins are being recruited by a handful of D-I schools — many of them the same. SPS AD Mark Fisher said Missouri State and Mizzou are in on Romond, who averages 12 points and 8 rebounds per game. Then, if you add in 6-foot senior guard Devonte Smith, who is being recruited by Southeast Missouri State and UMKC, you have a solid five of future college players. Plus, with Williams having already committed to Missouri State, Douglass is the clubhouse leader for fan favorite.

LaVERNE LUTHERAN (Cal.)

Current record: 2-2
Last year: State champions, 28-8

LaVerne Lutheran is a good basketball team with two bonafide studs. But the most compelling story about the team has to do with last year’s squad. And you might have heard of this on CNN or any other national news aggregator, about a month ago After senior Xavier Jones collapsed during practice, LaVerne head coach Eric Cooper performed CPR on Jones, which he had just learned thanks to a CPR tutorial IPhone application. Crazy stuff. Here’s a recent feature on the team, too.

But back to basketball. LaVerne has four D-I kids on the team, two which are going to play at Arizona.

The studs

Grant Jerrett, a 6-7 junior forward
Rivals rank: No. 15 overall, No. 5 power forward
College commitment: Arizona
Other schools that offered: California, Oregon State, Arizona State, Gonzaga, UCLA and USC.

ESPN says the following about Jerrett:

Jerrett is a rangy hybrid 4-man that is improving at an alarming rate. He has terrific length, broad shoulders with very long arms, and soft hands. He is a good athlete that possesses solid bounce and his frame is beginning to fill out. He can step out and shoot the 3-point shot with consistency and he is quite potent in the mid-range area. His footwork is very polished for someone of his youth and he can score effectively with either hand in the paint area. Defensively, he is a solid defender with nice timing (shot blocker) in the paint area.

Here is YouTube footage of Jerrett:

Eric Cooper, Jr., 6-2 sophomore guard
ESPN.com rank: No. 92 overall, No. 19 shooting guard
College commitment: Arizona
Bio note: He’s the son of LaVerne Lutheran coach Eric Cooper, who played at Arizona for Lute Olson in 1985.

ESPN.com writes this about Cooper:

Cooper, due to his sinewy frame, is one of the more intriguing combo-guard prospects in the west coast class of 2013. He has very long arms, big hands, and huge feet, but it’s too early to determine how bouncy and quick he’ll get. He is more of a scorer at this stage and he loves to attack the paint area, but he is a willing passer. He struggles scoring in traffic at this time, but that should improve each and every season as his body matures. His jump shot has improved in the past year and he has range out to the stripe. In addition, he has a pretty impressive mid-range game, considering his youth.

C.J. Cooper, 6-0 senior point guard
College commitment: UTEP
Schools that offered: Montana State, San Diego State and SMU

As good as Jerrett and Cooper, Jr. are, C.J. Cooper — the nephew of coach Cooper — is regarded as his area’s top HS player. He’s a heady scorer and gutty leader that plays bigger than he actually is.

The rest of the team

LaVerne has another D-I player, 6-1 senior guard Bruce English (Loyola Marymount) who is a nice combo guard, as well as Ivy School recruited Xavier Jones and 6-2 guard Kevin Payne, who recently lost his father. LaVerne is the first California team in T of C history, by the way.

GREATER ATLANTA CHRISTIAN (Norcross, GA)

School’s athletic Web site
Current record: 7-2
Last year: State champion, 32-1

The studs

Malcolm Brogdon, 6-5 senior guard
Rivals rank: No. 102 overall, No. 26 shooting guard
College commitment: Virginia
Other schools that offered: Arkansas, Butler, Clemson, East Carolina, Georgia, Harvard, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Providence, Tulane, Vanderbilt, VCU and Wichita State.

ESPN.com wrote the following about Brogdon:

Brogdon is a high percentage shooter that has added the ability to attack off the dribble as a dimension of his game. He is also improving his overall athleticism which allows him to defend multiple positions. Brogdon received a lot of attention as a catch and shoot 2-guard; he has good size, a strong build and showed a big-time stroke from behind the arc. He handles it well enough in the open floor to be a secondary handler versus pressure. He is a worker on the defensive end that is fundamentally sound and rebounds his position.

Here is some great YouTube footage of Brogdon (and teammate Paul Dawson):

A.J. Davis, 6-6 sophomore forward
ESPN.com rank: No. 47, No. 26 small forward
College commitment: None yet
Bio fun fact: Father is former NBA player Antonio Davis

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. wrote the following about Davis:

A wonderful athlete who showed he could snare the rebound, start the break and finish on the other end with his athletic speed. Davis is a skilled player despite his age and very active on both ends of the floor. He is the son of former NBA star Antonio Davis and should get taller as he matures.

The rest of the team

Cole Hobbs, a 6-5 junior guard, has been recruited by Northwestern and Rice and point guard Paul Dawson, has been recruited by Ivy League schools. Last year’s 32 wins represents the most in one season in team history.

OAK RIDGE MILITARY ACADEMY (N.C.)

Team’s MaxPreps Page
Current record: 17-2
Last year: 30-10

Behold the power of ORMA, which might have the most loaded roster in this year’s T of C field. How about six seniors who will play Division I hoops, as well as two stud juniors and the No. 3 freshman in the country. On paper, they’re as talented as any team in T of C history. Let’s break them down individually.

The studs

Chris Jones, 5-10 senior guard
Rivals.com rank: 39th nationally, 10th point guard
College commitment: Tennessee
Other schools that recruited Jones: Marquette, Memphis, Mississippi, Mississippi State

Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi wrote the following recently about Jones:

There are guys who talk about playing without fear, Jones goes out and does it. Although he’s only 5-foot-10, he is strongly built and loves to play physical in your face style. He got to the rim at will and then sacrificed his body, or he pulled up and canned tough, contested jumpers. Few in the class of 2011 can finish through contact better than the future Tennessee Volunteer. He can get a bit out of control at times, but it’s hard to question his effort and competitiveness.

Here is a YouTube clip of Jones’ handiwork:

Jacob Lawson, 6-8 senior forward
ESPN.com rank: 25th best power forward in the country
College commitment: Purdue
Other schools that offered: Georgetown, Mississippi, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. wrote this about Lawson:

Lawson is a big, active player who seems to glide down the floor and is a freak in transition usually finishing with a dunking flourish. He has a great basketball body and motor. Defensively this active youngster blocks numerous shots and goes after every attempt causing many alterations and bad misses. He rebounds like a fiend and offensively converts many of those into crowd pleasing dunks of sheer aggressiveness.

Other players that don’t carry the same national pedigree as some of the others we’ve mentioned, but have a chance to play at the next level are:

• Michael Neal, a 6-1 senior guard that chose Appalachian State over East Carolina, Elon, High Point, Old Dominion, VCU and West Virginia
• Asad Lamot, a 6-2 senior guard who is being recruited by Chattanooga, Cornell and Dartmouth.
• Ryan King, a 6-9 senior forward who is being recruited by East Carolina
• Michael Obacha, a 6-9 junior forward who is being recruited by Stanford, Charlotte and UNC-Greensboro
• Carlos Rankins, a 6-1 junior guard who is being recruited by Marquette, VCU and St. Mary’s.
• Theo Pinson, a 6-5 freshman guard, who is ranked No. 69 in the nation.

The local teams

As for the local teams, Branson, Nixa and Parkview, we’ll talk more about them as the tournament approaches. But, there’s no need to worry about them right now. You’ve got some studying to do. Go ahead, share this link with your family and friends and feel free to print this out.

It’s a great time of year.

Want to get in touch with Allen Vaughan? E-mail him at Allen@TagSGF.com. You can follow him on Twitter here or on Facebook here.