Kentucky Sports Radio

The games heated up a bit more yesterday, with the tournament hitting the sweet sixteen and rosters providing key matchups. Kyrie Irving’s NJ Roadrunners took on the loaded Boo Williams roster. Adreian Payne’s All Ohio Red’s ran away against the Old Gold Dream Team and, later in the day, I had the opportunity to get a look at Jeremy Lamb of the Georgia Stars. All that and a bit more will be included in today’s update from the AAU National’s in Orlando:

- Jeremy Lamb showed that he is an athletic guard with extremely long arms. He always looked to push the ball forward in transition and knocked down a corener three with a pretty quick release. He sometimes lost his handles in the paint and wasn’t a lock down defender but he was a dey player in getting his Georgia Stars to the next round. After the game, I talked to the soon-to-be senior from Norcross, GA and asked him if there was any connection between himself and former Norcross and Kentucky Star, Jodie Meeks. “Nah, I’ve talked to him a couple of times, but I don’t really know him,” he answered. Jeremy’s recruitment really hit a head when he exploded at the Peach Jam this summer, and that’s something that he noticed as well, saying “Last year, when we came here, there was nobody at our games, but this year, there’s a lot of people here.” The recent interest has really came on quick and Jeremy, who didn’t even start last year for his high school team, is just now trying to take it all in and see where everyone stands. “It really all just kind of happened.” Some of the big schools that have recently jumped on board include Utah, Clemson, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Indiana. Lamb claims offers from all of those schools. With the recent jolt in his recruitment, Jeremy plans on waiting until the end of the summer to really step back and take a look at where he stands. He still hasn’t narrowed it down and Jeremy believes that it might be quite a task when the time comes, explaining, “I haven’t narrowed it down yet. Its a hard decision, I mean, I have over 30 offers right now.” Jeremy  is a prime example of how quick things can changes for kids who have great summers on the AAU circuit.

- Kyrie Irving tried with everything he had but, in the end, the super talented Boo Williams team was just a little bit too much for Kyrie’s NJ Roadrunners. 2012’s Justin Anderson, who showed some super athleticism, did a nice job of trying to stop the K-train but Kyrie usually has his way. 2010 UNC commit, Kendall Marshall, led the Boo team and dished out some prolific passes, including a long transition pass that John Elway would have been proud of. Andre Dawkins, Duke’s 2010 or possibly 2009 commit, knocked down some threes and got a couple old-fashioned three pointers. While Coach Robic was probably impressed with Kyrie’s skills, the rest of the NJ Roadrunners were full of heart but just didn’t have the skill to compete with their opponents.

- Adreian Payne’s All Ohio Red squad absolutely rolled over the Old Gold Dream Team that had knocked Tobias Harris’ Albany City Rocks from the tourney. They had a 20 point lead by the end of the first quarter. From there, the game turned into a bit of a dunk fest and Adreian was surely not going to be left out. While in transition, he followed a missed layup by a teammate with a “bringing down the house” two handed slam. Adreian’s height, length and athleticism are what the UK staff has to covet most. On a side note, All Ohio’s 16U team also won their tournament and the odds of them getting the 17U title are pretty good as well.

- Doron Lamb’s NY Gauchos may be the best competition, aside from Boo Williams, for the All Ohio team. Doron helped his team in the scoring department by getting to the basket or the line. While I type this, I’m watching the Gauchos secure a 20 point lead at the half in their Elite 8 matchup with Houston Hoops, who are by no means lacking in the talent department. It looks like the Gauchos and All Ohio may be meeting again in the semifinals, and that game could act as a championship for their rivalry. Shane Southwell, who by the way said that he is still getting mild interest from the Cats, said that his group of players currently hold a 2-2 record with the All Ohio Red players and look forward to settling the score. Both teams are on the fast track to getting that opportunity.

- Back to Shane, Mr. Southwell is a lengthy wing with a good frame. He says that he enjoys playing the point forward type of game but he translates to more of a wing on the next level. One Big East assistant raved on his skill set during a completely different game.  Kansas is also trying to get involved and Southwell already claims offers from South Carolina, St. Josephs, Marquette, Providence and Xavier. Like I said before, the interest level from UK is currently what Southwell describes as “mild,” but they are still showing some interest. I asked him about his interest in Kentucky and he said, “Its Kentucky. That’s like the best basketball school in the country and now, with Calipari….c’mon.“

Today is my last day in Orlando and the action continues to heat up as we move from the Elite 8 to the Final 4 of the 17U division. All Ohio Red, the NY Gauchos, Georgia Stars and Boo Williams are the teams I’ll watch today and I’ll keep you guys updated through my twitter with all the action.