Wheeler Hosts Holiday Tournament of Champions Classic
Check out the Highlights from the TOCClassic shot by KantMiss.com at the end of the recap:
What can I say? We were treated to some great basketball during this holiday break. Wheeler High School hosted the first run of the Tournament of Champions (Marietta, GA), where some of the best of the best arrived to attempt to claim 1 of the 3 crowns of the American Bracket, FAB 4 Bracket, or the National Bracket. Nationally ranked players Javonte Smart, Nick Weatherspoon, Khavon Moore and Collin Sexton showed us why they deserved to be ranked. Some of the most memorable games were:
Day 3:
McEachern (Isaac Okoro & Sharife Cooper) vs Scotlandville (Javonte Smart)
Whitfield Academy (Isaiah Hart) vs Wheeler—or as I like to call them “The Monstars”, because they have so much talent)
Pebblebrook (Alabama commit Collin Sexton, 4-Star '18 SG JJ Smith, Xavier commit Elias Harden, 4-Star '18 PG Drue Drinnon and Auburn commit Jared Jones vs Norcross (4-Star '18 SF JoJo Toppin, 3-Star ’19 PG Kyle Sturdivant, UGA commit Rayshaun Hammonds and Louisville commit Lance Thomas)
Day 4:
McEachern (upsets) Wheeler!
The Expected:
Javonte Smart and Collin Sexton both put on a show, and neither was a disappointment. Smart showed off his high IQ, his ability to get to the basket to make tough shots, an improved shooting stroke from the outside, as well as the ability to get his teammates involved with his great passing and vision against McEachern. In the loss to McEachern, Smart pulled up and hit the go ahead 3 to put Scotlandville up 1 with 5 seconds to go. Unfortunately for Smart, his go ahead 3 would be outshined by Isaac Okoro's coast to coast off the glass floater to win McEachern the game. Smart finished the game with 16 pts, 3 rebs, 4 ast, and 3 stls, while Okoro finished the game with 22 pts on 9-14 shooting and 8 rebs.
Sexton, on the other hand showed why he is considered one of the best scorers in high school basketball. Sexton crossed up defenders with fancy crossovers, spins and behind the back moves, while using his explosiveness to get to the rim to finish through contact with tricky layups and emphatic dunks. Sexton attempted to wow the crowd with a self-assisted dunk, as he bounced the basketball off the floor and tried to finish with a reverse jam against Norcross. Unfortunately, the ball bounced out, but it was one of the greatest misses that you'll see. Collin kept reaching into his bag and pulling out move after move, as he would back down defenders on the baseline and give them the shimmy shake into the face up fade away jumper—very reminiscent of Kobe Bryant. Avery Johnson is going to have his hands full with such a talent. Sexton finished the Fab4 championship with a W against Norcross and with 32 pts on 13-19 shooting (2-4 3-pt), and 4 rebs.
Norcross’ 2019 PG Kyle Sturdivant and 2017 PG Jordan Goldwire both had big games. Sturdivant showed his ability to perform on the big stage, displaying his shooting ability from the outside and his ability to get to the rim. Not to mention that Sturdivant showed that he can defend and is not afraid to guard the other team’s best player. Sturdivant dropped 24 pts on 8-16 shooting (3-5 3-pt), 7 rebs, and 3 stls, and his teammate Jordan Goldwire dropped 20 pts on 6-12 shooting (4-7 3-pt), 3 rebs, 2 ast, and 3 stls.
The Tournament Hero:
If we didn't know his name before, 2017 unsigned PG Isaiah Hart of Whitfield Academy (GA) made sure we would NEVER forget it from here on out. Isaiah played with so much heart (no pun intended) in each of Cinderella, Whitfield Academy's games. Hart almost single-handedly willed his Whitfield team to a win as he scored 33 points (11-17 FG, 4-6 3-pt) against Nik Weatherspoon’s Velma Jackson (Mississippi) squad—Weatherspoon put up 29 points (12-23 FG) —42 points in a loss to Wheeler, and 29 points in a loss to Javonte Smart’s (26 pts, 9-16 FG, 10 rebs) Scotlandville team. Hart used his fancy bag of tricks as he would lose defenders with his crossovers as well as behind the back, abrupt stops for a pull up jumper that he made with consistency. Hart’s mid-range game very solid indeed.
Lasting Impression, The Defining Moment, Upset Alert:
McEachern teammates 2019 SG Isaac Okoro and 2019 PG Sharife Cooper provided the strongest lasting impression of the tournament. This back court combo was a force that no team could seem to handle. Cooper's handle of the ball and composure throughout the tournament were phenomenal—though he did turn the ball over at times when trying to be a little too fancy. Cooper did a great job of finding his teammates, penetrating the lane and finishing at the basket. Cooper’s size proved to be a disadvantage at times when defenders were bigger and would easily block his shot or deter Cooper from shooting. Moving forward, Cooper will have to work on his outside shooting as he was very hesitant to shoot the 3 ball even when wide open. If he does not expand that part of his game, defenders will play the pass and the drive which will make it more difficult for Cooper to score and facilitate.
Cooper’s teammate, Issac Okoro has great size, length and strength which he showed at the tournament through his drives to the basket in transition and strong dunks at the rim. There were many instances where Okoro simply muscled his way to the basket and the defender went along for the ride. Okoro seeks out contact in the lane and loves to attack in the half court set. Okoro showed that he could stroke it from the outside as well, as he dropped 25 points on 10-20 shooting (3-5 3-pt), grabbed 7 rebs and 2 blks in the upset win over nationally ranked Wheeler (GA) in the national division championship game.. Okoro’s teammate Sharife Cooper came up big vs Wheeler as he chipped in 18 pts on 6-15 shooting, 3 rebs, and 8 ast at just the right moments in the game.
A look at what the duo did together during the tournament:
Okoro: 32 pts (9-16 FG) 12 rebs, Cooper: 14 pts (5-11 FG), 3 rebs, 3 ast vs Oakridge (FL)
Okoro: 17 pts (6-11 FG) 3 rebs, Cooper: 15 pts (7-14 FG), 7 rebs, 8 ast vs Jefferson (NY)
Check out the Highlights from the TOCClassic shot by KantMiss.com
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