The last grassroots event in the State of Michigan for 2015, the Michigan Mustang Summer Showdown brought together a solid collection of talent for coaches of all levels to evaluate.
Horse Power
The 17u Mustangs were the only host team to capture a platinum championship. With 6’10” Michigan bound center Austin Davis playing on-and-off throughout the weekend, 6’2″ scoring guard Corey Allen was the spark the Mustangs needed. Allen could be penciled in for at least 15 points on any given game, and stepped up his performances in bracket play with the loss of 6’7″ small forward Ty Groce with a knee injury.
Two former Michigan high school standouts made their return to the state worthwhile, 6’3″ wing Jaire Grayer and big man Al Eichelberger. The two left for prep schools at the conclusion of the 2013-2014 school year. Grayer was the compliment to the scoring of Allen, as he was efficient with his shots, and was a strong perimeter defender. While Eichelberger provided an offense low-post presence needed to allow for spacing Allen and Grayer could operate with.
Don’t Call It An Upset
For the second consecutive weekend, 16u GreenWood Elite has defeated a national power, Indy Hoosiers at the Adidas Invitational, and then Mustangs-Allison, a team with less than five losses on the year. It is extremely hard to beat a team twice in the same tournament. GreenWood Elite took a 61-29 shaming on opening night to the very same Mustang-Allison team without 6’8″ star forward Xavier Tillman. Then won six straight including against the Mustangs in the championship game with Tillman on the block for the platinum title.
After holding off a tough 16u Mustang-Watts team in the semi-final, GreenWood executed a perfect game-plan to take down the host Mustangs. With eight team three-pointers, limited turnovers, and strong interior defense, GreenWood Elite 16u was able to achieve the programs first platinum championship on any level in the inaugural year for the organization.
It comes even sweeter for GreenWood’s Malik Ellison, Christian Rodriguez, and Levan Blake, who all played for the very same Mustang-Allison team one year ago.
Rodriguez and Ellison were close to flawless sharing the point guard responsibilities, and Blake used his length to bother Tillman all game long, limiting the high-major division I recruit to 10 points.
However, a Texan made his impact on the game. 6’2″ guard BJ Simmons, from Grand Prairie, Texas connected on four triples in the win, and set the tone early that this was not going to be Friday night’s game.
Team Harris Runs Through Michigan’s Best
One of the few non-Michigan teams in attendance, Team Harris went a perfect 6-0 en route to the 15u platinum tournament championship. A team sponsored by former Michigan State Spartan current Denver Nugget, Team Harris went through three of the state’s best in bracket play, GreenWood Elite, Mustangs-Vallar, and then Mustangs-Faletti in the final. Team Harris doesn’t have a single-superstar, nor do they jump out of the gym, they are a well-coached team that takes advantage of opponents deficiencies and capitalizes. Eric Hunter had a team-high 12 points in the championship.
The Prep Ball Report 
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