Wednesday, October 31, 2012

TROY WILLIAMS COMMITS TO INDIANA UNIVERSITY - ALL-MET ELITE

TROY WILLIAMS
 COMMITS
TO
 INDIANA UNIVERSITY 
 ALL-MET ELITE
HAMPTON VA.
 
Small forward Troy Williams – one of the nation’s most athletic wing players.
Williams, a 6-foot-7 player from Hampton, Va., who is spending his senior year across the state at Oak Hill Academy, was impressed with IU during an official visit to the school last weekend and felt like a top priority of Hoosiers coach Tom Crean.
“This is all Tom Crean because there’s not many people who could come here and recruit against (North) Carolina and get a kid from this area,” said Boo Williams, Troy’s uncle and AAU coach. “(Crean) made a commitment early in the process that this was his guy … and it was a great decision by Coach Crean.”
Williams is ranked as the nation’s No. 37 player by Rivals.com and No. 42 by Scout.com, and he becomes the highest-ranked player in the Hoosiers’ five-man class.
He excels at slashing to the basket from the wing and finishing above the rim in transition. He’s one of high school basketball’s best dunkers. He’s also an aggressive rebounder.
“He’s kind of like a home-run hitter,” Boo Williams said. “He’s going to have big dunks and big plays, and I think Coach Crean will have some things he needs to work on. But he’s an exciting guy to see play.
He added with a laugh: “… When he hits it, he hits it far. When strikes out, he strikes out far.”
Boo Williams said a year at Oak Hill will advance his nephew’s physical and mental development.
Boo Williams, who coaches the legendary Hampton-based AAU club that’s named after him, said Troy Williams will be the first player in the 30 years of his program to play for IU, and Williams said Oak Hill coach Steve Smith told him he’s never had a Hoosiers player either.
But Troy Williams was attracted to playing for a program that wanted him so much.
Williams’ commitment comes days after the Hoosiers were ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 – more good news for a program that’s surging after the nadir of the post-Kelvin Sampson era.
“Look at what they were five years ago,” Boo Williams said. “Crean really has that program headed in the right direction. Academically, the strength coach, the staff, there’s no crack in the foundation. Plus, he’s got a good team.”
Williams picked the Hoosiers over North Carolina, where he visited the weekend of Oct. 12, and also liked Louisville a lot, Boo Williams said.
U of L already has four commitments for the 2013 class, so the Cardinals likely have filled their available spots.
Troy Williams had been expected to not make a college commitment until the spring, Boo Williams said, but that changed as he realized in the last week that IU was the place for him. He’ll sign with the Hoosiers next month.
Crean’s pursuit of Williams was evident on Thursday, when attended Big Ten Media Day in Chicago that morning and afternoon, then flew to Virginia to watch Oak Hill’s scrimmage against Hargrave Military Academy in Danville, Va., that evening. He was the only head coach recruiting Williams to attend the game.
During the spring Williams was strongly considering an offer from the University of Kentucky and narrowly his list to UK and UNC, saying a commitment to one or the other was imminent.
However, that spring decision was postponed, and the Wildcats are not thought to have been recruiting Williams since at least early summer.
Williams becomes the fifth member of IU’s 2013 class, joining Stanford Robinson, Luke Fischer, Devin Davis and Collin Hartman.

TY LAWSON / DENVER NUGGETS NEW DEAL - ALL-MET ELITE

TY LAWSON 
 DENVER NUGGETS AGREE
TO
NEW DEAL 
 ALL-MET ELITE
OAK HILL ACADEMY
 
Ty Lawson has signed a four-year, $48 million extension with the Denver Nuggets. The deal eliminates a distraction that's been hanging over the team and its star point guard for weeks.
''It Looks like im going to be a nugget for another 4 yrs..Thanks to the Kronke family, Masai, nuggets fans and everybody 4 believing In me'' Lawson tweeted before the team flew to Philadelphia on Tuesday for its season opener Wednesday night.
A team spokesman told The Associated Press after the team's arrival in Philadelphia that Lawson had signed his extension. The Denver Post reported the deal was worth $48 million.
Lawson averaged 16.4 points and almost seven assists last season, his first as a starter. Since jumping from to the NBA in 2009 after leading North Carolina to the NCAA championship, he's averaged 12 points and 4.8 assists.
 
 
 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

NATE BRITT - OAK HILL PRE SEASON SCRIMMAGE - ALL-MET ELITE

NATE BRITT 
 OAK HILL ACADEMY
PRESEASON SCRIMMAGE 
ALL-MET ELITE
COURTESY OF THE
MARSREEL
 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

THOMAS ROBINSON DUNKS ON DWIGHT HOWARD - ALL-MET ELITE

THOMAS ROBINSON
DUNKS ON
DWIGHT HOWARD
ALL-MET ELITE
RIVERDALE BAPTIST HS.
UPPER MARLBORO MD.
 

NIKE ZOOM KD V - ALL-MET ELITE

NIKE ZOOM
KD V 
 ALL-MET ELITE
MONTROSE CHRISTIAN HS.
RCKVILLE MD.
 
 
 The Nike Zoom KD V ‘DMV’ was crafted as a tribute to Kevin Durant’s homeland, the often lumped in together trio of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia-with KD hailing from the first of those three. The sneakers feature a bright crimson upper serving up an homage to the Maryland state flag, and the overall design of the sneaker as the fifth in the KD line being significant as well.
 

NIKE UNVEILING THE KD V - ALL-MET ELITE

NIKE
UNVEILING THE
KD V
ALL-MET ELITE
MONTROSE CHRISTIAN HS.
ROCKVILLE MD.
 
 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Nike I-95 Posite Max “Metallic Gold” - ALL-MET ELITE

Nike I-95 Posite Max “Metallic Gold” 
 ALL-MET ELITE
 
 
The Nike I-95 Posite Max has popped up, paying tribute to the DMV area that so often likes to claim the Foam craze. The pair takes the familiar shape of the Nike Flightposite and slides an air bubble across the bottom, with this initial colorway being a not-so-gaudy metallic gold.
 
 

Nike Zoom KD V “DMV” Teaser - ALL-MET ELITE

Nike Zoom KD V “DMV” Teaser
ALL-MET ELITE
 
With this teaser that just popped up promising to pay homage to his Washington DC area roots as well through his fifth Nike sig. The details are pretty obscured by the lights out photo, with what appears to be a reddish hue hitting on the tongue and some bright green on the outsole. Click through to check out the full teaser shot of this upcoming Nike Zoom KD V release see the unveiling of the sneaker on the October 23rd date Durant referenced in his teaser.

 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

RODDY PETERS COMMITS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND - ALL-MET ELITE

RODDY PETERS
COMMITS
TO THE
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 
 ALL-MET ELITE
SUITLAND HS.
SUITLAND MD.
"I wanted to go there since I was younger," Peters (Suitland, Md./Suitland) said. "I've always been a Maryland fan since Juan Dixon. Then when [assistant coach] Dalonte Hill came, it was like family. I'm grateful and I'm happy."
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior's ascension into the ESPN 100 began in the spring. At that time, he was a scorer before transforming his game into that of a point guard. By mid-July, Peters was a coveted lead guard and a priority recruit for most the schools on his list. However, the relationship with Maryland was complicated.
"I felt that I was still getting recruited by other schools and I could go somewhere I could be happy," Peters said. "When [the Harrisons] decided to go to Kentucky, I knew that was a blessing that it was my time right there."
Helping Maryland hold its pitch to the D.C. Assault point guard together was Hill, a former D.C. Assault player himself.
"Roddy will be the first D.C. Assault player to ever go to Maryland," Assault coach Damon Handon said. "D.C. Assault has existed for 18 years."
Former Maryland coach Gary Williams had a contentious relationship with the travel team and Peters is a local trailblazer by committing to the Terps.
"I love Maryland fans, and I know when I get there it'll be my time to shine," he said. "When I went to the game and watched Juan Dixon as a kid, the fans where rowdy, and I liked the way [the team] played. Getting to stay local and having fans from the area see me play, I can't really ask for anything better than that."
Peters averaged 25 points and seven assists as a junior. He and Damonte Dodd (Centreville, Md./Massanutten) are the two current members of Mark Turgeon's 2013 recruiting class.
 

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Seth Allen adjusts to life as a Maryland Univ.basketball player - ALL-MET ELITE

Seth Allen adjusts to life as a
Maryland Univ.basketball player 
 ALL-MET ELITE
FREDERICKSBURG CHRISTIAN HS.
FREDERICKSBURG VA.
 
College Park, Md. – Seth Allen of Woodbridge was an explosive offensive player in high school and took just 42 games to score 1,000 points during his time at Fredericksburg Christian.
But Allen’s improvement on defense in the last few weeks has caught the attention of Mark Turgeon, his new head coach at the University of Maryland.
“Seth Allen is a big-time athlete and can really score the basketball. But he is a better defender than I expected,” Turgeon said of Allen, a freshman guard for the Terps who is days away from the start of practice for his first college season.
How has Allen gotten better since summer workouts?
“Defense. I am way better defender than I was,” Allen said during Maryland’s annual media day here late Tuesday afternoon at the Comcast Center. “Coach stresses the more you play defense the more you play. Defense gets you on the court. I took more pride in it. I put more effort into it. High school was more about offense. Here it is more about defense  or you don’t play.”
Allen was rated as the No. 42 shooting guard in the country by ESPN and the seventh-best player in Virginia coming out of high school. He averaged 20 points, five assists and four rebounds per game as a senior at Fredericksburg Christian.
Allen was the first player to commit to Maryland under Turgeon, who took over the Terps from Gary Williams prior to the 2011-12 season.
Now Allen is a few weeks into his first fall semester in College Park. The Terps were 17-15 last season.
“The biggest adjustment is probably the schoolwork and staying ahead of the schoolwork, and basketball practice and working out every day,” he said. “You have to get used to it.”
Allen was mostly a shooting guard in high school but figures to be used more as a point guard for Maryland.
“In high school I preferred the two but I understand I have to play the one here,” he said. “It is different. I am getting more used to it. By November I should have it down.”
“It has been difficult to change from the two to the one. The intensity is way harder. Your heart is beating faster. You have to calm yourself down and play. At first it was (tough). I am getting used to it,” he added.
The Terrapins begin regular-season play Nov. 9 against defending champion Kentucky at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Barclays Center is the new home of the Brooklyn Nets.
“I am most excited for theKentuckygame, being able to play with all the fans and representingWoodbridgeandMaryland,” Allen said
Maryland returns junior guard Pe’Shon Howard, who had 52 assists in 14 games last year but missed several games due to an ankle and foot injury last season.
“Playing time is really up to coach Turgeon,” Allen said. “I have to try my best and work hard and help my teammates.”
Allen said his pull-up jumper is probably the most improved part of his game.
“I am very explosive and I want to get to the rim but I know you can’t (always) do that in the ACC. Guys will slide over and take the charge,” he said.
Turgeon used the term “world-class athlete” when referring to Allen on Tuesday.
“That is crazy. I don’t look like the guy that is athletic,” Allen said. “That is good for me. I jump with the big guys in practice every day.”
Allen is the youngest of four children and the son of Joe and Deborah Allen. His father played running back at Arizona State University and his brother Brandon played basketball at Mount Olive in North Carolina. Allen, who played two years at Fredericksburg Christian after transferring there from Hylton, picked the Terps due to the coaching staff and the school’s location near his family.
“At 6-1 he can really cover a lot of ground,” Turgeon said of Allen. “He has really good body control. He gets in the passing lanes. That is what I was impressed with.”
 

JUSTIN ANDERSON'S COLLEGE TRANSITION STARTS WITH DEFENSE - ALL-MET ELITE

JUSTIN ANDERSON'S
COLLEGE TRANSITION
STARTS WITH DEFENSE
ALL-MET ELITE
MONTROSE CHRISTIAN HS
ROCKVILLE MD.
 
Justin Anderson entered the University of Virginia with a body frame unlike many freshmen the Cavaliers have ever had.
The Westmoreland County native stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 226 pounds.
He has added even more muscle since he arrived on the Cavaliers’ campus in June and began working with strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis.
“The physicality, God blessed me with,” Anderson said Wednesday. “I’m so happy I have that because that’s one less thing I have to worry about on the college level.”
So with strength and athleticism taken care of, Anderson has moved on to other concerns on the basketball court—such as learning Virginia coach Tony Bennett’s “pack-line” defense.
The Cavaliers will begin practice for the upcoming season Friday. Anderson joined them on a European tour that helped them bond over the summer.
“It’s all concepts that I’ve heard before,” Anderson said. “The most difficult thing a lot of freshmen have to adjust to is staying low, staying active, not resting on the opposite side [of the ball] and also anticipating. It’s something you may not have to do in high school because you get away with being lazy on the opposite side. But if you’re lazy on the backside here, you may get a lob thrown over your head and a dunk for two points.”
He said the challenge for the coaching staff is to “let Justin be Justin.” He doesn’t want the high expectations of fans to cause coaches to rush his progress. Anderson, who played for Courtland High School’s junior varsity team as an eighth-grader, was a highly touted prospect out of Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Md. He was once considered the top-ranked eighth-grader in the country.
“If I could do it over again, sometimes I wish I didn’t get the spotlight that I had because that could hurt you a little bit,” he said. “Sometimes your head starts to get big and sometimes you may not be able to control it and you let that push over into not working on your game as hard. I got hit by that bug.”
Anderson initially orally committed to Maryland as a junior, but changed his mind after veteran coach Gary Williams retired.
After the early hype and dramatic recruiting process, Anderson said he’s finally ready to get to work.
McKay said he has proved to be a “relentless worker” who is “very coachable.” He said that once Anderson learns the pack-line, the sky’s the limit.

“The kid is so engaging. He’s so genuine,” McKay said. “He’s very easy to root for and he’s going to have a long, successful tenure at U.Va. Obviously there are heightened expectations, and I think it’s really hard to tell how he’ll do in his first year, especially in [the Atlantic Coast Conference]. But if there is someone that can get it done, it’s Justin.”
 

JOSH HART - COMMITS TO VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY - ALL-MET ELITE

JOSH HART
 COMMITS
TO
VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY 
 ALL-MET ELITE
SIDWELL FRIENDS HS.
WASHINGTON DC
 
Josh Hart, a 6-foot-4 swingman from Sidwell Friends School in Washington, said Wednesday he has chosen to play college basketball at Villanova starting next fall.
Hart, who averaged 20 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists last season for Sidwell, chose Villanova over Penn State and Rutgers. He has been rated among ESPN's top 100 high school seniors and was ranked 18th among the nation's shooting guards by Scout.com.
"It was tough just because of the relationship I had with all the coaches over the last week or two," Hart said in a telephone interview. "It was tough and stressful, and now I'm happy that it's over."Hart said Wildcats coach Jay Wright made it clear that college life "wasn't so much about basketball as it was developing as a man" and being able "to compete in life after basketball."Asked about what talents he brings to the Wildcats, Hart replied that the strength of his game "is making everybody else better as players."
"It's about doing the things that the coaches want me to do," he said. "I might not hit the winning three, but I'm going to be the one that goes and
gets a rebound when we need it and goes on the floor for a loose ball, anything to win."
Hart's high school coach, Eric Singletary, said Hart "brings a high motor and an ever-improving skill set from the wing."
"He has a hunger to be good," the coach said. "I really think he's going to be a great player."

 

Sunday, October 7, 2012

DENVER NUGGETS TY LAWSON - SPEED KILLS - ALL-MET ELITE

TY LAWSON
SPEED KILLS 

NBA PRESEASON 2012
 ALL-MET ELITE
OAK HILL ACADEMY
MOUTH OF WILSON VA.
 

Friday, October 5, 2012

Kevin Durant Has Gotten Bigger and Stronger - ALL-MET ELITE

Kevin Durant
Has Gotten Bigger and Stronger 
 ALL-MET ELITE
MONTROSE CHRISTIAN HS.
ROCKVILLE MD.
 
Kevin Durant says he didn’t work out differently this summer, but it’s evident that his body has gained mass and strength. Durant — who was heavily criticized when entering the NBA for his skinny frame — tells the Oklahoman that he hopes to maintain and build on his new-found strength: “From his lower body, through his midsection on up to where it’s as clear as ever, his upper body, Durant has bulked up. As with everything else that defines his skills, Durant isn’t overly interested in discussing the matter. That he said as much as he did hints that he has indeed gotten stronger and is darn proud of it. ‘I hope so,’ Durant said when told he looks bigger and asked if he got stronger over the offseason. ‘I guess we’ll know when we start banging during the season. But I feel a little bigger, and coach is going to put me down low a little bit more at the 4 so I’ve got to be stronger to guard those guys. I’m just looking forward to doing as much as I can to help this team.’ Last season, Durant entered training camp at 235 pounds. He deemed it ‘a big thing’ for him to have gained 20 pounds since he entered the league in 2007. This year, his body appears to have filled out even more. But there was nothing special, Durant said, that was done this summer. ‘I guess I’m just getting older, man, because I was working out the same,’ Durant said. ‘I’ve been doing it for the last five summers. I just got to keep going, man. I can’t stop during the season as far as weightlifting is concerned. I just got to stick with it and hopefully I’ll just keep getting stronger.’ Durant has admitted that throughout his career he’s had trouble keeping the weight that he adds over the summer. But now that he’s 24, he’s optimistic that he will now be more capable of maintaining his muscle.”

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

NBA MEDIA DAY 2012 - ALL-MET ELITE EDITION

NBA MEDIA DAY
2012 
 ALL-MET ELITE EDITION
KEVIN DURANT
MONTROSE CHRISTIAN  HS.
ROCKVILLE MD.
 
TY LAWSON
OAKHILL ACDEMY
MOUTH OF WILSON VA.
 
JEFF GREEN
NORTHWESTERN HS.
HYATTSVILLE MD.
 
MICHAEL BEASLEY
OAKHILL ACADEMY
MOUTH OF WILSON VA.
 
 
 
 

ESPN MAGAZINE RODDY PETERS RECRUITMENT - ALL-MET ELITE

ESPN MAGAZINE
RODDY PETERS 
RECRUITMENT 
SUITLAND HS.
SUITLAND MD.
ALL-MET ELITE
 
A year ago, Roddy was entering his junior year at Suitland High School with a decent shot at playing college hoops. Then he erupted, averaging 23 points per game and lighting up the AAU circuit on his first run through the country's elite. Ranked outside the top 100 before the summer, he's now No. 43 in the nation. He's not a one-and-done, program-altering talent. He's more of a culture changer, representing what might be the first domino to fall in an evolving recruiting landscape that is every bit as political as Capitol Hill. That such a dynamic can occur in Washington, D.C., is mind-boggling. Basketball is embedded in the city's DNA. Says Mike Jones, who played for the legendary Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., and now coaches the nationally renowned program, "Even though the Redskins are the top dog in terms of franchises, basketball is our sport." And as long as the two most important programs refuse to give the fans what they want -- an annual bragging-rights bonanza -- the recruiting circuit becomes their battleground. And right now, Peters is the prize.  TWO YEARS AGO, Peters didn't even think he'd go to college. He'd been rejected by the private schools in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), perhaps the best high school basketball league in the country, and spent a miserable freshman year at Westlake High School in Waldorf, Md., where Jamena had moved the family. He missed Suitland, and the family moved back for his sophomore year. On the court, he was better known for being the son of Roddy Peters Sr., who led the school to the 1985 state title, than for his own exploits. He was more interested in chilling on the school's steps and clowning with his friends than dedicating himself within its walls.
That changed when Jamena called in "Uncle" Charlie. Charles Harley is Roddy's cousin and the football coach at nearby Forestville High, where he's sent nearly two dozen players to D1 schools. Although Roddy Sr. (divorced from Jamena since Roddy was 5) talks to his son regularly, he hasn't been in good health. Harley's increased involvement filled the void. He emphasized the potential he saw in Roddy's game -- end-to-end speed, a tight handle and a frame aching to stretch to its current 6'4". And he explained the importance of nurturing that talent. "I showed him his transcript and talked about the NCAA process and what he had to do to get qualified," Harley says. "And I told him he had a chance to be great.
Peters listened. With help from what has turned into Team Roddy -- relatives, teachers, coaches and school administrators -- his focus improved in the classroom. And he elevated his play to a level he'd never imagined. His games, as Harley says, became a circus. Reps from the DMV's two most powerful AAU programs, DC Assault and Team Takeover, started showing up to every game and called repeatedly to secure his services. Before long, college coaches were filling the stands too.
That kind of dual recruitment is more complicated, and more rare, than you'd think. No one -- not high school coaches, AAU insiders or recruiting fanatics -- can remember the last time Maryland and Georgetown chased the same kid so deep into the process. In DC, established connections have traditionally helped kids distinguish between local schools early. The Beltway's AAU programs and stocked private schools have been aligned with local colleges or with each other, at least subtly, for years. For example, Big John Thompson never had a DeMatha player on his Georgetown teams, but he openly accepted guys from WCAC rivals like Gonzaga and Paul VI. Gary Williams seldom took a DC Assault player at Maryland, but he always had strong ties to Stu Vetter, the coach at several local prep programs. (Vetter is now at Montrose Christian in Rockville, Md., whose alums include Kevin Durant and Greivis Vasquez.) Takeover and Georgetown are Nike schools; Maryland and DC Assault are repped by Under Armour.
The lines have blurred in recent years, but with so many power brokers in such a compact area, navigating relationships can be a dizzying enterprise. And Peters is new to the rodeo. As a rare public school standout, his late emergence has spared him the scrutiny of peers who have been overexposed since eighth grade; Peters has been on the periphery for so long, the old rules didn't apply. Yet the attention is still withering. Though Peters enjoyed the spotlight, his scoring took a dip as he struggled to pick an AAU program. He chose Assault in March, not quite knowing the decision making had just begun. In June, his Assault connections earned him an invitation to the NBPA Top 100 camp, where he was one of the lowest-rated players in attendance. By the end of the week, though, everyone knew his name. He scored 16 points in the championship game while running the team with aplomb. He peeled off a pick-and-roll, keeping his dribble alive while two defenders collapsed on him. He deftly threaded a pass between them, hitting the screener in full stride for a dunk. "It just got me a lot more comfortable," Peters says of his performance. "I would hear all the big-name players and just think, How am I going to play on the same court? But when you're out there with them, they're just a number next to a name."Recruiting analyst Dave Telep has seen few players improve as rapidly as Peters. "In the spring, he was not ready to be a high-level, full-time point guard," Telep says. But thanks in large part to the tutelage of former Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, who ran Assault's 17U team this past season, "by the end of the summer, Roddy had learned how to play the position and established himself as an elite point guard."Just as quickly, prime schools came calling. UCLA pursued him. So did Texas. And on back-to-back days in July, Georgetown and Maryland cemented their interest with scholarship offers. With those two phone calls, a battle commenced that is liable to test the Cold War nature of the local rivalry.
The schools need not worry; Peters is still weighing his options. He has an upcoming trip to Westwood and was impressed by his official visits to Xavier and Rutgers. Kansas recently joined the party as well. Meanwhile, everyone has an opinion on what Peters should do. "People would come to games and be looking for clues," he says. "Like if I wore Under Armour socks, they'd think I was going to Maryland.
Peters hopes to commit before his senior season starts, but there are so many minuscule differences to discuss, so many more phone calls to answer. And yet, there's one thing Peters knows for sure. Like most locals, he wants to see Georgetown play Maryland -- the outcome of which, he assures, would have no influence on his decision. "Right now, I wouldn't even want to play in it," he gushes. "I'd rather watch."