KFDM COOP Posted April 18, 2008 Report Posted April 18, 2008 It's a showcase for top talent Teams featuring Jordan's son, Mason-Griffin meet in Classic Every year, the Houston Kingwood Classic seems to get bigger in size and scope. This year is no different. The non-scholastic basketball tournament, which is one of the premier spring basketball recruiting events in the country, kicks off at 6:30 p.m. today and runs through Sunday. The Kingwood Classic, in its 14th season, has 681 teams participating on 66 courts across the north Houston area in a 48-hour span. Participating teams range in age groups from 9 to 17 in addition to seniors who have not yet signed with a college or university. Many of the top college prospects in the nation will participate in the tournament, which also is expected to draw more than 300 college coaches over the weekend, including Billy Donovan (Florida), Ben Howland (UCLA), Lute Olson (Arizona), Bill Self (Kansas) and Roy Williams (North Carolina). "It's unreal," said grass-roots basketball mogul Hal Pastner, tournament director and founder of Vision Sports. "The event will bring over 20,000 people into the city this weekend." NBA players such as Kevin Durant, Greg Oden and Dwight Howard and college stars from this past season like Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and Tyler Hansbrough are among those who have played in the event in past years. Legends Sports Complex will serve as the new tournament headquarters and host games for the top 17-and-under division. The 96,000-square foot facility in Spring has four full-sized basketball courts that will be in use all weekend. The platinum division championship is at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday. Legends will be the site of today's featured game between the Rising Stars (Chicago) and local Amateur Athletic Union squad Houston Hoops. The Stars feature Marcus Jordan, son of NBA legend Michael Jordan, while the Hoops are led by 2007-08 Chronicle Preseason Player of the Year Tommy Mason-Griffin of Madison. The teams square off at about 7:40 p.m.
BLUEDOVE3 Posted April 19, 2008 Report Posted April 19, 2008 This is a good place to showcase your talents. I'm here all weekend watching the competition. If you want to really see how good your teams are, make sure you parcipate in this or similar tournaments.
shorttexas1 Posted April 19, 2008 Report Posted April 19, 2008 Reshard Lewis SETX Allstars bowed out in the second round of tournament play to the Louisiana SAelect. The Allstars finished the weekend with a 3-2 record and played great ball!
KFDM COOP Posted April 20, 2008 Author Report Posted April 20, 2008 KINGWOOD CLASSIC Chicago teen seeks breath of fresh Air Michael Jordan's youngest son wants his own identity THE WOODLANDS — There was once a time when Marcus Jordan felt immense pressure when he stepped on the basketball floor. Considering that his father is a six-time NBA champion, that's understandable. Now, as a 17-year-old junior, Michael Jordan's youngest son is busy establishing his own identity — as perhaps one of the top prep guard prospects in the class of 2009. "There was pressure on me when I was in seventh and eighth grade because I thought that I had to be my dad," Marcus said. "Now that I've gotten older, I'm making my own name." Marcus, a 6-3, 180-pound guard from Whitney Young High School in Chicago, is in town playing in one of the premier basketball recruiting events in the nation, the 14th annual Houston Kingwood Classic. He's here with his Amateur Athletic Union squad, the Rising Stars, while trying to make a positive impression on the hundreds of college coaches in attendance for the three-day event, which is headquartered at Legends Sports Complex. Rising stock The event has 681 teams playing on 66 courts across the area in a 48-hour span. The 17-and-under platinum division will play its championship game at 3:15 p.m. today at Legends. Marcus, who isn't nationally ranked but was rated as one of the top 10 prospects in the state of Illinois by Rivals.com, thinks he has plenty to offer to Division I schools. He describes his game as "solid," and some recruiting analysts think he could emerge as a major college prospect. "I want to get everyone involved but I score when there's an opportunity," Marcus said. "I just try to run the team." Madison junior guard Tommy Mason-Griffin, whose AAU squad Houston Hoops defeated the Rising Stars on Friday night, had good things to say about Marcus. "He's a pretty good player," Mason-Griffin said. "He's quick and he has a solid midrange game." Not quite like Mike As he and his Rising Stars teammates played a Saturday morning game against the Alabama Challenge, his skills were on full display. At first glance, it isn't easy to tell he's Jordan's son. He has a goatee and headband as well as goggles and he dons the No. 5 on his jersey. "I just go and play my game," he said. "I'm sure people look at me and say 'Oh, that's Michael Jordan's son,' but I don't even think about that. I just play." He might not feel much pressure these days, but there always is a lot of attention focused on him. "The attention is crazy," said John Hicks, who chaperones Marcus when he's traveling with the team. Marcus said he's not sure who's actively recruiting him because his parents handle the recruiting process. But he does hope to continue playing basketball. "I definitely want to play Division I basketball," he said.
BLUEDOVE3 Posted April 20, 2008 Report Posted April 20, 2008 There is an unbelievable amount of pressure to perform in these tournaments. The crowd noise and the competition even at the younger ages makes it interesting to watch. The refs can take a beating from the crowd if their calls are not consistent throughout the game.
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