STL Gameface places fifth at the AAU 17U Nationals

Congratulations to head coach Roland Gray and his St. Louis Gameface 17U boys team on its fifth-place finish at the Amateur Athletic Union national tournament in Orlando, Florida. It was the third consecutive Top 10 finish for the Gameface team at the AAU Nationals.

 Gameface finished 10th at the 15U Nationals in 2008, then placed sixth at the 16U Nationals last summer. This year, Gameface closed out their last summer together with a Top 5 finish in the 208-team national tournament.

 "To finish in the top five is a big accomplishment for these kids," Gray said. "This was our last summer together and I wanted it to be something memorable."

 Gameface defeated the CP3 All-Stars (North Carolina) 53-48 in the fifth-place game on Sunday morning. Standout power forward Dantiel Daniels (Wentzville Holt) led the way with 24 points and 18 rebounds while B.J. Young (McCluer North) added 20 points.

 Gameface finished the tournament with a 8-2 record, with their two losses coming by a combined four points. They advanced to the Elite Eight of the winner's bracket before suffering a heartbreaking 66-64 loss to the Connecticut Basketball Club on Friday. The 6'5" Daniels scored a team-high 24 points against CBC while being matched up with 6'10" center Andre Drummond, who is currently ranked as the No. 1 big man in the Class of 2012.

 In addition to the dynamic duo of Young and Daniels, the Gameface team consists of Brendan Kelly, Giovanni Ferrara and Ed Wanner (Chaminade), Dominic Kacich and Chris Noll (CBC), Curtis Churchman (Hazelwood Central), Grant Wallace (John Burroughs) and Sean Carr (Imagine Prep). Gray is joined on the coaching staff by assistants Dwayne Polk, Richard Noll and team manager Floyd Bell.