Ozark AAU Regional Tournament Recap

The Amateur Athletic Union held its Ozark regional tournament this past weekend at the St. Louis Sports Center in the boys 17U, 16U, 15U, 14U, 13U and 12U divisions.

 The most hotly contested age group of the weekend was the 15U division. The St. Louis Eagles (White) defeated Team Swish 57-45 in the championship game. The Eagles rebounded from an upset loss to the Missouri Impact (Walker) in their opening game on Friday night to win their next four games by an average of 16 points to take the title.

 "We had a rough start on Friday, but we redeemed ourselves and played hard the rest of the weekend," said head coach Darryl "Pee Wee" Lenard. "I was proud of the kids."

 The Eagles used their speed and overall depth to wear down opposing teams throughout the weekend. They don’t have an individual star, but they have 11 or 12 players who are all capable of making valuable contributions, which is what happened last week. And they played excellent defense which keeps them competitive in every game.

 Lenard utilized a deep stable of backcourt players, which included point guards Marcellus Lewis (Chaminade), Rashad Lindsey (MICDS) and Isaiah Holman (Lutheran North). Their collective speed and quickness kept the defensive pressure going. On the wings were guards Chaz Glotta (Fort Zumwalt North), Patrick Triplett (Bayless) and Damon Patterson (Whitfield). All three are capable of being knock-down shooters.

 Inside, the Eagles rotated the athletic trio of Evan Booker (Kirkwood), Robin Thompson (MICDS) and Dmitri Rucker (Whitfield). Their length and athleticism enabled them to control the boards and block shots. All three are about 6'4" but play much bigger. Booker scores, Rucker rebounds while Thompson swats shots. Rucker was a real force in the championship game against Team Swish. Swing player Sean Clancy displayed versatility inside and on the perimeter while forward Andrew Maddock (Chaminade) provided more size on the interior. Missing last weekend was forward Mason Bendigo (Eureka), who was out of town.

 It was the Eagles’ second title of the spring. They won the silver division championship at the Next Level Tournament in Dallas last month. They will be headed to Atlanta this weekend to compete in the Nike Memorial Day Classic. The Eagles 15U (Blue) and the talented Eagles 16U team will also be headed to Atlanta.

 Team Swish also finished 4-1 last weekend. They featured the solid inside play of 6’8" Austin Gillman (Oakville) and point guard play of Sam Briscoe (Duchense). The Swish also added a very talented newcomer in 6’2" swingman Dorian Holland, who will give them a big boost with his atleticism and versatility.

 The St. Louis Warriors defeated Missouri Impact (Daugherty) 65-39 in the third-place game.

 In the other Ozark Regional tournament games

 *The Southern Illinois Tigers defeated the And 1 Cops 57-50 in the championship game. The Missouri Impact defeated the Missouri-Illinois All-Stars 49-43 for third place.

  *Missouri-Illinois Select won the 16U championship over the Wizards. The St. Louis Hawks took home third place.

  *The Gateway Basketball Club defeated The Ville 67-45 to win the 14U championship. The PAL Magic defeated the Falcons 56-46 in the third-place game.

 *The Southern Illinois Tigers won the 13U division championship while the Southern Illinois Titans won the 12U division title.

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 *The Missouri Impact (White) advanced to the Sweet 16 of last weekend’s NY2LA Invitational Tournament in Milwaukee. Mo. Impact won its pool and finished the tournament with a 3-1 record.

 *The Gateway Basketball Club 17Us finished 2-2 in Milwaukee and advanced to the second round of the Gold Division tournament after winning its pool. The Gateway 16Us advanced to the Elite Eight of the Platinum Pool while the Gateway 15s advanced to the second round of the Platinum Pool.