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Jake Silpe and the Jersey Shore Warriors are one of 30 AAU teams competing in the UA Association. (Photo: Josh Verlin)
Andrew Koob (@AndrewKoob)
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Friday kicks off one of the most important weekends on the AAU trail: the live recruiting period.
With the NCAA dropping the live periods–weekends where Division I college coaches can watch players in non-scholastic events–in April this year from two to one, due to Easter falling on a usual live period weekend, the window for players to step up on the biggest of AAU stages and for coaches to find those hidden gems has closed a little bit.
Because those coaches won’t get a chance to see these players until the next live period, which isn’t until July, this makes this particular live period that much more important for those involved.
One of those NCAA-approved tournaments, the Pitt Jam Fest, will feature plenty of talent, both nationally and locally, and a new twist courtesy of the Under Armour Association. For a full three days of basketball in Pittsburgh, here’s what you need to know and what you should be looking out for:
Pitt Jam Fest Layout
The Jam Fest, as part of the Hoop Group’s series along the East Coast, will feature five different age groups, 14U-17U and Open (18U), and seven different brackets with the 17U and 16U teams being split between respective Platinum and Steel City brackets.
Each team is guaranteed, win or lose, at least three games in Pittsburgh, with the majority of games coming on a long Saturday with games from 9:00AM to 9:50PM.
For a full schedule, click here.
The Association
The Under Armour Association is a newer concept in the grassroots field that features 30 AAU teams from around the nation, split into the East and West conference, vying for a championship, which will take place in Atlanta during one of the July live recruiting periods.
Teams within the Association will be playing each other, then in the respective local brackets, for points toward seedings for the Final. Between the three events (Pitt Jam Fest, Jayhawk Invitational and the UA Invitational), points for victories will be tallied up and will determine seeding for the Final, where all 30 programs will be participating.
The Association will begin on Friday, April 25th at both the Pitt Jam Fest (East conference) and Jayhawk Invitational (West conference) with each team playing a single game on Friday. Those teams that participate in the showcases are rewarded a double bye for their respective tournaments and will begin play in the weekend tournaments on Saturday.
The UAA is not short on Philly-area talent, and that’ll be on display Friday night. WE R1 (Del.) matches up against Team Thad (Tenn.), while both the Jersey Shore Warriors (N.J.) and Philly Pride end the evening slate with games against Team Breakdown (Fla.) and The City (N.Y.), respectively.
For the UAA schedule on Friday night, click here
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High-flying Derrick Jones (above) and WE R1 will have lots of high-majors on their trail. (Photo: Mark Jordan).
Local Squads
WE R1–One of the best programs in the Association, WE R1 brings a little bit of everything to the table. They have athleticism, highlighted by four-star prospect Derrick Jones. They have big bodies that can dominate the paint with Ernest Aflakpui, Tim Delaney and, on occasion, Sedee Keita. They have shooters, led by Tyler Kohl and Malik Ellison. Whatever strengths their opponent has, We R1 is most likely equipped to counter it.
Jersey Shore Warriors–The Warriors are new to Under Armour, signing with them after 25 years of being without a major sponsorship. But their style of play, the one that helped them win 22 straight games last summer on the AAU trail, will have people keeping a keen eye on them throughout the summer. They have a number of Division I players with interest and offers from the Patriot and Ivy level that play disciplined, unselfish ball. That kind of play is led by guard Jake Silpe and a number of players around him that can shoot, including Cameron Jones, Jule Brown and Devon Moore.
Philly Pride–The Philadelphia representative in the Association is led by two guards that have in-the-gym range. Chris Clover and Sam Foreman give the Pride two viable options when they need a big time shot. Fellow guard Ladji Fofana can hit that hot streak as well, getting into a rhythm where he attacks the basket for easy layups.
While a lot of the focus will be on the East Showcase, there’s plenty of local talent staying within the confines of the Pitt Jam Fest:
Team Philly 17U–While their anchor is big man Mike Watkins, a Penn State commit, Team Philly is a team that relies on their talented guards. Sean Lloyd and Samir Doughty both have Division I offers from mid-major and high-major schools, respectively while Kimar Williams is looking to grab his first Division I offer.
PA Renegades 17U–Winners of this past weekend’s Hoop Group Spring Showdown, the Renegades play smart basketball similar to the Jersey Shore Warriors. Guard Tim Guers has the potential to go off on a scoring run of his own at any given moment, while guard Amir Hinton is an athletic wing that has the ability to hit shots as well. Sam Lindgren and Matt Penecale are potential Division I prospects as well.
Team PA 17U–The team formerly known as “PA Pump N’ Run” features a strong backcourt consisting of players from Central PA . Guards Milik Gantz and Jahaad Proctor, a pair of guards each with several Division I offers already under their respective belts, will be the driving point for Team PA.
Philly Pride 16U–A lot of potential for the Pride’s 16U squad. Led by Jabri McCall, they have a number of guards that can hit a shot with ease, especially Stevie Jordan. LaPri McCray-Pace, while only 6-foot-3, is a physical guard that has the body to crash through traffic on his way to the bucket.
We R1 16U–The 16U Spring Jam Fest champions, WE R1 has a lot of size and a lot of speed. With Keita, they have four players standing 6-foot-7 or taller. The backcourt, led by undersized yet speedy guard Josh Sharkey, can run the fast break with any other 16U squad–fellow guards Mo Williams, Marquise Bell and Mikey Dixon can all score the rock.