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Team IZOD has amazing Championship run at 15U Nationals in Little Rock Arkansas.
Our 15U team came into the week in Little Rock possibly in awe of the festivities that are part of the D1 Nationals Championship week. To witness the pomp and circumstances that is part of the opening ceremonies makes you realize just how important this tournament is. After registration at the Arkansas state capital building we are given a presentation by the NCAA that reminds you once again that we are not here by chance but that every team has earned the right to play for this national title and we were the only team from New Jersey to qualify and only one other team from the Tri-state region made the trip. We also discovered that the pool we were originally scheduled to play in had been changed and we were now in a new pool with perennial national powers All Ohio Red, Super friends from Detroit Michigan and the Arlington Razorbacks from Dallas Texas.
Coach Coleman and Coach Darryl
Dawkins quickly
get their message across that it was time for our 15s to grow up and
emphasized we could beat anybody in the country if our mind was
focused on one game at a time and we made a commitment to play for
each other, our families, friends, sponsor and our state. And we
followed his lead. First up in pool play was All Ohio Red. Coach
Coleman stated after our Wednesday morning walk thru practice
that we were going to shock the world and we did. Beating All Ohio
Red by 21 pts and sending a message to all team in the tournament.
In attendance for the game was ESPN and
ABC Channel 7 in Little rock.
After defeating All Ohio Red we knew that anything was possible. Our
next game of the day was against Superfriends of Michigan we found
out two things very quickly vs. them. First we didn't realize how much
energy we had expended against All Ohio and secondly don't under
estimate a team because of their size we went down quickly 15 pts to
Superfirends only to make a run with 2 minute left to play go up by
2pt and lose on a last second shot with 10 seconds on the clock. As
they say the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.
We knew on Thursday that we still had an opportunity to make a
championship playoff push and win our pool if we defeated Arlington
Razorback Elite which we did in a resounding fashion by 11pts.
Winning 70-46. We began Championship play vs the San
Francisco Rebels, we
had scouted them and knew that they featured 2 excellent big men and
and 2 solid outside shooters. It was nip and tuck contest
throughout but we prevailed with a 2 pt win. Next up in the
Quarterfinals Finals was the SPO Eagles of Orlando Florida. SPO
featured one of the top guards in America Solomon Poole. Team IZOD
game plan was to take Poole out of the game and pressure them with
our combination of Joshua Brown and Jordan Forehand penetrating
inside. The strategy worked and we won by 4.
In semi final play we faced the St Louis Eagles another top program
in the country. We knew that this game was the biggest to date in
our program. We stood one win away from playing for the Championship
of America and we went after the St Louis Eagles with everything we
had. Winning by 10 pts and setting ourselves for the Championship
game vs. the Texas Titans. We knew this would be a contest like none
we had ever faced. The Titans feature 6"9 Freshman PF Julius Randle
the #1 Freshman in America class of 2013. The excitement to play on
Sunday for our first National title cant be put in words.
Team IZOD jumped on the Titans and talke an early 21-4 lead. IZOD's
Hallice Cooke and Spencer Weisz each hit two three pointers in the
first 11 minutes as Team IZOD raced out to its 17pt advantage. IZOD
also threw a box and one defense at the Titans that left them
confused. But something happened on the way to the final buzzer. We
almost knocked the Titans out but the Titans made some adjustments
and so did Julius Randle, Team IZOD finished the first half up only
3 pts.
In the second half there were seven lead changes and four ties. Also
Colten Gober got hot for the Titans and IZOD didnt respond resulting
in IZOD loosing 59-51. Obviously losing in the championship game
hurts. But when we put things in perspective Team IZOD is the #2
team in America. Out of over 26,00 programs in this country Team
IZOD 15U stands alone as a premier program with our current 15s
positioned for years to come until we see them go off on scholarship
in 2013. We could not be prouder of what these young men
accomplished. How they represented themselves and our program.
Congratulations 15U on a remarkable accomplishment.
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