May Issue:           

Memphis YOMCA @ Mid State Ballerz  (AAU State Championship Game)

       Two very  successful AAU programs in the state that year in and year out seem to meet in the AAU State Championship game. Memphis YOMCA has won all AAU State Championships with the Ballerz winning it in 2008 under the coaching helm of Jeremy Schulman now at Brevard Community College. First year coach Dominique Boone has assembled a nice squad from all over the state and hats off to them for logistics. With the Y missing Jarnell Stokes and Shaq Goodwin attending the Adidas Nation in Las Vegas the game started a tight contest with 2 ties before the Y taking a small 3 point lead before the Ballerz closed the first quarter 18-15. The Y big men and really the whole team rebounded extremely well to go on a 14-2 run to take a commanding 32-17 advantage. All AAU State Team Jonathan Williams (Southwind) dominated the middle with 7 first half rebounds to go along with some very strong finishes around the rim on thundering dunks. Williams has really gotten stronger in the upper body and shot has improved from all over the court especially in the paint.  All AAU State Team Koderio Fleming (Ridgeway) has emerged as a strong inside player with a nice mid range shot and contends a lot of shots in the middle, Ridgeway seems to always develop kids of this sort. Great job Coach Henning! The Y extend their lead as large as 20 points before going into the half up 45-27 as Memphis YOMCA outrebounded the Ballerz with a 18-10 margin. Turnovers were pretty much even at 6 to the Y and 5 to the Ballerz. Ballerz had 7 assists to the Y at 5 assists. Steals even for both ball clubs at 3 apiece and the Y at 3-1 lead in block shots category in the first half.

     The third quarter was all  Memphis YOMCA as they maintained a double digit lead in the high teens as the manhandling in the middle continued for the entire third quarter. All AAU State Team and this kid can really play is Aaron Wheeler (Morristown East), awesome overall game and definitely plays above the rim on both sides. Outside shot is fair but will get better over time while possessing great rotation on all shots.  Memphis YOMCA finished the quarter out in strong fashion as they harbored a 17 point lead at the end of the third quarter at 61-44 and lead getting as high as 20 points at one time in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was a total different Ballerz ball club garnering a 16-4 run to open up the final period and holding the Y to only 8 points in the entire fourth quarter. Ballerz  narrowed the lead down to 4 points at 67-63 with 1:07 left in the contest off of 7 turnovers in the last quarter with very stringent defense. Free throws by Sam Craft (Craigmont) and a thundering dunk by Martavious Newby (BTW ) with only 4.6 seconds left had the Y winning 69-63 in a very hard fought contest from both fine organizations.

       Memphis YOMCA was led in scoring by sophomore sensation Nic King at 15points, and 8 rebounds in a solid outing. Another strong sophomore is solid point guard Sam Craft (Craigmont)  who is a 2-sport player where football is also a favorite. Koderio Fleming (Ridgeway) contributed 10 points and 6 boards in the cause.

       Aaron Wheeler (Morristown East) finished with a double double performance at 19 points, and 10 rebounds. TSSAA Division A MVP Rafael Tyler (Lake County) at 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals handily. Matt Shown  (Alcoa) added 11 points and 7 rebounds respectively.

    

Key Points of The Game: Memphis YOMCA dominance in the middle and they didn't have their two starting big men in Stokes and Goodwin. Ballerz rebounding was exposed when they play big men 6'8 or above but guard play is superior to attempt to offset the height. It works sometimes but playing the big boys your big men have to step up in all regards. Memphis YOMCA guards especially Sam Craft played extremely well.

Team	Rebounds	Turnovers	Assists	Steals	Blocks
YOMCA	43	11	8	5	5
Ballerz	31	10	10	9	2

By Staff Writer Harold Rivera