By JAMES KERTI
GARDEN GROVE, CA — While all eyes were on Oakland, teams gathered on the other side of the state for the Magic Memorial Festival in Garden Grove from May 26-28.
The event featured several Magic teams, as well as other west coast standout squads such as Dream Vision and Belmont Shore.
In the 17U Elite division, the Compton Magic Elite and The Magic both won their semifinal games before declining to play each other in a championship game.
In earlier action, 5-7 guard Derrick Randolph (Whitney Young/Chicago, IL) led Paul George Elite to an upset win over Dream Vision 17U. He played outstanding basketball on both ends of the floor, stymieing elite scorer Isaac Hamilton (St. John Bosco/Los Angeles, CA) and knocking down several deep three-pointers off the dribble.
Recent Georgetown commit Stephen Domingo (St. Ignatius/San Francisco, CA) played well for Dream Vision 17U throughout the event, continuing his mastery from beyond the arc while demonstrating an improved midrange game.
Dream Vision 17U fell in bracket play to Gamepoint 17U, who received strong performances all weekend from Jeff van Dyke (La Costa Canyon/Encinitas, CA). The 6-3 guard has an excellent three-point stroke and an impressive grasp of the drive-and-kick.
Belmont Shore wing Daniel Hamilton (St. John Bosco/Los Angeles, CA) is long, can shoot from outside, and scores in more ways than I can count. He always finds a way to create space to get off his shot.
Belmont Shore lost in bracket play due to a buzzer beater and hot shooting from the SD Magic’s Michael Barry (Agua Fria/Avondale, AZ). The unsigned senior can really shoot it and he deserves looks from Division II schools.
Six-five point guard Bryan Alberts (Village Christian/Sun Valley, CA) helped lead BTI Pump N Run to the 17U Elite finals. Alberts is a playmaking guard who creates with ease for his teammates and himself.
The Magic 2015 defeated Pump N Run Elite to win the championship in the 17U Open division.
Six-one Sedrick Barefield (Centennial/Corona, CA) has a superior body for a point guard in the 2015 class. His ability to create as well as to hit the deep shot make him one of the more intriguing prospects in his class. He was pivotal to the Magic 2015’s success.
Runner-up Pump N Run Elite also featured a slew of talented freshmen, including Tyler Burch (Ocean View/Huntington Beach, CA) and Troy Kramer (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA).
The six-five Burch has an effective outside shot, while Kramer possesses a developed midrange game for someone his age.
Keanu Peters (Valley/Las Vegas, NV) also stood out with his play for Buckets Academy. The 6-1 guard has great athleticism and excels at getting to the rim.
The Las Vegas Prospects 15U won the 15U/16U Combo division title with a close win over LAX Hoops.
Cameron Burton (Valley/Las Vegas, NV) led the way for the winning team. He attacked the basket again and again thanks to his exceptional burst and great body control.
I’ll be at the Pangos All-American Camp this coming weekend.
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