LAS VEGAS – The “press school competition” of the 11th Tarkanian Classic tipped off Friday afternoon at the event’s host, Bishop Gorman High.
Among the squads competing this weekend (the “prep school” comp ends Sunday afternoon; with the traditional “high school” action running Monday-Thursday) are NBA Academy squads “Global” (Australia and New Zealand), “Latin America” and “Africa”.
And the Global club was the most impressive of the bunch Friday night, toppling Glendale (AZ) Dream City Christian, 69-61, in front of a lot of college coaches and lot of scouts representing all the NBA franchises.
Two players sent to be “rivals”, of sort, during the 2023-24 NCAA collegiate season were exceptional in the Global win over one of the U.S.’s most gifted prep school squads.
Alex Toohey is a multi-skilled 6-foot-8 player who signed a National Letter of Intent with Gonzaga last month.
He scored 12 points Friday night but, more so in his jump shooting or ability to get into the lane and finished well above traffic at will, he demonstrated high-octane effort and “feel” for all aspects of the game at both ends of the floor.
And 6-4 Rory Hawke, while scoring a team-high 22 points, not only showed off range and accuracy on his jump shot but got anywhere he wanted – at full speed – on his dribble.
He signed with Saint Mary’s which, like Gonzaga, is a member of the West Coast Conference.
So, their teams will have at least two on-court hookups as freshmen – and, as is nearly always the case, a third in the WCC Tournament title game in this same season.
Guard Christian Hammond (he signed with Santa Clara) led Dream City with 22 points while forward David Tubek (Memphis) added 18.
The NBA Academy Africa squad had a gut-cruncher with the Accelerated Prep team (based in Denver) before falling later Friday night, 62-58.
Ironically, the AP team was led by two players who came to Denver from Senegal as eighth graders, 6-11 Baye Fall and 6-10 Assane Diop.
Fall (pictured) was a two-time “Top 10” selection at the two most prestigious “showcase” camps in the United States, the Pangos All-American and NBPA Top 100 camps.
Fall, who scored 14 points and grabbed at least 10 rebounds, signed with the University of Arkansas last month.
His long-time teammate, Diop, who a couple of 3s Friday night. He will be staying closer to “home” after signing with the University of Colorado.
And Napa-based Prolific Prep – the most high-profile prep school program in the west – improved to 12-0 Friday night after knocking off Dallas-based Dynamic Prep, 66-57.
The top freshman (Class of 2026), 6-6 Tyran Stokes (a standout in multiple Pangos events as a 13-year-old in the fall and winter of 2021), scored a game-high 19 points for Prolific Prep while displaying his not-so-subtle power and explosiveness and in his deceptive quickness on the dribble.
A 6-10, 250-pound sophomore and another veteran of Pangos camps, Jaden Toombs, scored 14 points for Dynamic and 6-6 Jermaine O’Neal Jr. (yep, son of the former NBA standout who runs the program) added 16.
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