LAS VEGAS – Jahseem Felton scored all 11 of his points in the second half – including 3s that for the tying and winning points – to help third-year program Southern California Academy knock off a tall, deep, and gifted NBA Academy Global squad Saturday night at Bishop Gorman High, 48-45.
The game was part of the second day of the National Prep School competition of the 11th Tarkanian Classic.
The 6-foot-5 Felton (pictured) – who scored his final nine points on 3s – tied the score at 45 with 1:52 remaining following a pass from 6-6 A.J. Johnson.
After a failed shot attempt by the Global team (made up mostly of players from Australia and New Zealand), SoCal Academy rebounded with 1:27 to go.
With no shot clock being used in this event (Nevada’s State High School Association doesn’t use it; and the configuration of Bishop Gorman’s main gym into two playing courts for this event precluded it) and Coach Julius Von Hanzlik’s team was able to milk the ball into the closing seconds before Felton – again, after a pass from the University of Texas-bound Johnson – delivered from a little deeper from the right wing with five seconds to go.
The Global team was given three seconds on the game clock following their timeout after Felton’s shot.
Following the inbound pass, a potential tying jumper by Jensen Bradtke was short as the buzzer sounded.
One of three international “NBA Academy” teams in the event, Global seemingly was in control of the hard-fought contest, at 45-40, before reserve A.J. Economou hit a 15-footer to close the gap to three points with 2:31 remaining.
Ironically, Felton – originally from Gastonia, NC, hometown of former L.A. Lakers “Showtime” great James Worthy – made his first major national “splash” last June in the same gym during the Pangos All-American Camp.
Shortly after, he joined Von Hanzlik’s program and moved to Southern California.
The event was certified by the NBA a few weeks ago, allowing NBA scouting personnel – already scheduled to be in town for the NBA G-League Showcase – to watch games in person.
And many of those scouts were courtside Saturday night and got an hour-plus look at a couple of guys who could (“should?”) be prime first-round candidates for the 2024 NBA draft.
Johnson is a long-time protégé of the Houston Rockets’ second-year scoring sensation, Jalen Green (they’re both originally from Fresno), and he did much to enhance his “prospects’ resume” Saturday night with 16 points – 12 on 3s off both the catch and dribble – and those set-ups for Felton’s critical shots.
And he was guarded, head up, much of the last 10 minutes or so by 6-8 Australian Alex Toohey, who did a reasonable job of containing Johnson’s dribble.
Toohey, who is committed to attend Gonzaga for the 2023-24 season, scored a team-high 11 points for Global but got only two shots after intermission, including his second 3 early in the second half for his final points.
Toohey grabbed six rebounds to go with a couple of nifty assists and had the most compelling blocked shot of the event’s first two day, smashing and damn-near catching Felton’s first half slam attempt.
In the game that immediately followed (the last of Saturday night), Napa, CA-based Prolific Prep improved to 13-0 with its 69-60 decision over the NBA Academy Africa team.
Auburn-bound guard Aden Holloway was sloppy with his dribble penetration and shooting decisions much of the game but sizzled down the stretch, hitting six 3s after intermission (he had one in the first half) to score a game-high 24 points.
Junior Zion Sensley and freshman Tyran Stokes added 10 points apiece for the winners while the 6-6 Thierry Serge Darlan – heavily recruited by U.S. college programs – scored 18 points for Africa.
Leave a Reply