Jrue Holiday makes statement at Tournament of Champions!
By Antonio Curro - NY2LA Sports
December 14, 2007
Every once in a while, a great while at that, you can sit down and watch a legendary performance or true greatness being displayed. Michael Jordan made it commonplace, as did the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Joe DiMaggio, and a host of other Hall of Fame performers. At the collegiate level you can look at Christian Laettner's performance against Kentucky, Dwayne Wade's performance against Kentucky, or Villanova's upset of the great Georgetown Hoyas.
Last
night 6'4" Senior G Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall
accomplished that and much more as his performance against fellow 08' phenom
Demar Derozan and Compton High School will be talked about for years to come.
In a matchup that put two of the top Class of 2008 prospects in the country head
to head and promised to be one of the very best matchups in the country in terms
of top prospects, it was Jrue Holiday who became a high school legend and set
the bar by which all others in the Class of 2008 will be measured for years to
come.
As Holiday and his Campbell Hall teammates took the floor against Compton, many expected a highly competitive game to be decided late in the 4th quarter. With the likes of Master P, Tim Floyd of USC, and assistant coaches from USC, Northwestern, and Arizona State as many of the major "players" in the Southern California Grassroots scene, the game had the potential to be one of the very best of the 2007-2008 year in California and the country. The only problem was that someone forgot to let Jrue Holiday read the script. When it was all said and done the 6'4" 175 pound UCLA commit completely dominated the game and sent a very loud statement heard by everyone in attendance that he not only was the best player in the gym, but he might very well be the very best 08' prospect in the country. Holiday created, slashed, penetrated, shot, and dunked his way to a game high 32 points and helped lead his Campbell Hall team to an 84-70 thrashing of Compton High School in a game that really wasn't that close.
The
multi-skilled Holiday came out of halftime and absolutely dominated the 3rd
quarter and early part of the 4th quarter and in the process helped Campbell
Hall completely run away from Compton who closed a 20+ gap with some late
baskets in the 4th quarter. If it wasn't a Holiday assist getting it done
it was his 3 point shooting or his slashing to the rim for layup after layup.
His double pump Jordanesque layup early in the 4th quarter where he switched
hands and floated to the left side for a layup that had the fans buzzing simply
set the stage for a monster dunk two plays later where he exploded and reared
back with his left hand and slammed home 2 points and effectively ended any
discussion as to who the best player on the floor was. While Holiday had
32 points to lead the way, he also took the defensive assignment of Top 5
national prospect Demar Derozan and made every shot difficult throughout the
night.
08'
6'6" SF Demar Derozan (committed to USC) is one of the most
explosive leapers and talents in the Class of 2008 and might very well be the
most explosively athletic prospect in the 2008 class. Yet while he had 29
points to lead the way for Compton, the night was all Jrue Holiday who's
performance clearly established himself as the total package and in turn the #1
player in the Class of 2008 in our eyes. Holiday is a triple double
waiting to happen, can handle the ball, has excellent speed and quickness, can
shoot the ball from the mid range and 3 point areas, can attack the rim at will,
and has excellent athleticism. Expect Holiday to become a big time impact
player in the Pac-10 for UCLA and the NBA when it's all said and done. The
kid is that good! Period!
6'6" Junior SF Keegan Hornbuckle had 15 points and 6'6" Sophomore PF James Johnson finished with 16 points to help Campbell Hall to the victory.
Westchester 74 J-Serra 66
Prior
to the Campbell Hall/Compton game it was Westchester who dropped J.Serra 74-66
in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.
6'7" Sophomore SF Dwayne Polee (USC commit) of
Westchester recovered from a slow start to slash his way to a double double and
lead the way for Westchester with 19 points.
While Polee was leading the way for Westchester it was the performance of
6'5" SF Demetrius Walker of J-Serra
that had the people in attendance talking as he dropped 26 points and displayed
explosive high major athleticism and leaping ability on both ends of the court.
Walker
appears to have worked hard as his mid range stroke and free throw stroke showed
strong signs of improvement and he also stroked a key 3 point basket in the 4th
quarter before Westchester pulled away. Walker has excellent length, a
great frame, nice upper body strength, sees the floor well, can elevate big
time, and can attack the rim and finish with consistency. However, the key
to Walker isn't just on the offensive end as he has the physical tools to become
an excellent lockup defensive player at the next level if he puts his mind to
it. Expect the 6'5" Jr. Walker to really take off this spring/summer on
the Grassroots level and he has big time high major athleticism to go with a
solid albeit raw skill set. Translation...Walker is one to watch on the
West Coast.
Equally impressive was the peformance of 6'11" C Chris Gabriel of J-Serra who was clearly dominate on the interior on his way to 17 points of J-Serra in a losing effort.
The Ocean View Tournament of Champions continues later today at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California.
E-mail us at info@ny2lasports.com