GymRat Challenge 16u Championship Recaps

ALBANY, NY - The GymRat Challenge in the greater Albany area changed their format this year to have multiple age division winners so that no one plays more than 3 playoff games, reducing the wear and tear that teams have felt in the past from playing as many as 7 games in a day.

That meant 3 champions would be crowned from the 16u Division, with 2 of those champions coming from Union College in Schenectady where NYCHoops.net was perched for the day. It proved to be a great day for New York as well as both title handed out came from NY it once again shows the talent is certainly here.

It was a great day of action overall, and with another GymRat Challenge in the books, let's take a look back at Championship Sunday as we recap the action from Schenectady.

One of the two pool was headlined by top seed Albany City Rocks EYBL. The Jim Hart coached squad had already locked up a spot in the Nike Peach Jam to be played in early July so instead of traveling to Atlanta for the Nike event this weekend, they were playing a home game of sorts in Schenectady.

It was a thoroughly dominating weekend as well as game after game City Rocks were able to pick teams apart and run away with victories. Saturday in pool play they would both their games by 30+ points with the likes of big man Isaiah Stewart (McQuad Jesuit '19) and City Rocks newcomer Jeenathan Williams (University Prep '18) leading the way both inside and outside to easy wins.

The playoffs were thought to maybe be a bit more of a challenge but after a first round bye they played Early Risers (LaFrance) in the semifinals, and while the Early Risers, a team consisting of players from throughout Section 9 in New York, hung in tough early behind the play of forward Mason Memmelaar (Pine Bush '18) and guard Brandon Powell (Pine Bush '18), City Rocks did end up wearing them down.

Midway through the opening half the Early Risers were handling the pressure defense being through at them well and they were able to do a nice job scoring around the rim, but that ended up changing as they seemed to tense up later in the half as Mika Adams-Woods (Bishop Ludden '18) was able to create in the open floor and either finish on his own or find teammates like Stewart or Xavier Mayo (The Hill School, PA '18) inside for buckets to see City Rocs open up a 16 point halftime lead.

The lead continued to grow in the second half as well as Jalen Pickett (Aquinas '17) did a nice job connecting from the midrange, Williams was an athletic weapon in the open floor that couldn't be stopped, and Joe Girard (Glens Falls '18)found a nice rhythm and hit on 3 threes to see City Rocks truly take command.

To the Early Risers credit they never quit or gave up in the face of the deficit being pushed to 25+ points, and they should be commended for taking down CT Premier Hoops in the quarterfinals of their bracket while also going 3-0 in pool play, but City Rocks was just too tough as they were easily able to coast home for the 65-42 victory.

The other semifinal in that bracket saw Rock Elite, a team comprised of kids from Section 1, New Jersey, and even some from Brooklyn, against an always solid Lone Wolf team from Vermont.

Rock Elite did have things going their way early on as Stephen Moncrieffe (Thomas Jefferson '18) was able to get in good positions down low to finish, while Xavier Gibbs (Samuel Gompers '18) was a heady lead guard who also was able to show off impressive range to help take a 2 point lead heading into the half.

While things continued to look good early on in the second half, the perimeter shots did stop falling, and Moncrieffe started to see more double teams down low. Lone Wolf started to hit their perimeter shots that weren't falling early as well as Jim Stahl (Moriah '18) was a smooth lefty who knocked down back to back threes with under 3 to go to give Lone Wolf the lead for good.

Jens Ulrich-Verdeber (BFA-St. Albans, VT '18) was excellent down low as well as Lone Wolf ended up finishing the game on a 15-3 run to make the score a bit misleading with the Vermont area team winning 55-43.

So it was City Rocks EYBL taking on Lone Wolf for the bracket title, but because of a long drive home Lone Wolf decided to forfeit the game to City Rocks, giving the Nike squad a 16u title for back to back years.

Adams-Woods was named Tournament MVP for his strong showing in running the offense, limiting turnovers, and getting everyone else around him involved and thriving throughout the 2 days.

That was just one bracket though, the other bracket saw a number of New York teams with a chance to win it such as Salvation Army (Walsh) and City Rocks (Orange), but in the end it was Castle Knights, a strong NYC area team based out of the Bronx that ran through 3 games in 5 hours to take home the title.

First up was a game against Middletown's Finest, another NY team with kids primarily from the Section 9 area, and with Mikko Johnson (Brooklyn Law and Tech '17) knocking down shots from the outside keeping the defense honest, and guys like Souleymane Koureissi (Iona Prep '18) and Victor Ogbo (Brooklyn Law and Tech '18) doing a strong job inside controlling the glass and around the rim, Castle ended up pulling away for a convincing victory.

Next up was top seed in their pool the Ottawa Phoenix from Canada. Ottawa had only given up a total of 62 points in their 3 pool games, yet they almost gave up that many against a potent shooting Castle team that was paced by Larry Moreno (Brooklyn Law and Tech '18), while Tyrese Williams (Cardinal Hayes '18) also did damage on the wing and as a team they were just too athletic overall as a team for the Phoenix.

So it was Championship Game time and this game would be played as Castle would take on a very talented Central PA Elite (Hughes) team that rolled through pool play and was a higher seed coming in that Castle.

That didn't faze the New York squad though as it was Williams who got things going early on to see them stay close after a quick start by Central PA who were led by a very good big combo guard in Ryan Hughes (Middletown Area, PA '18).

While Castle did go down 6 to start, Williams was able to find his way to the rim for buckets, and then Moreno was able to drain big jumpers to see the Knights catch Central PA and pass them late in the half to take a lead heading to the final 16 minutes.

Both teams at times seemed to be wearing down and it was going to be a matter of who wanted it more, and midway through the half you could sense that Castle was going to push for it more as they ended up taking a double digit lead with just over 5 minutes to go when Moreno knocked down yet another jumper and it seemed like the game was sewn up for the Knights.

It just wasn't that easy though as Central PA Elite did start to find their range from behind the arc with Hughes and Tre Leach (Middletown Area, PA '18) each connecting on long three balls, and the game was tightening up, but with good FT shooting, and a strong job on the offensive glass late, Castle was able to maintain momentum and hold on in the closing seconds to take the championship over Central PA Elite (Hughes) 42-39.

On a team full on impressive players all weekend long is was Moreno who walked away with the Tournament MVP out of this bracket as the Law and Tech start continues to show flashes, with his great shooting and strong ability to be a talented playmaker, that he could be a very intriguing prospect and player to watch going forward in NYC.

It truly was a great day as Albany City Rocks 15u squad also won GymRat Championship on the 15u level at Union College, while the PSA Cardinals 14u team played up in the 15u Division, getting all the way to their title game before losing to a Staten Island Musketeers team that was loaded with impressive young talent from an often forgotten borough.

Once again the GymRat Challenge did a strong job showcasing some impressive talents who shined on both Saturday and Sunday making it a strong Memorial Day Weekend stop for everyone in attendance.