Who is the #1 GBOA team of all time?Interesting subject.....as good as the 97 Riverside team was, I do not consider them the best GBOA team ever. Before I continue, remember,this is based on the Grassroots season and not who had the most Pro on one team, so do not start killing me until you read the whole thing.
In 1997, Riverside lost in the Semi to the Baron Davis led Team ( I forget the name ) in Issy Washington's Slam N' Jam in LA. At the time, this was one of the best tournament and it was held in Long Beach St every year until Issy had a stroke and could not continue to put in the work he needed to keep it going. My team, The Long Island Panthers with:
Lamar Odom (LA Lakers) Khalid El-Amin (UCONN- National Champ) Kareim Shabezz (Florida St and Providence) Nolan Johnson (Oklahoma) Tavorris Bell (Rhode Island)
beat the SCA team ( Schea Cotton , Ken Brunner, Chris Burgess, Eric Chenowith, etc..) in the other Semi. The SCA team had not lost in2 years !!!!. Unfortunately , we could not play in the Championship game because we were schedule to play in the Big Time the next night.We tried to rearrange but since Sonny said " You better have youe BUTTS in VEGAS by 7pm" we had to leave. Issy tried to setup a championship game between Baron's team ( I think he was playing for a Kansas city team ) and Riverside but Baron's team would not play. They felt that since they had already beaten them that they should get awarded the championship. Issy did notagree so he awarded the championship to Riverside. To this day, I still feel bad for not playing in the championship.
Anyway,later on in the fall, the New York Panthers played the same Riverside Team in the championship game of the Wayne Simone's Slam N' Jam in Connecticut. With Lamar fouling out with 5 minutes to go in the game, we lost by 1 with Khalid missing a foul line jump shot with3 sec on the clock. But finally, In the I.S. 8 championship in New York, we beat them in an amazing game (Eric Barkley missed aone on one at the foul line ) by 1 points. Khalid was voted MVP. Even though many people including college coaches consideredthat team to be the best GBOA team they ever saw ( We had 12 Division 1 players with 8 of them going Major D 1 ), I don't put us inthat category since we lost in Vegas that year being Overconfident.
I also do not consider the 2003 Atlantic Celtic being the best team (Sorry man !! : ) ) because they only won the Big Time tournamentthat summer. If you guys can remember that far back , there were 3 MAJOR adidas tournament in the summer : 3 Stripes at Hofstra,Big Time, and the "Best of the Summer" by the Pumps. If you are the best of all time, you have to win all 3, which brings me to the 2001 NEW YORK PANTHERS:
Jason Frasor Charlie Villanueva Curtis Sumpter Taquan Dean Darryle Hill
We won all 3 events !!!No one had ever accomplished that feat!!! Before anyone start hollering about who did we play, I believe we beat the Atlanta Celtics (with Sani Ibrahim) in the Semi and then my boy Mitch Malone Texas BlueChips with (Chris Bosh, Ike Diagu and Daniel Horton) in the 3 Stripes. In Vegas some of the teams we beat included the Michigan Hurricanes (Anthony Roberson, Maurice Ager, Matt Trannon, and Olu Famutimi), Bronx Ravens (Francisco Garcia, Curtis Stinson, Daon Merritt), Baltimore Select (Todd Galloway andCarmelo Anthony) and in the championship we beat The Tim Thomas Playaz (Mario Boggan, Elijah Ingram, John Winchester) . In LA we beat the Team Texas in the championship led by Deron Williams. So yes, I consider the 2001 Panther team one ofthe Best. Having said all of that, I might still give the edge to the 2004 Indy Spiece Team. Just a slight edge : ). Indy was that good andthe best that I saw.
Good Stuff, Mr. Charles. The September 2006 issue of Basketball Times had an article on what teams could be considered the best GBOA team. It only went back as far as 2002 but I think it would make for interesting reading as a complement to your article. If you want a copy of it, reply to this post and I will put it on the board.
I gotta question whoever picked that 2003 Atlanta Celtics squad. I honestly don't think they were the best team in the country that year, and their results (or, other than the Big Time, lack thereof) proved that. For the record, I'd go with the Gauchos, with Russell Robinson, Ronald Ramon, and Sundiatta Gaines as the best that year, since I'll likely be asked that as a follow-up.
I have to go with the 2001 Panthers. To win all three of those events in one summer is pretty darned impressive. It's a shame that that team will never get the credit it deserved because that summer recruiting period was the shortest we have ever had at 14 days (as opposed to 24 each year before that summer, and 20 each year after).
Here is the article from the Sept. 2006 issue of Basketball Times:
The Best Team Ever?
The 2006 Travel Team season ended on the first day of August. From early April to the end of July, thousands of players came together to form club teams, play countless games on the “sneaker” circuit, and hoped to catch the eye of a college coach or two. This year, the Southern California All-Stars were unquestionably the best and most successful team. The group won every major tournament they played, culminating in an unbeaten run through the Reebok Big Time event. Some have gone on record as saying this is the best travel team in recent memory. But are they? And if so how is it determined? No one website has been tracking teams on the circuit the way the National Prep Poll or Student Sports has done with high school teams for years. And with the big three of Nike, Reebok, and Adidas all having separate circuits, it is rare that, say, a Reebok top team will cross over and play a Nike top team. If we are to make comparisons, certain yardsticks must be used. Certainly top shelf talent is a requirement. Winning a “major” tournament title is another factor. Winning multiple major tournament titles or placing high (semis or better) in multiple major tournaments is probably the best indicator of dominance over the course of the spring and summer. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the achievements of the So Cal All-Stars and some teams of recent vintage that were highly successful in summers past.
2006 So Cal All-Stars Top Players: C Kevin Love, WF Taylor King, WG/WF 2008 Malik Story, WG Daniel Hackett, 2008 Brandon Jennings, 2009 Renardo Sidney. Accomplishments: Won Las Vegas Easter Classic, Kingwood Classic, Tournament of Champions, and the Reebok Big Time. In short, the All-Stars won every event they entered. Love, Jennings, and Sidney are ranked #1 in their respective classes, while King is committed to Duke and Hackett and Story are committed to USC. They beat solid competition as well. In the Kingwood Classic, they defeated the SYF players out of Indiana. That team would go on to win the Nike Memorial Day and Super Showcase events. At the Big Time, they defeated Mean Streets Express, which won Nike’s signature Peach Jam event. They only went six players deep and there was little size outside of Love (6’9) and Sidney (6’9) but evidently it was more than enough.
2002 Houston Hoops Top Players: PG “Tack” Minor, BF Ndudi Ebi, WG Daniel Gibson, BF Justin Benson, C Elijah Miller Accomplishments: Won Kingwood Classic, Semi-finalist at Nike Memorial Day Classic, Finalist at Peach Jam, Finalist at Super Showcase. This group looked on its way to dominating the circuit after an incredible performance at Kingwood. But somewhere between that event in late April and the Memorial Day event the team lost focus. They lost to a fiesty Illinois Warriors team led by Shannon Brown due to fatigue because they made no substitutions in the final two games of the Memorial Day Classic. At the Peach Jam, they lost an over-time decision to All-Ohio Red, led by Andrew Lavender after being up six with less than a minute to play. In that game, Ebi was less than stellar and Minor forced a poor shot and got a technical with 20 seconds left in a close game. They also lost a three point game to the St. Louis Eagles in the finals of the Showcase.
2003 NY Gauchos Top Players: PG Ronald Ramon, PG/WG Sundiata Gaines, PG/WG Russell Robinson, BF (FR) Curtis Kelly, BF (SO) Mike Davis Accomplishments: Won Kingwood Classic, Nike Peach Jam, Super Showcase It is often said that the summer belongs to the guards and this team was definite proof of that. Despite playing with such young (but talented) post players, the savvy, toughness, and complimentary skills of Ramon, Gaines, and Robinson lead the Gauchos to great success. They knocked off Memphis YOMCA at Kingwood, the Jackson Tigers (led by Al Jefferson) at the Peach Jam, and the Family (led by Malik Haiston) at the Showcase. Whenever the Gauchos were challenged, one of their guards would either knock down a tough shot or hit the big free throws to win the game.
2003 Atlanta Celtics Top Players: BF Dwight Howard, WF Josh Smith, C Randolph Morris, WG Mike Mercer, PG Clifford Clinkscales, WG Dwayne Day Accomplishments: Finalist, Tournament of Champions, Won Big Time event If the Gauchos won because of their guards, then the Celtic won due to arguably the best front line ever in travel team basketball. It is surprising that the team did not win more big events than it did. They did not participate in the Kingwood Classic, were upset in the finals of the Tournament of Champions by Pump N’ Run of California (led by Jordan Farmar) and lost in the semi-finals of the Three Stripes Classic to Philly MJC (led by Kyle Lowry) , but they didn’t have Dwight Howard for that event. The Celtics finally put it all together in Vegas, blowing out the Michigan Mustangs in the final.
2004 Georgia Stars Top Players: WG Louis Williams, PG Mike Mercer, WG Billy Humphrey, BF Avery Jukes, BF Rashad Chase, C Alade Aminu Accomplishments: Won Boo Williams, Kingwood, and 17U AAU Nationals. This group started out of the gate very fast, winning the two biggest tournaments of the spring in the Boo Williams Invitational and the Kingwood Classic. From there, the club would struggle as they failed to capture either the Nike Memorial Day Classic (falling in the quarters), Peach Jam (failed to make it out of pool play), or the Super Showcase. However, they regained the form they displayed in the spring by defeating a solid Boo Williams in the semis and a talented Memphis YOMCA team in the finals of the 17U AAU Nationals. The key was the guard play of Louis Williams and Mike Mercer, who were simply more athletic and talented than any guard duo they faced. Billy Humphrey was the unsung hero because of his marksmanship from behind the arc.
2004 Speice Indy Heat Top Players: JR PG Mike Connelly, SO WG Eric Gordon, JR WF Daquan Cook, Josh McRoberts, JR C Greg Oden, SO BF Aaron Pogue Accomplishments: Won Tournament of Champions and Big Time event. This team accomplished so much for a group of youngsters. This team gets the nod over the 2005 Indy Heat team that won the Big Time because of a) the presence of Josh McRoberts and b) this team won two major tournaments while the 2005 team only won the Big Time after being upset by the H-Squad (led by Devon Jefferson) in the quarterfinals of the Tournament of Champions. Also this team won the Big Time without McRoberts who was out with an ankle injury, defeating opponents by almost 20 a game. Just think what they would have done with McRoberts.
2005 Boo Williams Top Players: BF Vernon Macklin, BF Duke Crews, WG Scottie Reynolds, WG Stefan Walsh, JR PG Chris Wright, WF L.D. Williams Accomplishments: Won Boo Williams Invitational and Nike Peach Jam Lost in the shadow that was the 2005 Speice Indy Heat, Boo Williams put together an excellent spring and summer. They won their own event in the spring then lost by two points to a Kevin Love-led Portland Legends at the Nike Memorial Day Classic. In July, the team won the Peach Jam, lost in overtime in the semis of the Super Showcase, then inexplicably got bounced early at the 17U AAU Nationals. One of the things that separated this team from the others was its overall athleticism. It seemed that no team could go as deep with as many quality athletes.
2005 EBO/EA Sports Top Players: C Robin Lopez, BF Brooks Lopez, WF Tim Shelton, WG Quincy Poindexter, PG Derrick Jasper Accomplishments: Won Adidas Showtime and Adidas Super 64 events; defeated Main Event winner Seattle FOH in made for TV game Sporting a powerful inside game, this team won both of the major events in July run by Adidas. With no starter shorter than 6’4, EBO was able to dominate inside. Shelton, Jasper, and especially Poindexter were also very good run/jump athletes that could keep up with smaller perimeter players. They did not participate in the bigger events such as the Kingwood Classic or the Tournament of Champions. Because of their size and winning the biggest events put on by Adidas, they are at least in the conversation.
Final Breakdown
The 2006 So Cal All-Stars won 40+ games in a row, most of them by double-digits. What made this team great was the presence of a dominating force inside in Love, team chemistry, and incredible unselfishness by a group of very talented individual players. In comparing So Cal to the teams listed, the All-Stars match up very well. The Houston Hoops team from 2002 was very talented, but the guards were somewhat mercurial and they really don’t have any one that could handle Love inside. Likewise, the 2003 Gauchos. Despite their great guard play, the young inside players on the team would foul out quickly against Love or Renardo Sidney. The Georgia Stars of 2004 and Boo Williams of 2005 were frightfully inconsistent and while talented would probably not be able to use their advantages of speed and quickness against the cohesive All-Stars. So Cal would also get the edge over EBO due to the fact that Brandon Jennings is one of the best point guards to come down the pike in awhile and EBO did not have a true point guard, though Derrick Jasper was obviously quite effective. The only two teams that could compare in terms of talent and composition would be the 2003 Atlanta Celtics and the 2004 Speice Indy Heat. Both teams had a tandem inside that could at the very least neutralize Love. Love could guard Morris of the Celtics or Oden of the Heat, but who would guard Dwight Howard or Josh McRoberts? Josh Smith of the Celtics would also be a match-up problem for the All-Stars. I do give the edge in the backcourt to So Cal when matched up against the Celtics. Neither Mercer nor Clinkscales were much of an offensive threat, probably because they didn’t need to be. Jennings, Story, and Hackett are also probably better in terms of court awareness and basketball savvy than the Celtic backcourt. While I can see the advantage in the frontcourt for the Celtics, I think the balance and chemistry of So Cal would put them on top. That leaves us with the 2004 Speice Indy Heat. Despite being very young, they probably win the match-up with So Cal at every position except for maybe the point guard spot. Oden would certainly be at least the equal of Love inside and Josh McRoberts could guard Taylor King on the perimeter and take him inside offensively. Jennings is quicker than Connelly and is probably a better passer. Dequan Cook gets the nod over Malik Story because of his quickness and scoring ability. Eric Gordan simply surpasses Daniel Hackett in all areas. It is close, but the Heat look to be the better team on paper than the All-Stars. However, there is no denying that what the Southern California All-Stars did this past travel season was truly remarkable.
