All-Star Free For All

COUNTY HOOP TALENT SHOWS WELL IN STATE ALL-STAR GAME TO CONCLUDE 2010 PREP SEASON

The mega-ballers and primetime shot-callers were out in force on Saturday at the O'Rena in Rochester Hills on the campus of Oakland University in the 2010 Michigan High School Basketball All-Star game.

A total of 13 players from Oakland County took part in the event which encompassed both a girls and boys game and each and every one of them repped THE OC to the fullest whenever they were doing their business on the court.

SUPER PROPS TO ALL THE COMPETITORS:

Boys: Roy Marble, Bryan Coleman, Jake Fortner, Jody Hill, Richaud Pack, Kyle Vinales

Girls: Tiffany Coleman, Desyree Thomas, Madison Williams, Troy Hambric, Victoria Powell, Aisha Barnard, Megan Heiden.

First off, was the girls game, which was a back-and-fourth affair until the fourth quarter when the North squad – the team with all the OC'ers in both games– pulled away and went onto grab the win, 66-59. DCD's Troy Hambric (Loyola) corralled the game's MVP award by scoring a contest-high 18 points, to go along with four rebounds and four assists. Fellow OC cage stud, Tiffany Coleman of Waterford Mott, was "Johnny on the spot" for eight critical points – two buzzer-beaters and two straight hoops late in the fourth to quell a last-minute flurry from the Soutsiders – and a monster in the post hauling down 10 rebounds.

To cap the day off, the boys game was everything you would want an all-star game to be and more: high-scoring, high-flying, an elite pair of rosters, great sportsmanship, energetic and fun atmosphere………

The South squad – filled primarily with PSL players – ended up winning pretty convincingly, 111-87, but the affair was MAD ENTERTAINING…..especially for a mega-hoop head like myself.

Just to get an idea:

There were so many highlight reel-worthy slam dunks in this game it would have made pro jam kings like Vince Carter, Dominique Wilkins, and Air Jordan very very jealous!!!!, to say the least.

And all my homeboys were there: The Natural.....er Kyle Vinales, The Pac-Man.....er Pichaud Pack, Jesus Shuttlesworth....er...Roy Marble, B-Money..er......Byran Coleman, and so many more

The stars of the game were Detroit Pershing's Keith Appling (Michigan State) and Detroit Denby's Isaiah Sykes for the Southsiders and THE OC's very own Roy Marble (S-Lathrup-/Iowa) and Saginaw Arthur Hills Maurice "Pookie" Jones (USC) holding things down nicely for Crew North. Appling swiped MVP honors with 25 points and Skyes (22 points, 12 rebounds, 7 slam dunks) was breathtaking the entire way bringing down the house with signature stuff after signature stuff, elevating way above the rim on every one. If all things go his way, this lefty slasher specialist will end up in Ann Arbor next year or the year after playing for UofM.

Jones streaked his way to a game-high 27 points. This kid gets up and down the court so fast you'd think he's was a freaking Olympic sprinter. And boy, can he finish at the point of attack...er the rim……watch out PAC-10.

Marble shined the brightest of all the OC ballers by putting in 12 points. Seaholm's Richaud Pack (FIU) followed with nine points. Lathrup's Bryan Coleman threw a nice slammer jammer down in the second half to help jumpstart a rally that got the Northsiders back into the game. A bucket by Pack made it 66-59, the smallest deficit the North team had faced since early in the first quarter. However two more Skyes fastbreak dunks kicked the South team lead back into double figures where it would stay the rest of the way. North Farmington's Kyle Vinales banged home a long 2-pointer with 6:13 remaining to make it a 10-point game at 85-75, but that's as close as it would get for the Northside down the stretch. Vinales and Coleman each finished with five points. Ferndale's Jody Hill didn't get much playing time but took advantage of when he got some clock and scored four points on 2-for-3 shooting from the field.

The only thing disappointing about the day was the fact that only one third of the state's "Holy Trinity" of 2010 got the chance to suit up. While Mr. Basketball Award winner, Appling was there showing everyone in attendance why he's one of the best prepsters in the nation, DCD's Ray McCallum (UofD-Mercy) and Mt. Pleasant's Trey Ziegler (Central Michigan), both initially signed up to participate, had to back out due to MHSAA regulations that state players can only play in two post-season all-star games. Since McCallum (McDonald's All-American) and Ziegler each had the opportunities to play in some of the country's most prestigious all-star games that have taken place over the past month, they were unable to be there on Saturday.