Too Hot To Handle

BOZEMAN BOWLS OVER THE COMPETITION AT AAU TOURNEY IN GRAND RAPIDS

As always, Madison Heights Madison basketball star Damon Bozeman was tearing up the hardwood last weekend. Displaying his usual brand of timely and tenacious play, Bozeman shined brightly for his AAU squad, Team Detroit, in the 17-U division at the heavily competitive Grand Rapids Storm Classic.

To put it mildly, Bozeman is a MONSTER, who can kill opponents in a variety of ways…..and DOES nearly every time he touches the rock. He's like a prep version of Charles Barkley with better handles and a better jump shot.

Throughout the weekend in Grand Rapids, he put up 24 points and 14 rebounds per contest and was his team's emotional leader on the floor and in the huddle. My man DB dropped a 36-spot in a 3-OT thriller on the first day of tourney action.

The 6-foot-3 swingman will be entering his fourth year on the Eagles varsity team next winter. When he was a freshman and sophomore, Bozeman played in the post, establishing himself as one of the better power forwards in the area. Over the final half of the 2010 season, he collected 12 straight double-doubles and reached at least the 15-point and 12-rebound mark in 10 of the Eagles final 13 games, helping Madison grab its third consecutive conference title.

Showing off his versatility, Bozeman moved to the two-guard/small forward position this past season and kept lighting it up, proving to college scouts that he will do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to prove his worth.   

In 2011, Bozeman averaged 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Back in February, he posted a career-high 42 points – 32 of which came in the second half – in a win against league foe Warren Mott.

Madison will continue to pack a punch in 2012. Combined with point guard William Bradley, who emerged at the end of last season as one of the county's most effective floor generals, and Danny Larkins, a stud football recruit with natural basketball talent, Bozeman will headline one very powerful trio of a cage crew. With defending MAC Silver champion and Class A quarterfinalist Eastpointe East Detroit losing the bulk of its lineup to graduation, the Eagles will be a favorite in league play in 2012 to reclaim their crown.

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