Good Weekend for NH Basketball
High school basketball in New Hampshire sometimes gets a bad rap, and a lack of respect. But this past weekend at the NH State AAU Tournament it is clear that the state has plenty of talent coming up through the ranks, and the state as a whole is on an upswing.
Over the next few days we will be recapping the tournament, breaking down many of the players who impressed in the classes of 2011, 2012 and 2013.
First, here are the state champions for each age group:
11U - NH Fastbreak
12U - NH Rivals
13U - Bishop Elite
14U - NH Rivals
15U - NH Rivals
16U - NH Rivals
17U - Granite State Jayhawks (pictured above)
The Rivals were clearly the big winners on the weekend. They won four state titles, and were also the runners-up in the 13U division. The Bishop Elite program also had a good showing. They won the 13U title, they were the runners-up in both the 16U and 17U brackets, and their 15U team made the semi-finals.
The game of the weekend was on Saturday night in the 17U division between the Jayhawks and Bishop Elite. David Madol had a monster game to lead Bishop Elite to an upset win. Taylor Russell hit the game winning three-pointer at the buzzer for Bishop Elite for the 77-76 final.
Another excellent basketball game was the 14U championship game, with the NH Rivals defeating the NH Fastbreak in overtime. Between the players on these two teams as well as the players on the NH Titans 14U team, it is obvious that next year's freshman class is loaded with talent.
The 15U and 16U title games were also both tremendous battles. While the Rivals won both games, they were by no means easy wins. They got all they could handle from a tough, scrappy Seacoast Spartans team in the 15U title game. And Bishop Elite did the same, battling hard in a highly competitive 16U championship match.
Player evaluations from the tournament and updated player rankings will be released in the coming days, beginning with the Class of 2011 on Tuesday.
