The NY Rens won the Adidas Gauntlet Finale and the Georgia Stars won the Nike Peach Jam; Even though those were both amazing feats, the new question is who is the best team in the country? If the answer is simply based off rankings then it is easy. The Stars were ranked third by indihoops.com before the Peach Jam and the Rens were unranked, so by that logic the Stars are the number one team in the country. However, determining who is the best team in the country is not that easy.
The Stars have the deeper team according to the player rankings. Their roster boasts ESPN’s 4th ranked player in 2017 in center Wendell Carter. The Stars are also feature the 19th, 31st, 38th and 76th ranked players in 2016 in Udoka Azubuike, Abdulhakim Ado, Trent Forrest and Brandon Robinson, along with Jared Harper, who is committed to Auburn. The Rens feature arguably the best wing tandem on any circuit in ESPN’s 22nd and 26th players in Rawle Alkins and Mustapha Heron. Patrolling the paint for the Rens is Xavier commit Tyrique Jones. But just like the team rankings, numbers just are not enough to settle the debate.
The Rens arguably had the more impressive summer on the floor. The New York City based program won the prestigious RUMBLE in the BRONX tournament without Alkins for the entire tournament and without Heron for the championship. During the RUMBLE the Rens got big performances from Jose Alvarado, Tyrique Jones and Tyrn Flowers. The Rens then went out and won the Adidas Gauntlet Finale by defeating the 1st ranked Team Loaded NC, the 17th ranked Indiana Elite and the 22nd ranked Atlanta Celtics.
The Stars however only lost three games throughout the entire EYBL Regular Season by a total of eleven points. All of those loses came at the hands of teams who eventually qualified for the Peach Jam in the PSA Cardinals, Mokan Elite and Team Takeover. The Stars then went through Peach Jam Pool Play undefeated beating De’Aaron Fox and Houston Hoops along the way. When Bracket Play started, the Stars defeated the 19th ranked team in King James Shooting Stars, the 24th ranked Team Takeover and the 10th ranked St. Louis Eagles in the Peach Jam championship.
Even after having watched both teams over the weekend, it is next to impossible to make a decision. The Rens will have an opportunity to further state their case for the top spot when they travel to Las Vegas for the Adidas Summer Championships.
Also stating a case for the title of best team in the country will be the teams on the Under Armour circuit, who will compete for the UA Association crown next week in Atlanta. DC Premier is currently ranked 5th, and Team Charlotte is ranked 7th. The most dangerous team may be WE-R1, who was ranked 1st for a good portion of the season and features arguably the best backcourt in the nation in Trevon Duval and Quade Green. Let’s see how the next two weeks play out before we make a final decision.
x Paul Johnson
Photo courtesy of Jon Lopez/Nike
