Put simply, the RUMBLE in the BRONX never disappoints! The 2015 edition was no different. The entire weekend was incredible with a number of teams ranked in indihoops.com Top 25, including 17u #11 WE-R1, 16u #12 River City Reign and 15u #1 Sports U, who played up an age group. The tournament also showcased a plethora of talented prospects ranked in ESPN's latest rankings including 2016 #26 Mustapha Heron, 2017 #30 Hamidou Diallo and 2018 #7 Nazreon Reid.
The tournament was more than just hype though. Previously unknown players like Justin Batiz, a class of 2017 product from John F. Kennedy High School in New York, burst onto the scene by scoring 27 points against Under Armour sponsored Sports U. Other players laid the foundation for what should be a successful end of the summer and major high school seasons, like Tyler Bourne and Bryce Willis. Both Bourne and Willis are members of the class of 2018 at Abraham Lincoln High School and Iona Prep; however they both played up two age groups with New Heights 17u and helped the team advance to the Final Four of the 17u Silver Bracket.
Tyrn Flowers and Jared Rivers of the NY Rens were two more players who played well throughout the weekend. Flowers took home the RUMBLE MVP and Rivers was sensational scoring 29 in the championship game. Myles Cale, who averages 20 for the South Jersey Jazz 16u in the Under Armour Association, did his best to try and will the Jazz to the finals by scoring 19 in a semifinals loss to the eventual champion City Rocks. Cale, a 6'4 class of 2017 combo guard, should start receiving a lot of interest from schools very soon. Jahlil Tripp, went off for 23 for the Juice All-Stars in a championship game loss to NY Rens. Maceo Jack may have had the dunk of the weekend for City Rocks 16u; Jack also played consistently well, including the championship where he scored 23 points and was named MVP.
The RUMBLE helped more than just individual players though. The prestigious tournament also helped showcase just how good some programs are and proved that they need to start getting more attention. United Sons And Daughters (USAD) was one of those teams. USAD forced double overtime in the quarterfinals against the eventual RUMBLE champion NY Rens, including an intentionally missed free throw and a tip-in to tie the game with .3 seconds on the clock in the first OT. Equally as impressive was NY Rens' ability to not only compete but win the 17u championship without ESPN #22 Rawle Alkins, ESPN #26 Mustapha Heron and highly touted Devonte Green. After this weekend's performance it is likely they will see themselves ranked when the new indihoops.com rankings are released.
Albany City Rocks 16u, who had previously been ranked as high as #1, had fallen out of the rankings in recent weeks, but expect them to jump back into the Top 25. City Rocks won the RUMBLE championship without highly regarded Hameir Wright in a field that included #12 River City Reign and Sports U's #1 ranked 15u, who was playing up an age group.
The full list of champions is below:
17u Gold: NY Rens
17u Silver: NJ Got Game
16u Gold: Albany City Rocks
15u Gold: Team Rio National
Overall the weekend was a huge success. Is it too early to start looking forward to the 2016 RUMBLE in the BRONX???
For more information visit www.rumbleinthebronx.net
x Paul Johnson
