The Tobacco Road Summer Showdown featured many of North Carolina’s premier travel talent. The schedule and format is strategically positioned to refocus prospects for the challenges of the July Live Period. A premium of mid level division one talent was on display, plus a few precocious phenoms emerged. More than 90 teams competed from Friday through Sunday for what resulted in a masterful first year endeavor. The following capsule identifies the Tobacco Road All Star Selections as well as many others of note.

Name Class Height Level Program
2016 All Stars
Quante McKinzie 2016 6-7 Tobacco Road All Star Port City Thunder
Jordan Riley 2016 6-6 Tobacco Road All Star Showtime Ballers 15
Dexter Lawrence 2016 6-4 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road15
Rodney Moore 2016 6-1 Tobacco Road All Star Synergy 15
Amari Hamilton 2016 5-11 Tobacco Road All Star Synergy 15
Kamone Best 2016 5-10 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road15
Juan Munoz 2016 5-9 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road-West 15
Anthony Staton 2016 6-0 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road-West 15
2015 All Stars
Austin Kirkman 2015 6-6 Tobacco Road All Star NC Gaters 16
Kentrel Barkley 2015 6-5 Tobacco Road All Star Mr Ricks Ballerz 16
Bradley Pierce 2015 6-4 Tobacco Road All Star USA United 16
Tevin Smith 2015 6-1 Tobacco Road All Star Mid State Magic
Zach Boggs 2015 5-11 Tobacco Road All Star NC Gaters 16
Chris Clemon 2015 5-11 Tobacco Road All Star NC Red Storm 16
Jaylin Mitchell 2015 5-8 Tobacco Road All Star Jacksonville Dream Team 16
Chris McElroy 2015 6-0 Tobacco Road All Star OGR Warriors 16
2014 All Stars
Tykwon Garner 2014 6-8 Tobacco Road All Star Team Phoenix 17
Todd Withers 2014 6-7 Tobacco Road All Star Mid State Magic 17
Marcus Bryan 2014 6-7 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road 17
Philip Haynes 2014 6-7 Tobacco Road All Star UBA Ballers 17
Ricky Council 2014 6-5 Tobacco Road All Star NC Red Storm17
Lamont Robinson 2014 5-7 Tobacco Road All Star UBA Ballers 17
Will Walker 2014 6-0 Tobacco Road All Star Garner Road 17
High
Honorable Mentions
Logan Bugg 2016 6-3 High Honorable Mention NC Runnin Rebels 15
Marius Cooper 2016 6-2 High Honorable Mention Wake County Bball 15
Marquan Miller 2016 5-10 High Honorable Mention Port City Thunder 15
Colton Lee 2016 5-8 High Honorable Mention Wake County Bball 15
           
Shamel Gulley 2015 6-5 High Honorable Mention OGR Warriors 16
Richard Johnson 2015 6-3 High Honorable Mention Mr Ricks Ballerz 16
           
Fred Iruafemi 2014 6-6 High Honorable Mention Carolina Hawks 17
Harvey Griffin 2014 6-4 High Honorable Mention Garner Road 17
Ryan Johnson 2014 6-4 High Honorable Mention Team Phoenix 17
Quincy Jackson 2014 6-4 High Honorable Mention UBA Ballers 17
Miles Harris 2014 6-3 High Honorable Mention OGR Warriors 17
Jalen Jones 2014 6-2 High Honorable Mention Garner Road 17
Joey McLean 2014 5-10 High Honorable Mention Team Phoenix 17
Kai Shaw 2014 6-0 High Honorable Mention Team Phoenix 17
Honorable
Mentions
Kalin Cooper 2016 6-6 Honorable Mention Garner Road-West 15
DJ Prunty 2016 6-4 Honorable Mention Synergy 15
Tremaine Lawrence 2016 6-4 Honorable Mention Showtime Ballers 15
Jashawn Smith 2016 6-3 Honorable Mention Garner Road-West 15
Aaron Gottfried 2016 6-2 Honorable Mention Garner Road15
Grayson Kelly 2016 6-2 Honorable Mention Synergy 15
Ridge Fors 2016 6-2 Honorable Mention Showtime Ballers 15
Johnathan Jordan 2016 6-2 Honorable Mention Port City Thunder
Christian Chandler 2016 5-11 Honorable Mention Carolina Defenders 15
Tharon Suggs 2016 5-10 Honorable Mention Garner Road-West 15
Brandon Faison 2016 5-9 Honorable Mention Garner Road15
Javonte Sims 2016 5-9 Honorable Mention Destined For Greatness 15
           
Tyler Groom 2015 6-6 Honorable Mention NC Gaters 16
Xavier Williams 2015 6-6 Honorable Mention OGR Warriors 16
John Jones 2015 6-6 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 16
Romeo Ferguson 2015 6-4 Honorable Mention Mid State Magic
Isiah Townsend 2015 6-4 Honorable Mention USA United 16
Ashley Williams 2015 6-4 Honorable Mention Garner Road
David Reynold 2015 6-3 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 16
Jarod France 2015 5-11 Honorable Mention Mr Ricks Ballerz 16
Robert Colon 2015 5-10 Honorable Mention Jacksonville Dream Team 16
Corey Newby 2015 5-10 Honorable Mention NC Gaters 16
Gary Ford 2015 5-9 Honorable Mention USA United 16
Eric Phillips 2015 6-0 Honorable Mention Mr Ricks Ballerz 16
           
Jake Wilson 2014 6-10 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 17
Thaxter Spruill 2014 6-9 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 17
RJ Adderly 2014 6-5 Honorable Mention Capital City 17
Dortez Royster 2014 6-4 Honorable Mention Capital City 17
TJ Evans 2014 6-1 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 17
Kyrece Mills 2014 6-1 Honorable Mention OGR Warriors 17
Isiah Alston 2014 5-11 Honorable Mention Raleigh Capitals 17
Carlee Clemons 2014 5-11 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 17
Jamie Rucker 2014 5-11 Honorable Mention Garner Road 17
Joel McLean 2014 5-10 Honorable Mention Team Phoenix 17
Jonathan Wooten 2014 6-0 Honorable Mention Carolina Hawks 17
Shawn Lipscomb 2014 6-0 Honorable Mention NC Red Storm 17
Raekwon Hall 2013 6-0 Honorable Mention Capital City 17

Rasheed Wallace Assistant Coach

Rasheed Wallace was once famous for catching alley-oops at UNC and then became (in)famous for being a player either loved or hated while collecting technical fouls like it was a hobby during a lengthy NBA career.

Now Wallace will join the Detroit Pistons as an assistant coach, which might be a good move considering that much like Jason Kidd, Wallace has always been a leader on the teams he’s played for. However, unlike Kidd, he’ll have time to learn the coaching side of things without having to be the main guy on the sidelines just yet.

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Dwight Howard has left Los Angeles, looking to find a better fit or just a different fit with the Houston Rockets, but Chris Kaman is returning to L.A., this time as a Laker. Kaman spent several seasons with the Clippers, before Lob City, but has returned to play for the purple and gold with a one year contract.

It was Kaman’s departure that actually cleared the way for the Clippers to create their ‘Lob City’ style, as he was part of the trade that brought Chris Paul to the franchise.

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Cleveland fans have a long history of being treated poorly by their sports franchises, and it turns out that before the days of digital video and always-available scouting reports, the Cavs scouted their expansion draft with trading cards. After reading the story, it’s less crazy than it sounds, and but it’s still pretty astounding.

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The NCAA July “LIVE” period is in full effect starting this week, and all over the country AAU tournaments will be filled with players, coaches and scouts. Basketball Elite will have scouts at several major events this week, and if you can’t get a coach, parent or scout on the phone this month, this is why. It’s a crazy month.

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Dwight Howard free agency

The Free Agency market is in full swing, with Chris Paul re-signing with the Clippers and Dwight Howard meeting with potential suitors as he contemplates a move out of Los Angeles, most recently meeting with the Houston Rockets.

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Greg Oden is back on the NBA news circuit with reported interest from the Spurs, Mavericks, Pacers and Grizzlies. In total there are 8 teams reportedly interested in the injury-plagued big man.

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The New Orleans Pelicans are getting a new home court (is it really ‘new’ if the team name is new? Wouldn’t this just be the ‘first’ Pelicans court?) and it’s not nearly as flamboyant or exciting as you might expect.

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For some reason The Tailgator has penned a very long piece that attempts to be a tongue-in-cheek article about talking to kids regarding tattoos and athletes. Um, okay.

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Oh, yeah, remember Dwight Howard? The same Dwight Howard that was thinking about leaving L.A.? There’s als a story that Steve Nash and Kobe are trying to help keep him in Southern California.

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Finally, let’s talk realignment. College fans hate it. Colleges try not to care. Conferences think it’s awesome and the wave of the future where they make gobs more money than they do now. But the monkey wrench in all of this is how far the NCAA will push March Madness (they probably have already added too many teams) and how long before club teams start showing up to buy off the biggest basketball players from high school and AAU teams, thus removing the source of free labor that’s running this financial engine. So, not sure if realignment really means anything in the long run or just people pushing money around like Enron.