FORT WAYNE, Ind. – One of the top spring tournaments, the 8th annual Spiece Run 'N Slam Classic, produced by the Spiece Gym Rats organization, gets underway Friday with many of the country's top underclassmen competing over the next three days.
A tournament that previously was held at Purdue University, the Run 'N Slam Classic draws a top-notch national field of talented club teams to the Spiece Fieldhouse. Many of the country's next crop of recruits, current juniors from the Class of 2002, are starting a summer of ball that will include stops at the country's top two invitational camps -- the adidas ABCD and the Nike Camp.
The Spiece Gym Rats, under the direction of Bill Hensley and Gerald Hirschy, and with the partnership of sponsor Tom Spiece, created the best club basketball facility in the country in their recently opened Spiece Fieldhouse, a state-of-the-art building which houses eight full-courts under one roof. The Fieldhouse has team locker rooms and dormitory space which houses up to 480 players and 80 coaches on the property. There are 48 teams in the Seniors-To-Be Division, 32 teams in the Juniors-To-Be Division and 24 in the Sophomores-To-Be field.
The favorites in the Seniors-To-Be Division come from all over the country. But two of the country's hottest club teams this spring are here -- the Kentucky Hoop Stars Elite and the Warrick County Wildcats (from Southwestern Indiana).
The Kentucky Hoops Stars, coached by Eddie Ford, have won two major tournaments in the past two weeks. The Stars took their own Kentucky Hoopstars Classic in Louisville two weeks ago, and the Houston Kingwood Classic in Houston, Texas last weekend.
The team is led by a couple of talented sophomores in 6-foot-3 wing Michael Bush (Male H.S./Louisville, Ken.) and 6-8 center Ross Neltner (Highlands H.S./Fort Thomas, Ken.). A host of talented in-state juniors round out the team, including 6-4 wingman Kevin Reinhardt (Campbell County H.S./Alexandria, Kentucky), 6-7 power forward Lavar Carter (Male H.S./Louisville, Kentucky), 6-5 Orlandus Hill (Tilghman H.S./Paducah, Kentucky), 6-6 Donte Smith (Oldham County H.S./Buckner, Kentucky), 6-1 shooting guard Chris Gaither (Grayson County H.S./Leitchfield, Kentucky), 6-2 shooting guard Maurice Hampton (Frankfort H.S./Frankfort, Kentucky) and 6-4 shooting guard Brian Silverhorn (Shelby County H.S./Shelbyville, Kentucky).
The Warrick County Wildcats is a team of players from Southern Indiana (surrounding Evansville), which has been winning games together as a unit for over five years, including the championship at last summer's BCI Nationals in the 16 & Under Division. The Wildcats are led by two Top 100 juniors in 6-1 point guard Dedrick Finn (Castle H.S./Newburgh, Indiana) and 6-8 power forward Matt Kiefer (Mater Dei H.S./Evansville, Indiana).
In the past month, Warrick County has twice faced Bloomington Red, the highly touted Nike flagship program in Indiana. Bloomington Red features such highly recruited players as 6-8, 240-pound power forward Sean May (Bloomington North H.S./Bloomington, Ind.), 6-6 Ali Bierdiel (Andrean H.S./Merrillville, Ind.), 6-10 Chris Hunter (West Side H.S./Gary, Ind.), 6-1 junior wing Derrick Graham (Washington H.S./South Bend, Ind.), 6-3 junior wingman Alan Miller (Marion H.S./Marion, Ind.), 6-0 junior point guard Brandon Cameron (West Side H.S./Gary, Ind.) and 6-7 junior power forward Justin Johnson (Merrillville H.S./Merrillville, Ind.).
And in their two meetings last month, Warrick County made believers of fans throughout the Hoosier State, by winning both contests. The Wildcats second victory came without the presence of their big man, Kiefer. But Finn, according to observers, was nothing short of spectacular.
"Man, that boy can play," said Gerald Robinson, a coach of the Indianapolis-based No Excuses club, one of the top 16 & under teams in the Midwest. "I saw that game and (Finn) dominated Bloomington with his play. He controlled the whole game and there was nothing Bloomington could do."
Robinson should know something about talent, having coached the likes of No Excuses alumni Jason Gardner (Arizona), Zach Randolph (Michigan State), Gavin Gronninger (Purdue) and Brody Boyd (Iowa).
"Dedrick Finn is the best point guard in the Indiana junior class," said Robinson. "He's a bigger Jason Gardner, at the same stage, with a better jump shot and a better handle. And, man, can he pass the ball. He's extremely quick, sees the floor and controls the whole tempo of each game he plays. Finn is special."
Kiefer is a skilled big man, who can really shoot the outside jumper. He's getting all kinds of Big Ten attention. The rest of the Wildcat crew is a scrappy bunch, which plays smart basketball, and can drill the open jumper.
Bloomington Red is also entered in the tournament, and, undoubtedly, looking for a rematch with Finn and Warrick County.
Another quality Indiana program which may make some noise at Spiece this weekend is the Indy Warriors, which is led by 6-7 junior power forward Delco Rowley (Arlington H.S./Indianapolis, Ind.), 6-1 athletic junior shooting guard Antwan Alexander (Arlington H.S./Indianapolis, Ind.), 6-2 junior shooting guard Tyler Clevenger (Winchester H.S./Winchester, Ind.), and 6-9 junior center John Morningstar (Concord H.S./Elkhart, Ind.)
The Inner City Players out of Portland, Ore., which features 6-3 junior combo guard Chris Rodgers (Wilson H.S./Portland, Ore.), have also made the trek to the Midwest. Rodgers, who can really score points in a hurry, just committed to Arizona in the past week. Another talent on the Inner City Players to keep an eye on is 6-5 junior Brandon Lincoln (Jefferson H.S./Portland, Ore.).
Illinois Gold, the program which featured NBA-bound Eddy Curry last year, returns to the Spiece Run 'N Slam with top junior point guard Daniel "Dee" Brown (Proviso East H.S./Maywood, Ill.) and two of the best junior forwards in Chicago, 6-7 Elliot Poole (Farragut Academy/Chicago, Ill.) and 6-8 Marcus White (Whitney-Young H.S./Chicago, Ill.).
On paper, two of the more talented teams in the tournament hail from Southern California.
The Los Angeles Paladins might be bringing the most talent to the Spiece Fieldhouse, led by 6-9 junior DeAngelo Collins (Inglewood H.S./Inglewood, Calif.), 6-5 junior Reggie Butler (Long Beach Poly H.S./Long Beach, Calif.), 6-2 sophomore shooting guard Ray Ray Reed (Inglewood H.S./Inglewood, Calif.), 6-2 sophomore Marcus Williams (Crenshaw H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.), 6-8 junior power forward Jamaal Walls (Crenshaw H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.) and 6-8 Doug Thomas (Inglewood H.S./Inglewood, Calif.), a senior who is headed to prep school next season.
The other talented crew from Southern California, Pump 'N Run, features a national cast of players. Leading the way for Pump 'N Run is 6-11 sophomore David Padgett (Reno H.S./Reno, Nev.), 6-7 junior power forward Brad Buckman (Westlake H.S./Austin, Tex.), 6-6 junior slasher Nik Caner-Medley (Deering H.S./Portland, Maine) and 6-2 junior shooting guard Brandon Worthy (Mt. Pleasant H.S./San Jose, Calif.).
The Los Angeles Rockfish are also in Fort Wayne and feature 6-3 junior point guard Tim Drisdom (Calvary Chapel H.S./Downey, Calif.), the top playmaker on the West Coast. The Rockfish's two most athletic wings, 6-6 junior Bryant Markson (Monrovia H.S./Monrovia, Calif.) and 6-3 junior Donald Wilson (Dorsey H.S./Los Angeles, Calif.) are both recovering from injuries (Markson, knee; Wilson, heel) and did not make the trip. Other Rockfish to watch are 6-0 sophomore point guard Khalif Ford (Diamond Bar H.S./Diamond Bar, Calif.), arguably the best point guard prospect in his class on the West Coast, 6-8 junior Daryl Pegram (Worcester Academy/Worcester, Mass.) and 6-5 junior John Haywood (Bishop Amat H.S./La Puente, Calif.).
Other top talent in the Spiece Tournament to watch are: Long Island Roadrunners' 5-9 sophomore point guard Daon Merritt (St. Raymond's H.S./Bronx, New York), Martin Brothers Select's 6-3 junior Jeff Horner (Mason City H.S./Mason City, Iowa), Spiece Pistols' 6-9 junior Tyler Best (Lafayette Catholic H.S./Lafayette, Ind.), Wisconsin All-Stars' 6-8 junior Steve Novak (Brown Deer H.S./Brown Deer, Wisconsin) and St. Louis Gameface's 6-3 junior Jimmy McKinney (Vashon H.S./St. Louis, Missouri).
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