Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Playaz Spring Fling: New York Gauchos vs. Team Phenom

After watching the Playaz/Juice Allstars game, I moved over to another court to watch the highly-regarded New York Gauchos in action. This was another U-17 contest, in which the Gauchos were squaring off against Team Phenom. The Gauchos' roster included Doron Lamb, a sophomore, as well as Durand Scott. Team Phenom had freshman Joey Gripper and Aaron Brown, and was playing up two years, as the squad is of the U-15 age. The Gauchos started off on fire, leading 17-4 after just under six minutes of play. Doron Lamb, one of America's premiere sophomores started off strong, displaying a quick release on his jumper, though he did appear a bit lanky and somewhat awkward. Lamb quickly cooled off and was not much of a factor in the game. Durand Scott had a terrific performance, though. The Rice (NY) star had nice moves to get to the rack, a good handle, and some quickness. In addition, he was solid passing the rock, though he did hurt his hand somewhat late in the first half. Joey Gripper was quiet for Team Phenom and really did not show anything special, possible because he was playing against mostly juniors. The Gauchos were solid from top to bottom, and were too much for Team Phenom to handle, leading 29-9 at the half. I was unable to watch much more of the game, but I saw enough to know that this is a quality team, and realize that Durand Scott is a high-caliber player.

No comments: