(Blake Griffin showed up for the championship & addressed the group following the event)
Need a distraction from college football gloom-and-doom? This was one heck of an event put on Team Griffin at the Hoop House in Oklahoma City. I went in believing it would be nothing but glorified scrimmages, but it was legitimate competition every step of the way.
I didn't attend Saturday's round-robin scrimmage day, but I was there Sunday for the semifinals and championship.
Kinda cool the games were streamed LIVE on YouTube. Even during the event, you could tell college coaches were watching and making calls and making offers. As top-notch an event as you'll find from organization to execution.
Shall we roll? OK, we shall.
(Oh, so that's what the Daimion Collins hype is about)
Semifinal No. 1 - Grey 87, White 81
Well, this was all about watching Daimion Collins vs. KJ Adams. And both of them absolutely delivered.
It was a slow start for Collins in the first half before he picked up the intensity and performance in the second half. Sorta thought Collins and Adams would let each other have their moments, but they fought each other the whole time. No freebies here.
Collins finished with a game-high 21 points, and I think (don't quote me) 17 of those came in the second half. He showed the arsenal in the second half. Better ball handler than you would think and someone who has spent a ton of time working on his outside shot.
You hear about Collins' freakish athletic ability, and that's why it was nice to see him go up against someone like Adams, who is stronger than Collins. Adams certainly had his moments as well and you understand why Kansas wants him for its 2021 class.
Collins said COVID-19 is definitely making him rethink his decision. It's clear OU is still definitely in it at 1a. or 1b. Full story with Collins later in the week.
(TJ Caldwell was one of the several 2022 standouts)
Buying stock in a couple of 2022 OU targets, and we'll start with T.J. Caldwell.
As Collins raised his game in the second half for White, felt Caldwell did the same thing for Grey. He finished with 14 points. And he can seem to be going in slow motion and then come out of nowhere to showcase what he can really do.
He didn't finish either put-back dunk attempt, but there were two that would have went viral if he did. His explosiveness and power was something to see.
Call it a cop-out, but it just feels like you're not gonna learn a lot about 2022 recruiting with guys who haven't been able to visit. As is, OU would be smart to keep pursuing Caldwell as much as possible.
***
(Another dominant showing by Alexander)
Semifinal No. 2 - Red 111, Black 87
This was the Trey Alexander game, or at least it felt that way. He set the tone right in the first 5-10 minutes and dominated in every way possible.
Alexander scored a team-high 30 points and didn't play much of the last 10 minutes as Red had built up such a huge lead.
Had a good interview with Alexander, and you can tell he's a little unsure of how to handle things because of COVID-19. More schools coming into the picture, but he said he's hoping for a legitimate top 10 in next couple of months.
Like Collins, have a full story about Alexander/OU later this week.
(Buy all the Wallace stock you can)
The head-turner of the weekend for me was Cason Wallace, another 2022 OU target.
Wallace had a game-high 35 points, and just like KJ vs. Daimion was fun to watch, Cason vs. Trey had its moments, too.
With Wallace and Caldwell both being Texas HS kids, ya gotta feel like OU is gonna have more than a puncher's chance moving forward.
He took it strong to the hole and really forced Alexander to play on defense. Talking around, sounds like Wallace was just as solid Saturday as he was Sunday. Intrigued to see if his recruitment gets a boost.
(When Oyona figures it out, whew)
Just store the name for now. 2023 prospect David Oyona.
Another Sunrise Christian kid (like Buddy Hield). You saw glimpses, but he was also in foul trouble so you never really got to see an extended period of time with him doing his thing.
***
(KJ Adams is the real deal)
Championship - Grey 96, Red 78
Alexander started off strong, but he couldn't sustain neither could the rest of the team as Grey took over in the latter portion of the first half and never looked back.
Adams had 18 points, and Red simply had no clue how to defend him and Adams had a field day blocking and altering shots on the other end.
Another solid outing from Caldwell, too, with 15 points. Alexander finished with a game-high 20 points.
(Will he/won't he when it comes to OU?)
***
Gridiron two-sport stars
Had a couple in the 2023 class that have already been offered by OU in football. There was Jaden Greathouse.
(Greathouse offered as a WR for 2023 class)
And Mustang's Jacobe Johnson.
(Johnson was the lockdown defender dude this weekend)
Being as this was the first real basketball event, you could tell how much guys like Johnson and Greathouse were in football mode.
***
Note: 2021 OU commit Bijan Cortes is recovering from injury or else he definitely would have been involved as well.
There were a couple of other names like Caden Fry and D.J. Freeman who impressed this weekend, but I've hit the wall.
Gonna call it a night.
(Collins has five-star potential written all over him)
Up next: Basketball Intel later this week, talking Alexander and Collins and how OU's 2021 class is shaping up.
