Jeter close to settling on jersey, for college
Using a coy smile like a child might do with a parent to get something he wants, Chase Jeter looked up at AAU Dream Vision coach Clay Williams after the championship game of the adidas Super 64 on Sunday and said he was keeping his jersey.
“I’ll give him back the shorts, but I gotta keep the jersey,” Jeter said. “I’ve just been with the program so long, and the jersey is just one of those sentimental things I didn’t want to give up.”
Jeter finished his career on the travel basketball circuit by scoring 24 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in Dream Vision’s 79-64 loss to Indiana Elite in the 17-and-under division championship bracket final at Rancho.
The next time we hear from Bishop Gorman’s 7-footer, we’ll learn what college jersey he will wear beginning in the fall of 2015.
“I’m going to make my decision this week,” said Jeter, considered to be a top-10 recruit for the class of 2015. “I haven’t made my decision. I’m going to make it soon. The choices are down to UCLA, Arizona, Duke and UNLV.”
Though he was overshadowed by Indiana Elite’s Ryan Cline, who was 7 of 10 from behind the 3-point line en route to 25 points and the Most Valuable Player trophy, Jeter gave a nationwide audience on ESPNU a sneak preview of his talent.
Jeter was 11 of 21 from the field, mostly from the paint, where he battled Sudanese import Koch Bar, who finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana Elite.
“I think it was a great game overall, the way our team played,” Jeter said. “We played hard, and we gave it our best effort. Just a few mistakes here or there led to a hot streak for Indiana Elite. And it was just kind of tough to get out of that hole we dug ourselves.”
Dream Vision opened the game on a 7-0 run and held a 13-4 lead less than five minutes into the game. Then Cline took over. The 6-4 shooting guard, who has committed to Purdue, scored 17 of his team’s next 24 points to put Indiana Elite ahead 28-23 with 6:22 left in the first half.
“My teammates were just clearing me an open area,” Cline said. “It’s all about them; it’s not me.”
Kyle Guy added 16 points and Chandler White had 10 points for Indiana Elite, while Justin Simon scored 13 and Bennie Boatwright contributed with 12 for Dream Vision.
LAS VEGAS FAB 48
■ DC Premier 50, Louisiana Dynasty 46 — At Bishop Gorman, reserve guard Jamaal King scored a team-high nine points to lead the Washington, D.C.-based powerhouse in the championship bracket final of the invitational division.
It is the second straight year a team from the District of Columbia won the top bracket in the 17-and-under division. DC Assault took last year’s title and was rebranded DC Premier AAU after Curtis Malone, the program’s co-founder, pled guilty to federal drug-trafficking charges.
King hit a 3-pointer with 6:25 remaining in the second half to cap a 10-0 run and put DC Premier ahead 40-32. Jon Davis hit two free throws with 10 seconds left after Louisiana Dynasty cut DC Premier’s lead to 48-46.
Leroy Butts, a Rhode Island commit, had eight points and nine rebounds, and Charlie Thomas added eight points and five boards as nine players scored for DC Premier. Develle Phillips, a 6-9 forward, pulled down nine rebounds.
Louisiana Dynasty’s Jacob Evans, a 6-5 shooting guard ranked No. 144 in the nation by Rivals.com, had a game-high 15 points and four rebounds. Evans’ driving layup cut DC Premier’s lead to 44-40 with 2:30 to play, and he made three free throws with 11 seconds left to bring Louisiana Dynasty within 48-46.
Jahshire Hardnett added 12 points and four rebounds for Louisiana Dynasty, and Jordan Andrews scored 10.
— David Schoen
LAS VEGAS CLASSIC
■ Mac Irvin Fire (Ill.) 74, Houston Hoops 70 — At Spring Valley, Jalen Brunson finished with 20 points, six assists and four rebounds as Chicago’s Mac Irvin Fire captured the 17-and-under platinum division championship.
It’s already been quite the summer for Brunson. He won a gold medal with th the United States team in the FIBA Americas Under-18 tournament and played in the LeBron James Skills Academy and the Nike Peach Jam.
The 6-1 standout scored 16 points in the second half to help his team overcome a 12-point deficit with 12:30 remaining. Brunson, the No. 22 player in the ESPN 100, is considering Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Temple and Villanova.
“I did pretty well this summer,” Brunson said. “I think I really showed, not just to coaches, but to people all over the country, that I could play with the best, and I’m not afraid to play with the best.”
Nicholas Garth led with 21 points for Houston Hoops, which also got 12 points and eight rebounds from Jarred Vanderbilt, the third-ranked prospect for 2017.
— Ashton Ferguson
