Gator Country

Joel Berry, pictured here watching Florida's basketball game against national champion Kentucky, said he played well session one of the EYBL in Minneapolis. / Gator Country photo by Mike Capshaw

This past weekend featured several Florida Gators’ basketball targets and verbal commitments at AAU tournaments across the country.

With teams playing from Memphis to Pittsburgh to Las Vegas, the Florida coaching staff had its hands full in trying to take in as much action as possible.

Here is how some current Gators’ basketball targets fared in tournament action this weekend and a few of their thoughts on how they played:

* Committed to Florida* 2013 PG Kasey Hill (Montverde Academy/ Clermont, Fla.) Regarded as one of the top junior point guards in the country, Hill backed up that claim with an outstanding performance this weekend at the VIP Exclusive Run tournament. He helped lead the Florida Rams 17-and-under team to an undefeated record and took home the division championship. Hill was named Most Valuable Player for the 17U division.

2014 PG Joel Berry (Lake Highland Prep/ Orlando, Fla.) Berry participated in session one of the EYBL in Minneapolis.

“I did pretty good,” Berry said. “I distributed the ball well and scored when I needed to and played get-on-the-ball defense.”

2013 SG Josh Hart (Sidwell Friends/ Silver Spring, Md.) Hart was particularly unimpressed with his team’s performance this past weekend at the EYBL session in Minneapolis. Team Takeover went 1-3 on the weekend.

“I think our team underachieved. We didn’t play tough for the whole 32 minutes of every game,” Hart said of the weekend. “I think I could have done better individually by being a better leader.”

2014 SG Adonys Henriquez (Orlando Christian Prep/ Orlando, Fla.) Henriquez took part in the Adidas VIP Exclusive Run with the Florida Rams 16U squad. Henriquez contributed in a major way by scoring 17 points in the championship game against Indiana Elite.

2013 SG Robert Hubbs (Dyer County/ Newbern, Tenn.) In Memphis, Tenn., Hubbs and the rest of the M33M AAU team played in the Jack Jones Shootout.

“I thought we did really well as a team,” Hubbs said. “Individually, I thought shot the ball well and scored against really talented defenders.”

2014 PF Jalen Lindsey (Christ Presbyterian/ Nashville, Tenn.) Lindsey was also in Minneapolis this weekend to play in the EYBL.

“I knocked down a lot of my shots, owned the paint, played defense well a nd tried to play hard every possession,” Lindsey said.

2013 SG Markel Crawford (Melrose High/ Memphis, Tenn.) Crawford hit the court with the Memphis Magic this weekend. His team lost in the Elite 8 of the tournament and Crawford believed like his defense was the strongest aspect of his performance this weekend.

2013 SF Reggie Cameron (Hudson Catholic/ Paterson, N.J.) Cameron played in the first session of the EYBL. Although his team finished 2-2, Cameron thought he shot well from the field as well as form the free throw line.

2014 SG Dimitri Thompson (Orlando Christian Prep/ Orlando, Fla.) Thompson and the D12 Warriors traveled to Pittsburgh, Penn for the Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest.

“I played an all-around good tourney,” Thompson said. “It was a good experience starting in 17U and playing against good competition like Baltimore Elite and Atlanta Express.” Thompson added his team finished 4-1 and received a lot of exposure through the tournament.

2014 PG Richard Lee (Blanche Ely/ Pompano Beach, Fla.) Lee is a teammate of Joel Berry on the Each 1 Teach 1 AAU team. Lee, who was playing in the EBYL event, had a tournament high of 15 points.

“Last weekend was a great experience for me,” Lee said. “I played well on both ends of the floor and my team was great as we went 4-0.”

About the author

DrewLaing

Drew Laing is a junior at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Before college, Drew lived in Lakeland, Fla., his entire life. He began in journalism during his senior year of high school and has continued studying it throughout college. In addition to his internship at Gator Country, he is the Editor-In-Chief of The Samford Crimson and a collegiate correspondent for USA Today. Drew enjoys the finer things in life like Tampa Bay Rays baseball and PB&J sandwiches.

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