As a 6-foot-8, 256-pound 12-year old, Aaron Durley grabbed the nation’s attention during the 2006 Little League World Series playing with a team from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Durley, now a sophomore at St. Thomas Catholic High School in Houston, Texas, is about to return to the spotlight as a budding basketball prospect.
“He’s definitely a high major kid when all is said and done,” St. Thomas head coach Danny Evans said.
Durley checked in at 6-9 ½, 271 pounds this summer and played on the travel circuit with Houston Swoosh Select, one of the area's top developmental programs.
“He’s very skilled. He has one of the best jump hooks around,” Evans said. “We are just trying to get him to be more aggressive on the defensive end. He passes very well and actually has pretty good ball skills. I’m hoping we get another inch out of him.”
Aaron Durley (back row, center) participated in the Little League World Series with Saudi Arabia in 2005 and 2006.
Photo courtesy of Little League International, South Williamsport, Pa.
Durley returned to the United States to attend junior high school at Westbury Christian in Houston after living in Saudi Arabia, where his parents work in the oil industry. His younger brother, Cameron, participated in the Little League World Series in Williamsport with the Dhahran-based team this summer and is already 6-2, 233 pounds.
He now lives with his grandparents in Sugar Land just outside of Houston while attending St. Thomas. Evans is excited about his future.
“He’s worked really hard to get where he is at,” Evans said.
St. Thomas will feature three other sophomores considered to be Division I prospects next season in fellow 6-9 post Jeremy King and guards Anthony Culberson and Christian Sanders.
Junior Matt Wilson adds even more size to the Eagle roster at 6-8 and nearly 240 pounds. He is garnering interest from some football programs as an offensive tackle.
International feel continues at Montverde Academy
Teenagers from all over the globe come to the United States each year to participate in high school basketball. Head coach Kevin Sutton at Florida’s Montverde Academy has been part of that movement with past players joining the program from places like Australia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and Russia among others.
"Our basketball program is a microcosm of the school (which features students from 39 different countries) and the world and I’m honored to be the basketball coach at Montverde Academy for that reason," said Sutton, who is entering his seventh year at the Orlando-area school. "This has been an educational opportunity for me as well. My horizons have been broadened.”
But this year Sutton is pulling from a country not exactly known as a hotbed for basketball. Actually, it’s not known as a hotbed for anything.
Six-foot-five senior Haukur Palsson from Iceland is enrolling at Montverde Academy this fall and Sutton says he is a sure-fire major Division I prospect.
“He is the real deal. He is a Division I player, no question about it," Sutton said. "He can play the two or three, and he has a high basketball IQ. He’s very talented."
Palsson averaged 20.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game at Under-16 European Championship in Portugal last summer, including a 41-point outburst against Belgium.
Steve Mondou-Missi (Cameroon), Papa Samba Ndao (Senegal), Ugo Okam (Nigeria) and Mark Overdevest (New Zealand) add to Montverde's diverse roster this year.
Okam – who speaks five different languages – and Overdevest are both 7-footers.
In addition to the international contingent, the Eagles will also feature top-notch American talent in wings James Bell, a Villanova commitment, and Jamail Jones, a Georgia native who recently verbaled to Marquette.
Sophomore Michael Avery, who garnered national headlines by committing to Kentucky as an eighth grader, will also join Sutton’s cast from California. Avery is no longer committed to the Wildcats.
Field set for Springfield's Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions
Joe Jackson, White Station
Photo by Nicholas Koza
The eight-team field is set for the 26th annual Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions slated for Jan. 14-16, 2010, at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.
Highlighted by defending state champions White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.) and Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.), the participants combined for a 188-50 record a year ago.
MaxPreps Top 100 seniors include No. 8 Fabricio de Melo of Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), No. 11 Joe Jackson of White Station and No. 47 Ian Miller of United Faith.
The event will also feature a heavy dose of top 2011 prospects, including No. 4 Bradley Beal of Chaminade and the Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.) trio of No. 15 Julian Royal, No. 32 Dai-Jon Parker and No. 54 Shannon Scott.
Behind the play of tournament most valuable player and Kentucky signee John Wall, North Carolina’s Word of God Christian Academy defeated Olympia of Orlando, Fla., in the 2009 championship game.
Past participants in the annual event include Larry Hughes, Alonzo Mourning, Lamar Odom, Anthony Peeler and Duke’s Kyle Singler.
Complete field: Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.), Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.), Kickapoo (Springfield, Mo.), Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.), United Faith Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), Weston (Sagemont, Fla.), White Station (Memphis, Tenn.).
Hustle Points
^ Northeast guard Jelani Hewitt poured in 29 points to earn MVP honors and lead Team Deliver past Team Elevate 117-104 in the Next Level Top 24 showcase at Wekiva High School in Apopka, Fla., Saturday night. The all-star affair featured much of the Sunshine State’s top hardwood talent, including MaxPreps Top 100 selections Charles Hankerson (Coral Springs), Stacey Poole Jr. (Jacksonville Providence), Okaro White (Clearwater) and Patric Young (Jacksonville Providence), who won the event’s dunk contest and finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
^ According to a story in the Indianapolis Star, Hoosier State powerhouse Lawrence North lost its second talented player to the prep school/academy ranks when 6-7 Justin Martin elected to spend his senior season at West Virginia’s Mountain State Academy. Florida International commitment Dominique Ferguson left the school earlier this summer for Virginia’s Hargrave Military Academy.
^ Prairie (Brush Prairie, Wash.) sharpshooter Stephen Madison teamed with Jefferson (Portland, Ore.) star Terrence Jones earlier this summer to help Portland-based I-5 Elite take the title at the Center Stage event in Las Vegas. According to the Oregonian, Madison will join Jones once again this season at Jefferson – Oregon’s two-time defending 5A state champion. Madison’s move marks the second time in as many years the Democrats have welcomed an addition from southwest Washington. Last season, guard Antoine Hosley crossed the river from Vancouver’s Evergreen High School. While Jefferson is one of the Northwest's most visible programs, Prairie is no slouch when it comes to success. The Falcons have reached Washington's 4A state tournament (16 teams) six times since 2001, including four-straight appearances from 2005 to 2008.
