Angels at USJN Windy City

The Cincinnati Angels have started the AAU season and competed in their second tournament last weekend in Chicago. While Syd is still sidelined with the ACL injury, she stays as involved with them as she can.

Blue Star Media had a recap article on the Chicago tourney, highlighting the 17u bracket of the weekend. They had a nice write-up on the Angels as they integrate new players onto the team.

The Cincinnati Angels’ 17 Blue squad has three players back from last season, mixed in with seven newcomers.

Don’t feel bad for coach Dante Harlan, though. His roster is as talented as they come, featuring one player who is committed to Louisville and four others rated in the top 50 of their respective classes.

So, while Harlan searches for the right mix and most effective chemistry among all of those moving parts, he has a nice trump card that any coach would envy: playing time.

Harlan has the luxury of switching out one talented player for another if he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.

“I always preach that we’re going to defend, we’re going to rebound and we’re going to take care of the ball,” he said. “You don’t have to be the most athletic kid or the fastest kid to do those things. That’s what I base (playing time) on. It’s the little things that make the difference in winning games. That’s what separates the playing time and they know that.”

A good example was evident in Saturday’s final game, a dandy encounter between the Angels and Wisconsin Playground Elite 16. The Playground Elite won 71-70 in overtime as Harlan stuck with primarily a seven-player rotation through the final 10 minutes of regulation and overtime.

On his bench at the time were three highly rated players.

“They know that basketball changes based on matchups,” Harlan said. “If there’s a five I find (that) I’m comfortable with and they’re doing the things we need to do, that five is going to stay in. And that five changes from game to game.”

The Angels finished 1-2 Saturday, but don’t look for them to suffer many losing tournaments hereafter. The roster includes sophomore Tierra Floyd (Toledo, Ohio), No. 5 in the Class of 2015; junior Alyssa Rice (Reynoldsburg, Ohio), No. 22 in the Class of 2014; along with Naomi Davenport (Cincinnati, No. 26 sophomore) and Emily Thomas (Pickerington, Ohio, No. 48 junior). Junior Sydney Brackemyre has committed to Louisville.

Syd in Battle in the Boro

This past weekend Syd and her Angels teammates traveled to the Nashville area for the Battle in the Boro.  It was a huge tournament with a lot of good – like really good – teams.  In the games I saw the Angels played teams from Dallas, TX, Los Angeles and DC. They had an exhibition game against a team from Rhode Island and lost in bracket play to a team from Maryland.  Again, big tourney, good teams.

Along with good competition, the tournament allowed some of my family to see Syd play a few times.  My sister and brother-in-law live in Nashville, so Jason, Krista, McKenna and Riley got to see some basketball. Riley didn’t like the loud buzzer that would go off, but other than that, she seemed to have fun.

My dad was also able to be there as he was traveling from Orlando to Memphis.  Living in Oklahoma, he doesn’t have the opportunity catch many Ohio ball games, so this was a nice convergence of travel schedules.

As an added bonus, Jason brought his iPad and captured some highlights of Syd playing.  You can see more of them on his blog, but here is a sampling of what he got.  (Thanks Jason!)

 
This is a 3-point shot she made right as the first half expired.

Here’s another 3-point shot from the far corner

Using the glass

Riley even liked this one!

USJN Toledo Blue Star Media Recap

The Cincinnati Angels finished 3-1 over Memorial Day weekend at the USJN Toledo Tournament.  Mark Lewis of Blue Star Media was there providing a few twitter updates which helped those of us who couldn’t get up north for the games.  He had a nice recap of the weekend and featured a couple of Angels players, including my favorite one on the team.  Here’s what he wrote about them specifically.  You can read all of this thoughts on the Blue Star Media site.

The Cincy Angels may have not had a full roster nor did they play their best basketball but its hard not to still take notice of the talent on hand.  Swing player Sydney Brackemyre (Harveysburg, Ohio – 2014) already has major offers on the table but there could be plenty more knocking once July rolls around.  Combining good size at 6-1 with strength and skills makes her a tough assignment defensively.  The ballhandling is there to get to the rim but the form and range will force tight closeouts as well.  There’s a patience to her game on the catch that allows her to read and break down defenders.  The tools are there to defend both the forward and wing spot and she has the agility to be a factor in pressing situations.  Brackemyre is already well suited for the college game and what she does the next two years will determine just how far she can take her game and at what level.

Brackemyre wasn’t the only standout for the Cincy Angels.  Point guard and recent St. Bonaventure commit Imani Outlaw (Cincinnati, Ohio – 2013) demonstrated the game that has Jim Crowley’s staff excited up in Olean.  The 5-8 Outlaw was on constant attack and made things happen both off the drive and from the perimeter.  Using her explosive first step she got by on ball defenders time and again converting at the rim and from a consistent pull up.  She also added several deep jumpers that forced opponents to commit to containing one element of her attack or the other.  Defensively her physical strength offsets any lack of size and allows her to contain and steer opposing ballhandlers.

Cincinnati Enquirer Basketball All-Stars

Syd, along with several Angels players, was named to the Cincinnati Enquirer All-Star Team.  The paper on April 26 listed their picks for each division’s coach and player of the year along with a first team and honorable mention.  Syd made first-team for Division II-IV.

Here’s a copy of the article.

Hershey Champs

The Angles 14u team have added the Hershey USJN Tournament to their victory list.   They went 7-0 for the weekend beating a Philadelphia team 63-53 in the championship game.  They also beat teams from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.  Scores for the game are as follows:

Game 1 – 41-29

Game 2 – 61-7

Game 3 – 73-21

Game 4 – 54-6

Game 5 – 56-38

Semi-Final game – 79-40

The Angels finished first in their pool and received a first round bye in the tournament play.  The Angels have now won four USJN Tournaments in a row.

On a personal note, Sydney had a great tournament.  She averaged almost 18 points a game for the Hershey weekend scoring 22 points in one game and 21 points in another.  In the championship game Sydney and her Clinton-Massie teammate Kasey both scored 18.

Way to go Angels!

Hoopin’ in Hershey

The Angels have been playing well this weekend in the USJN Tournament in Hershey, PA.  We are down a few of our regular starters due to playing with their high school teams, but the two girls who have been training with the team have stepped in and done a great job.  This weekend we have two “Sydneys” on the team…a Sydney B. & a Sydney D.

The girls have beaten teams from New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Sydney B. has played well, scoring 21 pts. in one game and 22 in another.  The Angels play in the semi-final tonight with finals tomorrow.

Go Angels!