For the second consecutive weekend, the St. Louis area will be hosting a big grassroots basketball tournament during the all-important July evaluation period.
The Adidas Three Stripes Alliance Invitational will be held this weekend at the Center of St. Louis (6727 Langley Ave.) in Affton. Summer basketball programs from nine states will convene in St. Louis to compete in front of hundreds college coaches who are expected to attend. The action will begin on Thursday and will run until Sunday afternoon. The field is loaded with top talent from around the country.
The tournament will be held in the 15U, 16U and 17U divisions. The states represented are Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, Colorado, Mississippi and Kansas.
Among the top local teams in the field are the St. Louis Eagles and Gateway Basketball Club. The Eagles 17U team just finished a successful season in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League where they finished second in the Nike Peach Jam.
Coming to St. Louis are many programs that were a part of the Adidas Gauntlet League, including the Florida Elite, Indiana Elite, Eric Gordon All Stars (IN), Memphis Magic, Arkansas Hawks, Derrick Rose, Colorado Hawks and Mississippi Basketball Association.
The Three Stripes Invitational will feature many of the top players in the country, locally and nationally. Several players are currently ranked among the Top 100 players in the nation in their respective classes. The headline performers for the Eagles are Duke-bound Jayson Tatum (No. 2 in ESPN) and Tyler Cook (No. 73 in Rivals) of Chaminade, both have been invited to play in the Nike Global Challenge in Chicago this week and may not be in St. Louis.
Some of the other nationally ranked talent expected to play this weekend are:
- Mario Kegler 6’8” (Mississippi Basketball Association): No. 36 ESPN
- De’Ron Davis 6’8” (Colorado Hawks): No. 31 in Rivals
- Jaren Jackson 6’8” (EG 10 All Stars): No. 48 in Rivals, 2017
- Kyle Guy 6’2” (Indiana Elite): No. 59 in Rivals. Committed to Virginia
- Eron Gordon 6’4” (EG 10 All-Stars): No. 81 in Rivals
- Matthew Moyer 6’8” (Indiana Elite): No. 51 in ESPN. Committed to Syracuse
- Jeremiah Tillmon 6’11” (St. Louis Eagles): No. 13 in Rivals, 2017
- Xavier Sneed 6’5” (St. Louis Eagles): No. 102 in Rivals
- Jordan Goodwin 6’3” (St. Louis Eagles): No. 88 in Rivals, 2017
- Alonzo Verge 6’3” (St. Louis Eagles) No. 84 in Rivals, 2017
- Chol Mariol 7’2” (Florida Elite): Rising incoming freshman
- Reggie Perry 6’9” (Arkansas Hawks): Top 15 in Class of 2018
- Eathan Henderson 6’5” (Arkansas Hawks): No. 13 in ESPN, 2018
- Quentin Goodin 6’3” (Indiana Elite): No. 95 in ESPN.
Other players to watch include: Keon Clergeot (Florida Elite); Tyrus Grayson 6’5” (Arkansas Hawks); Jalen Crutcher 6’0” (Memphis Magic); Jason Draggs 6’9” (Memphis Magic): Attends North Tech in St. Louis; SK Shitter 6’9” (Arkansas Hawks); Fred Thatch 6’3” (St. Louis Eagles 15U), Aaron Cook 6’2” (Gateway 17U), Christopher Yannick Sodom 7’4” (Memphis Magic); Michael Lewis 6’2” (Gateway 17U), Jordan Barnes 5’9” (St. Louis Eagles 17U);
For more information on the tournament and to get a complete schedule, visit the website midwestpremierhoops.com and click on Three Stripes Alliance.
Eagles are Peach Jam Runners-Up
The St. Louis Eagles 17U basketball team finished in second place at the prestigious Nike EYBL Peach Jam in Augusta, Georgia last weekend. St. Louis finished with a 7-1 record with their only loss coming to the Georgia Stars in the championship game. The Eagles were 5-0 in pool play, then defeated the Houston Hoops in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, they defeated the CP3 All-Stars 74-73 on a dramatic buzzer-beater by CBC guard Jordan Barnes.
Tre Bryant picks Kansas State
Standout running back Tre Bryant of CBC recently gave a verbal commitment to Kansas State. The 5’10” 190-pound Bryant helped lead the Cadets to the Class 6 state championship last season. As a junior, Bryant rushed for 1,072 yards and scored 21 touchdowns for the Cadets’ high-powered offense that averaged nearly 50 points a game. Bryant picked Kansas State over Minnesota, Kansas, Northwestern and Syracuse.
