With just seconds remaining on the clock, Triple Double Elite East forward Wade Collie had one thought on his mind — don’t miss.
Not with the hundreds of college coaches filling the stands at Green Valley High for this year’s Reebok Summer Championships on Tuesday. Nor in front of his AAU teammates, who have just as much on the line for the recruiters as Collie.
So sinking a game-winning three-pointer was a good start.
“I was just thinking to myself, ‘You better not miss,’ ” said Collie, who helped lead the Elite to a 66-64 win over the Arkansas Hawks 17s. “I had already missed two lay-ups that would have given us the lead. We needed the shot and I just did my best.”
The tournament runs through July 26 at eight sites in the Henderson area with 200 teams in competition. The summer session falls during an NCAA summer evaluation period in which college coaches are able to view recruits in action but not make contact until Sept. 9.
Collie is playing with a strained wrist and pulled groin, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance to show recruiters what he had to offer.
The Silverado senior-to-be posted a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Silverado guard Ali Sabra scored 13 and Foothill graduate Earl Jones added 14. Triple Double Elite has three teams in the event, including its East squad which has 11 players from the Henderson area.
“This is definitely not the ideal situation for me to be playing in, but I’ve got to get to college,” Collie said. “I wasn’t going to miss out on having all these coaches see me. We’ve had a whole bunch come to our games so far.”
Basic senior-to-be center James Holmes scored seven points and collected seven rebounds, but was disappointed with his performance.
“It’s a good tournament with a lot of tough teams but I could have played better,” Holmes said. “I want as many coaches to see me as possible but hopefully they see I can be an offensive threat and play defense. I’m trying to be aggressive, rebound, score and block shots. I want them to see a balanced player.”
Elite coach Tyrell Jamerson said Holmes has untapped potential that is starting to emerge and — like the rest of the Elite — has a lot to offer college coaches.
“These kids have no idea how proud I am of their development,” Jamerson said. “I’ve been coaching most of them since they were freshmen and they’ve come a long way. I think competing in tournaments like this has been a big part of that. They need this exposure to the top teams in the country.”
Collie said the team’s level of play was impressive considering the majority of the roster hasn’t played together since mid-April. He feels the Elite could make an impact as it moves deeper into pool play.
“We looked real good even though we haven’t really been able to practice together,” Collie said. “The flow was still there. We played some solid defense and, most importantly we were competing. We can keep that up. We can play with anybody so long as we’re playing as a team.”
Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].
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