WAUKEGAN, Ill. – To say that the Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Flight Elite 13 squad crushed everything in its path this weekend would be a gross understatement.
The Flight Elite rolled to the title of the 14/13U bracket at USJN’s eighth annual Great America Showcase, beating six opponents by an average of 42 points a game.
The collection of rising eighth- and ninth-graders beat the Illinois Defenders 13 Black 81-36 in Sunday’s championship game, raising the squad’s record to 38-2 despite missing two of the team’s post players in the Chicagoland event.
“We really focused on (defense) this tournament, and it paid off,” coach Nicholas Levy said. “We really crushed some people.”
The Oshkosh Flight Elite program is in its fourth year, having started as one team in 2011, to two teams the following year, and then four in 2013. There are 11 teams this season, the growth spurt attributed at least partly, Levy said, to an appearance at the AAU nationals last summer.
The group of players that blitzed the Great America Showcase finished second at nationals in 2013.
“Once we got back, the club just kind of blew up,” said Levy, who coaches three teams (12, 13, 14). “A lot of people wanted to see what we were doing.”
Levy said the Flight Elite have “a little bit of a different philosophy” than other clubs in Wisconsin. The Elite travels more, he said, and it has an offensive approach that emphasizes all-around development regardless of a player’s position.
“We make sure we run a four-guard, one-post (offense),” he said. “We work the dribble-drive offense a lot. A lot of (other clubs) don’t do that. Especially at the younger ages, we really focus on all of our girls having those skills. So we’re taking post players who normally just sit in the post on their school teams and making them (be) guards.”
That was evident at Great America, as players bounced around the court in various positions – guards posting up, forwards stepping out, all of them handling the ball.
And, equally important, they shared the ball readily.
“They get along on and off the court really well. They’re a big family,” Levy said. “They’re a good group of kids, that’s for sure.”
Wisconsin ABC Knights hang on
They made it more interesting than coach Terry Bennett would have liked, but the Wisconsin ABC Knights 17 hung on for a 58-56 victory against the Michigan Battlecats 16 in the final of the 17/16/15U bracket Sunday.
The Knights nearly blew a double-digit cushion in the final four minutes before securing the title.
“Just got lackadaisical,” Bennett said. “Give (the Battlecats) some credit. They put on some pressure.”
The Knights opened an 11-point lead early in the second half and appeared to be cruising, but the Battlecats didn’t succumb easily. The margin was down to five points with 1:15 to play, and it was four before Sammie McCarthy scored on a steal and layup with :03 remaining. But the Battlecats couldn’t stop the clock.
The title represented a solid piece of progress for the Knights, whose roster has undergone some changes this year. Program stalwart Bre Cera, a Green Bay commitment, chose to play for Midwest Elite, while leading scorer Jalah Harris (2016, Kenosha, Wis.) tore her Achilles.
“I think we’re maturing,” Bennett said. “We’ve got a young group. As we went on (in the tournament) we got better. We haven’t had much practice. I think we took the right step forward, getting ready for the July period.”
The Knights will compete in USJN events in Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Washington D.C. in July.
Dramatic win for Illinois Extreme Intensity
Elena Porrata’s three-pointer at the buzzer handed Illinois Extreme Intensity 12 a 51-48 victory against Oshkosh Flight Elite 12 in the title game of the 12/11U bracket.
Extreme Intensity inbounded with 5.6 seconds left and worked the ball around to an open Porrata, who buried the shot and touched off a neat celebration with her teammates.
“I was just waiting for this moment,” Porrata said. “I just wanted to get the ball and shoot it and see if it went in.”
The bucket capped a furious comeback, as Extreme Intensity’s fullcourt pressure sparked the elimination of a seven-point deficit in the second half and eventually resulted in a five-point lead with 3:55 to go.
Oshkosh tied the game for the final time on Cassie Schiltz’s steal and layup with 27 seconds left, setting up the Intensity’s final heroics.
“Lately we’ve been having trouble finishing games,” Intensity coach Tre Jackson said. “The girls showed heart and determination and we came back.
“Each game was progress. It’s been about four weeks since we’ve played in a tournament. We finished second in a small tournament in Romeoville. We still had a bad taste from that finish. This was icing on the cake.”
Notes and Notables
Cooks Getting Comfortable
Sidney Cooks is having a summer of transition, but it hasn’t slowed her on the basketball court.
A stalwart on the Wisconsin ABC Knights 17 team for three years, the 6-foot-4 post player is a veteran presence for a program that has one team this season.
“This is the first year that we only have one team,” Cooks said. “We’re a very diverse team. There are a lot of different ages on our team.”
Players from three classes comprise the ABC Knights roster, but the headliner is Cooks, who led the team to a 3-0 record in Pool A of USJN’s eighth annual Great America Showcase on Saturday and the championship of the 17/16/15U bracket Sunday.
“We had a good connection today,” Cooks said. “We haven’t played together in a while and haven’t had that many practices. But coming out today we looked really good and connected for once. I was happy.”
For the first time, Cooks also is playing for the Minnesota North Tartan program.
“They’re really good, really big,” Cooks said. “I know some stuff I have to work on now, from having played with them. I’m ready for the next few years to be with them, and to get stronger and be smarter with my game.”
Cooks’ frame is long and lean, featuring a havoc-inducing wingspan on the defensive end. She is developing as a face-up offensive player who seems comfortable handling the ball and making a smooth transition to the perimeter when the situation affords itself.
But Cooks’ primary objective is to gain physical strength, which will make it easier to handle the rugged play she’ll see around the basket at the next level.
“More strength,” Cooks said. “Facing bigger girls, sometimes I struggle. You can’t just be tall. You have to have some body on you. I’m working on that this summer and am going to continue to do that.
“Hopefully by my junior year I’ll be good enough to stay with them.”
Cooks remains a primary recruiting target for major-conference programs. She picked up a scholarship offer three days ago from Marquette to go along with offers from DePaul, Michigan State, LSU, Purdue and Wisconsin, among others.
Cooks, who will begin her sophomore season at St. Joseph High School in Kenosha, Wis., in August, has taken an unofficial visit to DePaul and will take one to Marquette this week.
Impressive start for Oshkosh Flight Elite
Three teams from the Wisconsin Oshkosh Flite Elite program competed in the Great America Showcase on Saturday, and when the day was complete, coach Nicholas Levy couldn’t find much to complain about. The teams were a combined 9-0.
The Flight Elite 13 squad was perhaps most impressive, given that its post players – Class of 2018’s Lucy Updike and Makenzie Becker – weren’t available Saturday. Sunday saw them claim the championship in the 14/13U bracket
“They played phenomenal,” Levy said, after his team posted an 86-49 victory to finish the day Saturday. “They’re getting ready for the July series, so they’re at the top of their game right now.
“We’re not even at full (strength) today. All our girls can really play inside and outside. They don’t care. They’re really an unselfish group.”
Chief among them is the only 2019 player on the roster, 5-8 McKenna Warnock. Warnock essentially played every position on the court, bouncing inside and out to show off a versatile game. Probably best suited for the perimeter, Warnock displayed good vision and instincts with a willingness to go under the basket in search of rebounds.
Chloe Marotta, a 5-11 2018 forward, was effective inside in the absence of the team’s regular posts. A high-energy type with an aggressive streak, Marotta’s game is based on grit and determination.
Levy said the Flight Elite will make its first appearance at the USJN/Nike 17U National Championship in Washington D.C. in July.
Massachusetts program hits the Midwest
When program director Lisa Garrett was looking for a late-June tournament for her Massachusetts-based Wildcats 15 squad, she heard good things about the Great America Showcase.
So the Wildcats hopped on a plane and made their debut in Chicagoland.
“We’re starting to travel a bit more,” Garrett said. “We heard the Chicago tournament was a good tournament. We thought we’d come see how we do against some Midwest teams.”
The results weren’t what Garrett was seeking – a win and two losses – but that doesn’t tell the entire story. The Wildcats, she said, probably played better in their losses than they did in the victory.
“I think (we) can play with any of the teams we’ve played here,” she said. “I’d like to play them again, the first two teams (that beat us).”
The program, based in Boston’s MetroWest area, is in its 31st year. Garrett has been with the program for 18 of those years, and the club now includes seven teams. The oldest of the seven – the Class of 2016s – was the only one that made the trip this weekend.
More traveling is a part of their future growth.
“We’re looking to expand,” she said. “We’re talking about maybe the Las Vegas tournament next year.”
