ORLANDO – The second edition of the jrNBA Global Championships went to the same USA Central team as one year ago with a 72-35 win over northern neighbor Canada, the International bracket winner. It was close for a quarter, 16-12, but the US outscored the Canadians 18-3 in the second to ice the game before the half.
Central returned to the championship podium with the most balanced team among the USA contingent. The dynamic trio of Jada Williams (Blue Springs, MO), Chloe Cardy (Conway, AR) and S’mya Nichols (Overland Park, KS), all Blue Star 30 players, led the team with a combined 28 points and 16 rebounds and 15 assists.
For mega-social media star Jada Williams this was a mission having not played on the Central team last year despite it being comprised of most of her travel teammates. The decision not to play was based more on the sponsorship end of the event rather than ability. With the eventual clarification of who sponsors whom doing what was done, it was easier for Williams to help join another championship roster for Central.
The true championship game for this event actually took place the night before when Central defeated the USA West contingent which featured another pair of BlueStar30’s in 6-2 Breya Cunningham (Chula Vista, CA) and 6-0 Juju Watkins (Los Angeles, CA), 73-57. Those two combined for combined for 42 points and 22 rebounds in the loss. The game was back and forth with the West holding a 40-38 lead until Cunningham went down with an ankle turn with 3:05 left in the 3rd quarter. Central, with Williams and Clardy leading the way, took advantage of Cunningham’s missed minutes to grab a lead they would never relinquish.
The 3nrd place game between the West and the International runner-up Latin America was easily decided by end of the first quarter with the West holding a comanding 15-1 lead. The same dynamic duo of Watkins and Cunningham combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds in limited minutes during the 62-26 win.
The Latin America contingent featured the event’s tallest player in 6-7 Letycia Miranda Vasconcelos who, at this age, runs the floor and shows pro-level upside. Vasconcelos, who credits her father with starting her in the game, collected 10 rebounds in 15 minutes of play and will be an international impact player in the future. Her fellow Brazilian wing / guard Ana Carolina Ferreira Lopes led the team with 14 points.
Two earlier cross bracket games between USA teams and International squads featured the USA Mid-Atlantic winning 63-55 against a Eur-Middle East team. The Mid-Atlantic US team had three Blue Star 30s on the roster with Jadyn Donovan (Upper Marlboro, MD), Kendall Dudley (Centerville, VA) and Makaela Quimby (Owings Mills, MD). With Donovan out following a concussion during their previous game against Central, it was up to Dudley (who is eligible to return next year to this event) to carry the load finishing with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Lithuanian 6-4 post Elsa Lemmila, the most promising EME prospect, grabbed 8 rebounds in a losing effort.
The other early game had USA Northwest being much too disciplined and talented at the guard line beating the Africa team 72-34. Guards Isabel Sullivan, 20 points (Smmamish, WA) Malia Samuels, 11 points (Durien, WA) and 5-10 whiz Mjracle Sheppard (Durien, WA) were the backbone of this strong Northwest entry. Africa’s shinning star was 13-year-old, 6-2 Egyptian big wing Jana Ehabu Elafy who lead the team with 13 points and 8 rebounds.
SHINING BLUE STARS: Other Blue Star 30s on hand were: Southeast with a trio of “30s” in big wing Courtney Ogden (Atlanta, GA), super-guard Jaloni Cambridge (Nashville, TN) and combo Reniya Kelly (Hoover, AL). The South “30” was 5-10 guard Gisella Maul (Round Rock, TX), The last “30” here was the Midwest team’s 6-0 Mari Bickley (Akron, OH) who saw shockingly limited minutes but was impactful on the floor.
NBA LEADERSHIP: The importance of the jrNBA Global Championships for the NBA and WNBA was on display in full force at the event with the pre-championship awards presentations. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was just one of many NBA-WNBA luminaries in attendance in Orlando. Normally sport leaders like Silver appear for a speech and a photo session. What showed Silver’s appreciation of the importance of the jrNBA Global Championship was his full day involvement up to each game and concluding with the trophy presentation for both Girls and Boys winning teams on FOX television. Media and TV coverage was one of the important aspects of moving this event away from the usual rounds of summer and even post-HS basketball events allowing for coverage on FOX television and the inclusion of bracket games on TWITCH networks. Former NBA and WNBA stars Dwyane Wade (former Miami Heat) and Swin Cash (VP, New Orleans Pelicans) were on hand during the event combining with a very special early appearance by reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart (Seattle Storm). The NBA staffing and daily scheduling for each team gave it the feel of the NBA All-Star game for youth.
CORE VALUE AWARDS: The jrNBA Respect girls award went to “30” S’mya Nichols from the championship USA Central Team. The jrNBA Teamwork girls award went to Canada’s Caidence Amartl . The jrNBA Community girls award winner was 6-3 Giovanna Rocha DaSilva. The jrNBA Determination girls award when to USA West’s Blue Star 30, 6-2 center Breya Cunningham, the event’s most dominate female player. The boys Determination award went to Africa’s athletic phenom Marouf Moumine of Cameroon, who was named MVP last year.
BOYS: Africa, with its crushing athletic athletes, dominated the International side of the bracket to get to the finals to face the USA West before ultimately falling 70-61. There is no doubt that Africa with its better FIBA level performances this year from both the men’s and women’s side will be a force or talent pool to deal with in the future. This youth team had two superstar prospects in Moumine of Cameroon and long lean monster Sedina Limamoulaye Faye of Senegal. This is where the impact of a NBA G-League comes into effect where these players would’ve needed English language work to get either HS or college qualified which takes money. After the FBI exposure of the Men’s College basketball scandal with the shoe companies paying to grease the system, there would be even more money required to get these foreign kids into any USA system. Now that the NCAA is clamping down (somewhat belated and weakly) on college recruiting it’s not hard to see the future impact of the NBA Academies and the pathway to the G-League and eventual NBA by skipping the NCAA college route.
TAKEAWAYS: With the “discussion” over direct shoe company sponsorship put to rest, the future of jrNBA Global is assured in the USA with more and more teams discovering regional jrNBA pathway events. As with any system, even this one will become dominated by the better players and more organized teams. Overseas is where the real impact of basketball growth and potential viewership remain the overwhelming reasons to continue this event which eventually grow to a USA-level High School D-League circuit to round out the NBA talent pyramid.
Don’t let anyone deceive you, Africa is on its way to become a dominate player in the trajectory of youth basketball on a global scale. Africa may be a one-word continent but in reality, it’s a block of regions like Central Africa, West Africa and Southern Africa with thousands of prospective players ready and willing to work hard, play hard and compete hard to change their life. Their showing here at the jrNBA by players from various countries illustrates the depth of ability awaiting the game. The creation of NBA Africa this past year is the signal for the start of that domination that won’t be felt for another decade.
