| 09 August 2010
The Nike Global Challenge concluded Sunday evening with a showdown between four of the nation's top prep prospects: P.J. Hairston and Adonis Thomas for USA South, facing Bradley Beal and Jahii Carson's USA Midwest team.
In the end, P. J. Hairston was simply too much.
Hairston scored 41, shooting 13-28 from the floor and 13-14 from the free throw line to lead USA South to a 123-115 victory in the championship game at Liberty High in Hillsboro, Ore. Hairston, who has verbally committed to play at North Carolina after his senior season, averaged 32 points per game and was named tournament MVP.
While Hairston displayed his long-range shooting on Friday and Saturday, he went to the rim - and subsequently the free throw line - more in the championship game.
"Just taking what they gave me--they gave me the inside more, so that's what I had to take," Hairston said, explaining that it wasn't the team's game plan to get inside on the smaller Midwest squad. "That's what I've been working on all summer, proving people wrong, taking it to the hole and finishing."
Adonis Thomas did his part to ensure the first-place medal too. He scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the final game. Kentavious Caldwell scored 21 and grabbed 11 rebounds for USA South.
This was one of the fastest games in the tournament, with the teams combining for 182 field goal attempts and 63 free throw attempts. Jahii Carson, the lightning quick 5-9 point guard from Arizona, looked to push the pace of the game with every chance he had, and Beal was quick on the trigger all game. Carson finished with 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Beal dropped 40 and and grabbed 8 rebounds.
The USA South team didn't seem to mind the pace, though. Hairston, who looks more like a professional linebacker than a high school shooting guard, said he's in the best shape he's been in all summer.
"I was up to about 230, now I've slimmed down to about 219, 220, so it really helped me out--just keeping in shape, running up and down the court, keeping up with everything," Hairston explained after receiving the MVP trophy.
While Hairston put on a memorable performance Sunday night, one player nearly stole the show.
The most electrifying play of the weekend came in the championship game thanks to USA Midwest's Dominique Pointer, from Winston-Salem, N.C. Pointer threw down a thunderous dunk at the end of the first quarter, leaping over both Dai-Jon Parker and Kentavious Caldwell on a fast break.
Pointer - unranked by Rivals in the class of 2011 - finished with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
Hairston, from Greensboro, N.C., had several rim-shaking dunks of his own this weekend, and his ability to play inside and outside eventually led to an undefeated weekend for USA South.
The present and the future of basketball in North Carolina are as bright as ever.
photo: news-record.com
video link: courtesy tim brown at oregonlive.com
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