The CAVS boys (of the 12U realm) headed down (or is it up?) to Lancaster for the AVAC Hoyas Kyree Brown Memorial Tourney this past weekend, April 30th-May 1st, 2011. For those who don’t know, Kyree Rashad Brown was a 13U Hoyas player who passed away on April 6th from congenital heart failure. Our condolences and prayers go out to Kyree's family!! Part of the proceeds from this tourney are supposed to be donated to the "Kyree Brown Foundation", which goes to the American Heart Association for kids suffering from heart conditions.
We were all in the same basketball circles, so we will certainly keep Kyree’s family and friends in our prayers!! Again, Kyree was only 13 - very, very young. We truly encourage you to leave an online note, thought or prayer for the family, as you would want it done if it happened with someone in your family. Please visit the online memorial HERE.
On a positive note, CAVS 12U brought home the championship!! Together, we raise the trophy in memory of Kyree!! Well….we couldn’t actually really raise the trophy until Monday night’s practice, but that is a different story altogether. Ahem---no trophies at our gym—after the championship game—ahem—our coach had to send everyone home and—ahem – stay behind to wait on them. Yeah. You get the picture. It’s all love, though. We got em’ and that’s the point! Stick around…we’ll explain how it was accomplished.
CAVS 12U started the weekend off with an early 9am game against the Phenoms. Even though the 12U boys didn’t officially “wake up” until the second half, they still played at half-mast and gained the victory, 42-22.
Two hours later, in the same gym, CAVS 12U defeated the Phantoms, 40-18. Yet, apparently, 12U was still not the first seed, but the second seed. Hmm. Imagine that.
On Sunday’s semi-finals (in a rather nice-looking gym location at Eastside High) CAVS 12U picked up another win against the Hub City Gym Rats, 48-23, placing them in the championship game.
You can tell this gym location was better lit than Saturday’s games when you see the photo comparisons on our Facebook site. Oh well. Great sports photography requires two things: Good lighting and a superb, SUPER fast SLR camera that runs the price of about four car payments, with a lens the size of a megaphone.
One out of two ain’t bad.
We will rock it until the wheels fall off.
So, CAVS 12U would then face off with the owners of the “first seed” title, Hard Work Basketball for the championship.
Okay. Now, I don’t know if our CAVS parents were feeding their kids emergency Wheaties before this game, but CAVS 12U came to PLAY. Period.
Every one of the 12U boys played with an energy on offense and on defense that probably amazed the coaches. Was there something in the air?
Ha! Yeah. That reminds me. Speaking of air, was it just me, or did this particular championship gym location (even with the front door open) reek of elephant and llama hind parts? Is someone using the location on the weekends to store zoo animals? Dude, seriously. No offense. We love you and all, but it was only made worse by accommodating a gym full of already sweaty athletes. Febreeze it, people!! FEBREEZE IT!!!
Anyways....back to the championship game. Our big boy, Billy Preston, Jr., was just killin’ em’ with the power layups and most of our boys morphed into shooters that day, along with shooting whiz DJ McDonald and were just not missing 3-pointers. One highlight of the game was when our rapid rebounder Colden Davis - instead of rebounding and passing the ball on - took the ball coast-to-coast for a smashing layup! The gym went wild….well…at least from the CAVS side of things. It was AWESOME! Here he is, below, in the semi-final game vs. the Hub City Gymrats, administrating that CAVS defense. Go Colden!!! WE SEE YOU!!
CAVS 12U took home the championship, 58-23. Go CAVS 12U!!!
(From L to R: Isaiah Richardson, Isaiah Roby, Coach Kris Walker, Brian Devereaux, Cameron Townsend, Taj Regans, Billy Preston, Jr., D.J. McDonald, Coach Darryl McDonald, Pearson Parker, and Elijah Walker. Missing from this photo: Colden Davis, Mike Irving, Jr. and Chasen Pender)
Next stop: Palm Springs, then Reno, baby!!! Check out the clickable flyers at the top of this website...and keep it locked right here, for all the latest. GAME ON!!
***Check out all this weekend’s tourney photos on our Facebook site HERE.
******Full game details for all divisions are always available on our main website: http://www.cavsyouthbasketball.org. Check back often for updates, as they are posted at varied times by multiple staff members.
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