MichiganPreps AAU Top 10 Super Poll

Craig Wind

MichiganPreps.com Recruiting Analyst

Talk about it in The Huddle

This is our first Top 10 AAU MichiganPreps' SuperPoll. This will come out again on May 15 and then again on June 1. We'll run it again on July 15 and then the final time on August 1. That takes it through the spring and summer AAU season. If this poll looks dysfunctional at times, it's because AAU is dysfunctional at times. Players come and go. There are very few rules. We'll do the best we can to keep you informed on the line-ups for each team.

<1> The Family 17's (sponsored by: NIKE) This was easy. Draymond Green is the No. 1 player in the Class of 2008 in the state of Michigan from Saginaw High. He's probably headed with his head coach, Lou Dawkins, to Minnesota a year from now. Add Green to the mix with Paul Williams of Renaissance and Dominique Buckley of Romulus (Iowa State) and the depth of their supporting cast along with the recent misfortunes of the Mustangs 17's makes our first No. 1 selection a no-brainer. Devon Braswell of Detroit CMA had a terrific Saturday at the King James Shooting Stars event in Akron. However, The Family lost in the quarterfinals on Sunday morning.

<2> Michigan Hurricanes 17's (Reebok) I saw them play the DC Assault Saturday in Akron. It was a little rugged and they lost a close one, but the Assault appeared to have two or three future pros on their squad not to mention three or four more high D-1 prospects. This is still a guard oriented team with Adrian Burton of Detroit Cooley, Kevon Rose of Detroit Finney, Darnell Brown of Country Day, and Corey Person of Kalamazoo Central leading the way. All four of these players are D-1 bound. If they could just see it in their heart to get Jeremy Lovelady of Wayne Memorial in the mix at 6-9, they'd have more inside presence.

<3> Michigan Select 17's (none) We have to leave them ahead of the Mustangs at this time even though they lost Saturday night by one to a Canadian team while the Mustangs lost in the quarterfinals on Sunday morning. Both Drew Maynard of Lake Orion (a Mustang defection) and Blake Cushinberry of Romeo missed that game and Nic Carerri of L'Anse Creuse got injured in the loss. Those are three starters for this team and most teams cannot lose that many players and still win at a high level. Jay Thames from Port Huron Northern gives them marquee value in the post. They are in the process of getting adidas sponsorship.

<4> Michigan Mustangs 17's (adidas) All you can say is, wow! Five defections in the last three weeks and now they add Latreze Mushatt from Saginaw Arthur Hill and reportedly Lemarcus Lowe from Flint Northwestern and Vincennes Junior College in Indiana, though he wasn't in attendance this weekend in Akron. Jason Washburn of Battle Creek Central still gives them low post presence and a legit D-1 scoring threat. Brad Redford of Frankenmuth gives them a shooter to come off any screen in America and score the basketball. Stacey Waters from Detroit Renaissance is playing the best basketball of any perimeter player in the state of Michigan at this point. He's a mid D-1 player now for certain, trying to produce his way to high D-1 status by the end of July. The Mustangs are still dangerous despite all the recent changes.

<5> Michigan Mustangs 16's (adidas) The only team in Michigan at the 16 or 17-under levels playing on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the King James Shooting Stars event in Akron. That accomplishment along with a deep and talented roster of very strong, physical athletes gets them the No. 5 spot in his poll. If you don't think you have enough size and strength in the low post, you go out and get 6-10 Brad Balkema from Warren Cousino. He weighs in at about 280 pounds and he gives you just a little bit more than five more fouls in the pivot spot. Doug Anderson of Kalamazoo Central, Keenan Coleman of Flint Central (if he plays), and Karien Baker of Detroit Denby (or wherever he ends up) gives the 'Stangs High D-1 pieces to the puzzle at three different positions. This team, with perhaps as many as 10 D-1 prospects in total, could be dynamite in Vegas at the 16-under adidas event in July if they can just hang in there together.

<6> The Family 16's (NIKE) The Mustangs went out and got Balkema so they could match up inside better with teams the likes of The Family. The paint is the only advantage this team has on the Mustangs. Da'Shonte Riley of Detroit Country Day, James Still of Detroit Community, Kyle Bryant of Detroit Murray Wright and Donnovan Kirk of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep gives The Family 20 fouls in the post and a boatload of upside and potential for next year. How polished and skilled and effective they can be this year and in July remains to be seen, but they are talented and huge ranging from 6-7 to 6-11 in height. Advantage Family. However, the Michigan Mustangs have them out-talented on the perimeter. Hence Mustangs No. 5, The Family No. 6

<7> Grand Rapids Storm 17's (none) They started out like a house on fire. They've cooled off somewhat in the past two weeks. We'll see how they perform down at the Spiece event next week in Fort Wayne. This might be the first team to exit our AAU SuperPoll depending upon their future performances. They have size to match up with most teams inside but Sean Jones, Dan Possehl, and Corey Jones must play more physical and aggressive to win games. Ryan Dame of Wayland Union has picked up his game considerably but Ben Simons from Cadillac is still working the kinks out moving up an age level from the 15's to the 17's. The key to this team remains the point guard production from Wes Trammel of Jenison and John Oostema of Grand Rapids Christian. They can't turn it over and they must get the ball to their scorers inside. If that happens in May, the Storm will still be brewing out in Grand Rapids.

<8> REACH Legends 16's (NIKE) This team picked up Brandon Allen from Oak Park and that was a smart thing for head coach Marcus Webster. Allen is long and very athletic with excellent skill out on the perimeter. REACH is loaded with young players trying to play up at the 17-under level, including Dion Sims from Orchard Lake St. Mary's, Austin Anderson from Westland John Glenn, and Gerald Bridges from U of D Jesuit. They are young and bouncy with lots of emotion and intensity. If Allen and the rest of their juniors can keep the boat from sinking early, this team will get better and better and make serious noise later on in the summer.

<9> Grand Rapids Storm 16's (none) Just like their big brothers at the 17-under level, they got off to a fast start two weeks ago and now they've hit a plateau. Their best five of Max Pendergast of Grand Rapids West Catholic, Tony Nelson of Jenison, Alex Lyle of Wayland Union, Tom Snikkers of Hudsonville Unity Christian, and Brent Geers of Grand Rapids South Christian can play with just everybody in the state. The depth is another issue. I still really like this team but they must learn their roles and the marquee players must step up and play to their potential. The basketball must go through the post to the rest of the team in order for this offense to play successfully against great competition.

<10> Showtime 17's (none) Saw them for the first time in Akron this past weekend. The only other legitimate candidate for our SuperPoll Top 10 that didn't make it was the Michigan Hurricanes 16-under. That's because they didn't bring their team to Akron. So maybe I'll get to see them next week or thereafter. In the meantime, Showtime played well with Derek Thompson of Melvindale, a 6-3 wing guard, and Kwon Coville, a 6-4 wing forward from Detroit CMA, leading the scoring for this team. Zac Saylor of Lansing Waverly is 6-8, Stephan Tresic is a 6-7 young senior from Charlotte, and Demetrius Rouse is 6-6 from Detroit Consortium. They give this team bounce and strength in the paint. If they could find a mid D-1 pure point guard with some size and ability, they could be dangerous come July.

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