DURHAM -- Knightdale's Stanley Okoye and his Team Hendrick of Durham teammates, a unit built on speed, will face a tall challenge this afternoon in D1 Sports for the championship of the S.J.G. Greater NC ProAm summer basketball league at N.C. Central.
The two will square off for the tournament championship at 4:30 p.m. Before that there will be a wheelchair game at 2:30 and a game featuring some of the top high school players in the area at 3:30.
In the first round of the tournament Friday night, D1 defeated Lucky Seven 69-65, led by the Duke duo of Ryan Kelly (22 points) and Andre Dawkins (20). NBA player and former N.C. State star Josh Powell was on Lucky Seven but joined D1 for the semifinals. Once a team loses out, one player can advance to the next round with another team.
Team Hendrick toppled Body of Christ 80-77 behind 27 points by former Norfolk State star Michael Deloach. Akeem Richmond, a scoring machine at Southern Lee High who now plays for Rhode Island, scored 35 in the loss and then joined Team Hendrick.
Also in the first round, former Sanderson star Landon Clement (N.C. Central) scored 31 in Team Dreamworks' 78-62 win over Team Stackhouse, and former Southern Durham center Julian Gamble (University of Miami) led Team Jamison to a 61-46 win over Team Navy.
In the semifinal opener, Hendrick ran its way past Dreamworks, 96-78, despite 41 points by Corey Evans (Northern Durham High, Carver Bible College in Atlanta).
Derrick Wiley, a summer league veteran, led the winners with 23 points. Richmond added 20 and Okoye 15.
From Knightdale, to VMI, to Hendrick, Okoye always seems to end up on a team that runs, which suits him fine. A 6-foot-5 sophomore, he averaged 14 points and six rebounds his freshman year.
"We expect to win it," Okoye said. "We play fast, and bigger teams get tired. We cause matchup problems for other teams. We're not a big team so I know I have to rebound for us, too."
Hendrick certainly doesn't have the size to battle Kelly and Powell inside. Kelly scored 13, Dawkins added 15, and Powell notched 21 for his new team in the 81-74 win over Team Jamison.
Gamble scored 16 in the loss but was matched with Powell most of the game.
He didn't back down, blocking a couple of Powell's shots and forcing the NBA veteran to turn up the intensity level.
"I grew up watching him; I was a fan," Gamble said of Powell. "He's a great player, there's a reason he was on two championship teams. He's older and more experienced, but I wanted to show I could hang with the challenge. It was fun."
Duke's Seth Curry led Jamison with 18, while Hayward Fair scored 16.
Kelly said the competition has been good for him and his Duke teammates.
"It's been great playing here the last two years," Kelly said. "To get better you want to play against the best competition you can, and it's here. Playing against Josh Powell can only help. I see his strength, his body, how hard he works. That's what it takes to get to the NBA."
Blue Devils guard Nolan Smith was named the regular-season MVP. He was on Team Dreamworks but missed the tournament as did Marshall and Mason Plumlee. The Plumlees are at a camp in Chicago, and Smith is with the USA Select team, according to Dreamworks coach Eric Vaughn.
"That's my team, right there," Vaughn said. "Nolan only played three games here, but he scored 36, 43, and 28. He looked like a man among boys."
Kelly is looking forward to the championship game.
"I'm a winner, and I want to win every game I play," Kelly said. "We've got some big guys, but we can run the floor. It's fun to play for a championship."
