MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Thursday marked the opening day of the second annual River City Showdown. After a highly successful inaugural tournament, which featured Division I signees like Joe Jackson, Casey Prather, Tarik Black, Chris Crawford, and Austin Hollins, this year's teams have mighty big shoes to fill. On Day 1 of the Showdown, big men
Nino Johnson (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) and
Willy Kouassi (Birmingham, Ala./Central Park Christian) were the first to step up to the challenge.
Standout players
Nino Johnson
2011, PF, 6-8
Finishing with both hands and displaying good handles in the open court, Johnson picked right back up where he left off earlier this spring. He corralled loose balls and snagged rebound after rebound. Although he missed a wide-open dunk in transition, he was probably the most dominant player on the floor in the Memphis Magic Elite versus Arkansas Warriors game. Johnson undoubtedly finished with a double-double.
Willy Kouassi
2011, C, 6-10
He has a nice touch inside and finishes with authority. Kouassi is definitely not afraid to dunk in traffic. A little slight in stature, he "looks" a little too frail to be physical in the paint and was moved around by shorter opponents, but still showed a huge amount of upside. Kouasssi has great lift off the floor at both ends of the court and his timing as a shot-blocker allowed his teammates to convert on multiple fast break opportunities.
Player to watch
Bernard Morena (Birmingham, Ala./ Central Park Christian)
2011, SF, 6-8
He is a versatile, inside-out small forward with an effective jumper out to the 3-point line. He appears more comfortable on the wing than in the post, but attacked the basket consistently from the wing. Although he appears to be a true wing, he did run the point some for Team Alabama and showed good handles and the ability to get-and-go.
Notes
• DeAndre Harper (Douglasville, Ga./Alexander) has a good frame, but needs to add some extra muscle. He showed good range out to 18 feet but has somewhat of a slow release. Harper had a few quick and aggressive drives, showing good handle and a knack for knowing when to give it up. Harper also caught two alley-oops on back door cuts and caught a third at the beginning of the second half off of a dive down the lane. Harper had a nice little sidestep on a drive in transition to avoid the charge and finish with the bucket.•
Telvin Wilkerson (Memphis, Tenn./Melrose) has a great frame and tremendous handle. Using his quickness to get in the lane, Wilkerson was the initiator for most, if not all, of M33M's offense. The main issue for Wilkerson was that his teammates failed to convert on many of the opportunities Wilkerson set for them.
Brooks Hansen writes for ESPN affiliate MemphisRoar.com, while Matt Scott writes for ESPN affiliate TheShiver.com
