Wednesday, March 28, 2012

2012 AAU BASKETBALL: Team D-Rose on the Rise!!!

Cliff Alexander: Class of 2014


Written by: Prospect-Central

Cliff Alexander
The 2011-12 high school basketball season is coming to an end and that of course means one thing...it's time for AAU ball!!! While high school basketball is obviously very important for players who have aspirations for the next level and beyond, it's AAU basketball that might actually play a bigger role in showcasing talent for coaches & recruiters and helping these young men achieve their dreams.


There are a number of excellent 17U AAU squads on the circuit this year.  One such team is the D-Rose All-Stars out of Chicago, Illinois. Team D-Rose is obviously the AAU team of Derrick Rose and thus sponsored by Adidas. They are coached by two excellent basketball minds in Mike & Jerrell Oliver and seem to be a team on the rise despite only being on the circuit for four years.

Tyquone Greer 
Even though the D-Rose All-Stars are a relatively new AAU team, they still have had their share of success as well as produced some pretty solid basketball players. One such baller is Uconn freshman Ryan Boatright. The talented Boatright definitely has a chance to play in the NBA one day.  There are also some nice looking players on the younger D-Rose All-Star teams. Twelve-year old Jaylin Fleming has made some pretty big headlines for Team D-Rose, drawing national attention from the likes of ABC and others

This years 17U squad is looking to make headlines of their own.  They are one of the better AAU clubs from Illinois and should be able to hold their own with most teams on the circuit. The D-Rose All-Stars are led by Top 10 player from the class of 2014 Cliff Alexander. The 6-foot 9 sophomore is a man-child pure and simple and has even received Amare Stoudamire comparisons. Then there's Class of 2014's Tyquone Greer.  The 6-foot 7 Greer is a high major talent with excellent athleticism and should be one of the go to guys on team. The man running the show is Lorenzo Dillard. Dillard is a nice looking prospect who can get to the rim with ease.  He's definitely one of the best point guards in Illinois.

Lorenzo Dillard
Some other notable players rounding out the team are combo guard LJ McIntosh who is always a scoring threat, Lexus Williams who's extremely versatile and 6-foot 8 Marlon Jones who's a Top 20 player in Illinois from the Class of 2014.  Two other solid players worth mentioning are Marcellus Davis who's arguably one of the best 3-point shooters in Illinois and Jeremye Johnson who's very adept at setting up his teammates and running an efficient offense. There are some other nice looking players on the squad as well and the team is always looking to add talented up-and-coming ballers, so don't be surprised if you see some players you normally don't hear about start to make names for themselves this summer.

The D-Rose All-Stars will have plenty of opportunities to showcase their talent on the AAU circuit this year.  They will be playing in a number of major tournaments and should have some decent showings.  A couple of the tournaments they are scheduled to attend are the Adidas Super 64 in Las Vegas as well as the Adidas Invitational from Indianapolis.  For more information about Team D-Rose as well as other high school players and teams from Illinois, be sure to check out Kyle Rande and Hard Hoops News.* Below is a highlight video of Cliff Alexander playing for the 15U D-Rose All-Stars last year.

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