Note: We took a lot of photos at the 2010 Primetime Shootout, which turned out to be a terrific event with two indisputably classic games. Here are some of our favorites that weren’t used in the articles I wrote about it:
Kyrie Irving, warming up for the second half against Oak Hill on Friday night.
After watching national prep school powerhouse Oak Hill edge star-studded St. Patrick on Friday night by one point, I figured I had seen the premier game of the Primetime Shootout.
As it turned out, I was in for a real surprise on Saturday – as was Oak Hill, which learned two lessons: Never take anything for granted, and never draw blood from St. Peter’s Prep star guard Myles Davis.
While watching Roscoe Smith’s athleticism and talent help tilt the scales in favor of Oak Hill in their showdown against St. Patrick on Friday night, it was clear to me that what he brings to the table could definitely have helped Duke’s team next year.
And I recalled that at one point, Smith wanted very much to go to Duke, and that the feeling was somewhat mutual, though he wasn’t their first target – that would be Harrison Barnes, the nation’s top recruit who famously and publicly picked North Carolina.
So with Barnes rocking baby blue, why didn’t Roscoe end up taking the spot earmarked for his contemporary at Duke, opting instead to commit to the University of Connecticut?
Talk about a lousy day. After St. Patrick’s (No. 6, ESPN Rise) was banned from the New Jersey state tournament earlier in the day because coach Kevin Boyle attended practices before he was technically allowed to, they lost an absolute heartbreaker, 79-78, to No. 7 Oak Hill when gritty shooting guard Derrick Gordon missed a pair of foul shots with .4 seconds left.