Illinois Warriors' Pierre Pierce lights up Peach Jam
News & Notes
The Illinois Warriors took second place in the talent filled Nike Peach Jam Classic in
Augusta, Georgia this past week being defeated by the Wisconsin Playground Warriors 75-65
in the finals. Iowa-bound Pierre Pierce is starting to make a serious
national reputation with his recent play at the Nike All-American Camp and here at the
Peach Jam. Netting 34 points against the loaded So. California All-Star Pierre showed what
he is capable of. Mt. Zion's 6'2" point guard Matt McCollum also
played well for the Warriors racking 18 points in the semifinals.
At the recent Wendy's All-Star Classic Team Illinois went 1-1 defeating team Indiana and
losing to team Michigan. 6'5" shooting guard Brett Melton led all
scorers in game-one with 28 points. 6'4" swingman Dwayne Wade led
the team in game-two with 30 points. Team Illinois consisted of Abingdon's Barry
Welsh(Indiana State), Richard's Dwayne Wade(Marquette), Mahomet-Seymour's Brett
Melton(Illinois), Downers Grove North's Drew Carstens(Augustana College),
Thornridge's James Moore(New Mexico State), West Aurora's Austin
Reel(Lewis University) and Louis Smith(Loyola-Chicago), Quincy's
JD Summers(Western Illinois), Elgin's Marcus Smallwood(Northern
Illinois) and Marcus Howard(Indiana State) and Hillcrest's Odartey
Blankson (Marquette).
Abingdon High School received good news with former Dunlap player, 6'10" Dan
Leadbetter, transferring to the Commandos. Leadbetter is a promising player with
great size and a solid frame who is surprisingly athletic for his stature.
6'1" senior Armon Gates will be attending his third school in his
high school tenure. Originally, he started off at Whitney Young where his older brother
Dennis (now playing at Cal-Berkley) played and won a state championship. Then, Armon
proceeded onto Lincoln Park High School and now the combo guard is headed to his local
high school of Country Club Hill's Hillcrest High School.
Lateef Jackson, previously of Class A Rock Island Alleman, is now
playing with Class AA power Rock Island. A 6'4" swingman Lateef is an impressive
athlete with good scoring ability.
Galesburg received favorable news with the addition of a North Carolina transfer. Ryan
Walker, a 6'3" 195 lb. junior shooting guard, reportedly led the
Charlotte-metro area in scoring last year as a sophomore.
