Top recruits, AAU teams battle in Bloomington

This weekend's third annual Nike Memorial Day Classic provided a few surprises for those in attendance, including a commitment by Robert Vaden, a 6-foot-6-inch guard out of Pike High School in Indianapolis, to play for the Hoosiers in 2004.\nThe MDC, which is an annual AAU tournament that brings some of the top high school prospects from around the nation to Bloomington, started off in pool play for all teams. The top two teams in each pool advanced to the round of 16. \nThere were many surprises during pool play, including the Alabama Lasers knocking off the New York Gauchos, one of the top traveling teams in the country. The Lasers were led by 6-foot-9-inch power forward D.J. White and were able to prevail over the Gauchos, 70-64. White had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks to pace the Lasers. \nThe Lasers were able to go through Pool B undefeated and move on to the round of 16. \n"I play with high energy," White said. "Try and get the win and do what I had to do".\nEven though the Lasers bowed out in the first round of the final 16, losing to Athletes First 43-45, that didn't keep the fans away from the Lasers' games. Their games drew large crowds in part because of White and his reported interest in IU. \n"North Carolina, Indiana, Florida and Mississippi State," White said, referring to universities in which he's currently interested. \nWhite said he's known men's basketball coach Mike Davis since he was young, and he said he feels will be a factor in deciding what college he'll attend.\nBesides the excitement of having watched White, another player of Indiana flavor was able to impress many and later shock them.\nVaden helped lead the Indiana Red team to an impressive win over Howard Pulley White 53-48. Later, he scored 25 points in a third place game against the Kentucky Hoopstars Elite, in which he played the entire game.\nVaden then shocked many Sunday night by giving a verbal commitment to play for the Hoosiers in 2004. Vaden is regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation by many recruiting services. Last season, Vaden averaged 13.5 points, six rebounds and almost three assists for the 4-A champion Red Devils. \nFor the IU-Purdue rivalry, this might add fuel to an already hot fire, as Vaden had originally committed to the Boilermakers early in his high school career but recently opened the commitment up to other schools. \nBesides the play of White and Vaden, the biggest surprise seemed to be the unlikely 17-under champion. The Martin Brothers Select out of Iowa came into the tournament without the flashy players many teams possess but were able to go through the tournament undefeated and won the championship over the Illinois Warriors, 73-61. The Martin Brothers were able to pull away from the Warriors after halftime by the play of the most valuable player of the tournament, Trent Meachum.\nThe 16-under championship was just as competitive as the 17-under, as the Indiana Red battled the Illinois Warriors. The Red, led by 6-foot-9-inch forward Josh McRoberts pushed the Warriors to the edge before falling in overtime, 62-65. The 15-under division was won by The Family.\nThe tournament went beyond expectations that were going in and the competition was better than anticipated as well, said Criss Beyers, director and organizer of the MDC.\n"Many recruiting services were impressed by the facilities and level of competition," he said.