Kasey Wilson continues to impress on the AAU circuit...this time at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions

Bob Gibbons' Tournament of Champions in North Carolina is one of the premier AAU tournaments of the year drawing AAU teams from all over the United States and Canada. The 17U tournament featured 64 of the top AAU teams around with 16 pool-winners advancing to the 17U national playoffs, while the second-place pool finishers advanced to the 17U select playoffs. Kasey Wilson and his Florida Elite 17U team played in Pool I and were seeded 2nd in their pool which included the #1 New England Playaz, #3 NC Gaters Blue, and #4 Team Power, GA.


Florida Elite's first game was against the #3 seeded NC Gaters Blue the Ravenscroft School's main gym on May 28th at 8:30 in the evening. Florida Elite jumped out to a 46-28 halftime lead and didn't let the lead slip away beating the Gaters by a score of 78-63.


Florida Elite's 2nd game would take place the next day (May 29th) at 11 a.m. against 4th-seeded Team Power hailing from Georgia at Duke University's Card Gym. Florida Elite once again came out on top beating Team Power by a 64-55 score.


Kasey Wilson would show up in the big games and it all started later at 6 p.m. on the 29th against the #1 seed in Pool I, the New England Playaz. The game was played at UNC's Carmichael Gym just down Tobacco Road from Duke. Kasey Wilson and Florida Elite looked to make a statement and turned it up. Kasey Wilson had 15 first-half points as Florida Elite took a 35-24 advantage going into the half. Elite cruised in the second half to a 65-39 victory over the #1 seed in their pool and Kasey finished with 22 points.


With the victory Kasey and Florida Elite advanced to the 17U National Playoffs as one of the 16 pool winners. They would face off against the winner of Pool H (Belmont Shore out of California who was the #1 seed in that pool) back up Tobacco Road at Duke University's Wilson Recreation Center at 10 p.m. that same night. The winner would advance to the final championship day of tournament play at UNC's Dean Smith Center the following day. Belmont Shore proved formidable and were a very tough team matchup for Florida Elite but Kasey put on a show scoring 25 points in a close 5-point loss.

All in all it was a strong showing for Florida Elite and Kasey Wilson continued his strong AAU play. Kasey continues to improve and looks to be a valuable contributor and a key part of VCU's 2011 class. With Pierria' Henry already committed and 2 other guards to join the Rams in the coming weeks, Wilson will be the sole forward in the 2011 class, joining 2010 forwards Juvonte Reddic, Darrell Haley, and Reco McCarter as the future of the VCU frontcourt. Let's hope he continues to play well and bring that momentum into VCU in 2011!