By THEO RABINOWITZ & ADAM ZAGORIA
NEW YORK — Playing in his first event since signing a Letter of Intent with UNLV on Tuesday, Anthony Bennett went off for 24 points and 10 rebounds at the IS8 Nike Spring Classic in Queens.
The 6-foot-8 Bennett threw down five dunks — several from three or four feet above the rim — as the New York Panthers beat the Playaz Sophomores, 72-44, to advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Bennett went a perfect 7-for-7 from the line and also had two blocks.
“He was a man,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “He played terrific. He was clearly the best player there today.”
Exactly a week after selecting UNLV over Oregon, the Findlay Prep forward came to New York to play with the Panthers, who lost in last year’s final. IS8 is not an AAU event so there are no restrictions on signed college players competing.
“My [CIA Bounce] teammate Tyler Ennis told me to come out,” Bennett said. “It’s close to home [in Toronto] and I just finished school so I just wanted to come out here and ball.
“I heard this team [the Panthers] lost in the finals and they wanted me to come out and help them win it.”
Panthers coach Paul Ruddock is Ennis’s uncle and Ruddock also knows Bennett through the AAU ranks.
“He was a man amongst boys,” Ruddock told SNY.tv. “I told him during the game, ‘You’re settling by even shooting jumpers beause no one on that court can even guard you.”
Bennett will be on hand Sunday when the Panthers meet the Rens in the quarterfinals and he could turn up again should the Panthers advance to the semifinals on June 2.
Ruddock said both Ennis, a rising senior point guard at St. Benedict’s Prep, and fellow CIA bounce teammate Andrew Wiggins, the No. 1 2014 prospect in North America, could also join the Panthers later on in the tournament.
Bennett reiterated that he chose UNLV because it’s now his local school since he attends high school in Las Vegas.
“I chose UNLV because of a great coaching staff,” he said. “I’ve been in that area for two years so it’s basically a home. My boy Khem Birch is there.”
After choosing UNLV over schools like Florida and Kentucky, Bennett was verbally abused on Twitter and the Internet, but said he’s not letting that bother him too much.
“Its cool,” he said. “I understand but at the same time I don’t pay attention to any of that. I just retweet the stuff. It is what it is and I just wanna play my game and just focus on that”
FREE THROWS
Miami-bound shooting guard Melvin Johnson added 14 points on 6-for-14 shooting for the Panthers…Memphis-bound forward Shaq Goodwin had 7 points and 7 rebounds for Team Nike in an 84-74 loss to New Heights…SMU-bound shooting guard Brian Bernardi had 26 points for New Heights in the win….Texas Tech-bound point guard Josh Gray and forward Wanah Bail both played for Team Nike.
IS8 QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE
9 a.m — New Heights Seniors vs. Playaz Juniors
10:15 — Team Flight vs. Sports U
11:30 — QFive.com vs. Juice All-Stars
12:45 — Panthers Seniors vs. Rens Juniors
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AGinNYC / May 20, 2012
Bennett is certainly the real deal – but dunking from 3-4 feet above the rim? I guess they were playing on an 8 foot rim, correct?
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affolter / May 20, 2012
My first thought as well. Four feet above the rim? I doubt that.
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UofA BJ / May 21, 2012
If he went to UK he’d be 5 feet above rim.
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BostonCat / May 21, 2012
he wouldnt be dunking 5 feet above the rim if he went to uk. but he would be a lottery pick in next years draft. will see what happens at unlv.
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AGinNYC / May 23, 2012
LOL AB would be a lottery pick in next years draft no matter where he went to school. In fact, he’d probably be a lottery pick in this years draft if he were allowed to come out.
Please don’t misinterpret what John Calipari does as “player development” because players don’t develop in one year. The majority of the kids he recruits are already talented enough for the NBA when they step on campus. What Calipari really offers is immediate playing time and lots of tv/media exposure – nothing to scoff at if you want to get to the NBA and have no interest in getting a free college education. This approach is probably fine for the type of kids he recruits, but it’s certainly not good for the majority of kids nor is it good for the college game. In general, the quality of the NBA game has significantly deteriorated since all of these kids have stopped spending time developing in college.
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