Belmont Shore point guard and UA recruiting target Brandon Jennings, right, regains control of the ball against Jordan Theodore of the New York Gauchos. Jennings scored 24 points with nine rebounds.

mamta popat / arizona daily star

Related articles:

Top recruit Jennings picks UAJennings commits to UA

Other articles by Bruce Pascoe:

Home-grown Shumpert to play for Wildcats Court date on schedule Uncertain on Olson, prep star rejects UA Ex-Cat loves blogging and his life in Portland Old Cats, new Cats meet for pickup game Brielmaier remains a Cat — as a coach McClellan's outlook goes from awful to 'awe' full No change in Jennings' UA status Bayless has familiar faces in his corner UA, Jennings expect to wait week for test score

Mechanical
Pioneer Landscaping
Diesel Fleet Mechanics Construction
GES Construction
Carpenters/Foreman Trades/Construction
CIMETTA ENGINEERING
WELDERS Health Care
Carondelet Surgery Center
Operating Room RN's Construction
Green Valley Heating & Cooling
HVAC Service Tech General
Border States Electric
Warehouse Associates Trades/Construction
Rice Plumbing
Plumbers

Arizona recruiting target Brandon Jennings played up to his reputation this weekend as possibly the best point guard in the high school class of 2008.

But he's only one player.

So with a lineup full of major-college guard prospects, the New York Gauchos wrestled the Arizona Cactus Classic title away from Jennings and Long Beach, Calif.-based Belmont Shore, winning 102-96 in the championship game Sunday at McKale Center.

For Gauchos coach Emmanuel Richardson, whose team made the longest trip to the mostly Western-flavored AAU tournament, it was the perfect venue for his guards to prove they could do it.

"This is a great place to be," Richardson said. "Great tradition, great history. I tell my guards, 'If you're good enough, well, look up in the rafters — they got (banners for) Salim Stoudamire, Damon Stoudamire, Mike Bibby, Jason Terry, Miles Simon, Khalid Reeves, who's from New York, and Steve Kerr. So when you talk about guards, well, this is Guard U."

The Gauchos also had the perfect opponents to test themselves against. They eliminated California-based Pump-N-Run elite on Saturday night, sending highly regarded guards Jrue Holiday and Larry Drew out of the tournament.

Then, after winning quarterfinal and semifinal games on Sunday, they beat Jennings, USC-bound guard Demar DeRozan and the rest of Belmont Shore. New York point guard Kemba Walker earned the tournament's MVP trophy with 24 points, five rebounds and four assists in the final, while three other guards hit double figures: Chris Fouch had 21, Darryl Bryant scored 15, and Durand Scott had 12.

Gaucho point guard Jordan Theodore, who has generated some recruiting interest from Arizona, had eight points and two assists.

For Belmont Shore, Roberto Nelson scored 27 in the final, DeRozan 26 and Jennings 24 with nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Not only was Belmont Shore undermanned, playing only six players throughout much of the tournament, but it also was borrowing Jennings from the Oakland Soldiers, who canceled just before the tournament began Friday.

"I didn't really think we'd get this far," Jennings said. "I wished this game went five more minutes and we probably would have won the game. But it was a fun experience."

Because Belmont Shore needed so much help, Jennings took the ball in his hands and didn't often let go. He was the tournament's leading scorer, averaging 28.4 points and 2.0 assists over eight games.

He adapted, just like he has elsewhere, Scout.com analyst Dave Telep said.

"The thing about Brandon is that he'll jack up some wild ones and do some things you wished he wouldn't do," said Telep, one of 20 national analysts on hand this weekend. "But at the end of the day, you look back at his résumé, and there's a lot of wins on it. That's how guys at this position get judged. He does what he has to do."

Jennings' record, of course, is also a major reason why Arizona is interested in him. The Wildcats have persuaded three prospects to stay in town for unofficial visits today: Jennings, Drew and Double Pump wing James Rahon of Encinitas, Calif.

Rahon, a shooter from Torrey Pines High School who has played against UA sophomore Chase Budinger, does not have a firm scholarship offer yet from Arizona but has them from San Diego, San Diego State and Santa Clara.

Arizona has two or three scholarships remaining to offer for the class of 2008, and it may take only one point guard, with Jennings and Drew at the top of the wish list. Jennings, who de-committed to USC, said he's now also considering Kentucky and Connecticut, with a decision likely by July.

Jennings, an all-tournament Cactus Classic pick last spring with the Southern California All-Stars, said he's already very familiar with Arizona except for new assistant coach Kevin O'Neill, with whom Jennings is likely to spend time today.

"It's a point guard school," Jennings said. "The top three point guards in the league went here — Gilbert Arenas, Mike Bibby and Jason Terry — and they like to play my style of basketball, up and down."

Read StarNet producer Matt Bracken's blog from the tournament and watch video footage: go.azstarnet.com/recruitingroundup