Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament

Observations from Friday’s opening night of the Reebok Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions AAU event:

The Atlanta Celtics aren’t as gifted as the 2003 version that had Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and Randolph Morris on the front line.
But the Celtics may have the best trio of big men in the tournament. Howard Tompkins, a 6-foot-10 rising senior, recently committed to Georgia. Chris Singleton is 6-9 and also a top prospect in the rising senior class.

Rising junior Derrick Favors might be the best of the three at 6-9. On consecutive possessions in a blowout victory Friday night, he grabbed a rebound and crossed under the basket for a reverse dunk, then made a 15-foot jumper while getting fouled.

“I’m still working on my jump shot,” Favors said.
If he improves that, he should retain his status as one of the five top players in his class.

Southeast Elite forward Romero Osby of Meridian, Miss., probably will get interest from elite schools but needs to play better to be certain of big-time scholarship offers. Osby is a broad-shouldered, 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds. He is strong in the post but needs to run the floor a bit better and become more versatile to be a top-25 prospect.

The two-time defending champion Southern California All-Stars appeared uninspired during their tournament-opening defeat.
The team has the nation’s top point guard, Brandon Jennings, who committed to Arizona last week. But he’s not surrounded by tremendous talent as he was last year, when Kevin Love, Taylor King and Renardo Sidney combined on what veteran summer circuit junkies say was one of the best AAU teams ever. – Ken Tysiac