The Bob Gibbons TOC Day 2 Notebook from Justin Byerly
Suwanee, GA - The granddaddy of travel basketball events is back. The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions at Suwanee Sports Academy is one of the most prestigious events in the country for the last 20 years. We are taking in all of the action from bracket play. Let's dive into some of the action we saw today.
Best of the South Vibes
Donaven Thomas is a guy that has been on our radar since The Best of the South last travel season, when he was named a Top Performer. He came into Bob Gibbons with that same energy. Through three games, Thomas is averaging close to 25 points per game.
He put on a show in the game I saw today. He scored 32 points including seven, three-pointers. Standing at 6-foot-1, Thomas knows how to score and he can do it well from all over the floor. When he gets hot from the outside, you better not give him any space. He will make you pay.
He has helped The Griffin Grasshoppers get to the final eight of The Anthony Edwards bracket and we will see tomorrow if he can keep up the scoring display he has been giving us.
The Drifty Show
Let's get to it and talk about why the small side of Suwanee Sports Academy was packed out during two games this afternoon. DriftyJayy and his Drifty Elite Cold Hearts OTE team came into The Bob Gibbons and wanted to be in the bracket play event.
Drifty came out with Georgia signee Jacob Wilkins, who put on an absolute dunk-fest. They also had Diamant Blazi, a French product that has some offers and high-major offered Josiah Parker. Those three, coupled with Lehigh bound guard Caleb Thomas and we had a show. Cold Hearts won their first game of the day but were taken down in the second round by Gold Coast Elite from Florida.
So the Drifty show at The Bob Gibbons, if you want to call it that, is done. The crowd loved it but I'm sure the old heads and the referees in town did not. But basketball like everything else in life evolves and changes. For better or worse.
Top Shot's Top Shot
Jim Gatehouse can shoot the cover off the ball. He has size at his wing position at 6-foot-5. He hails from the same school that legendary UNC basketball player Bobby Jones played, South Mecklenburg High School on the Southend of Charlotte, North Carolina. In the game we watched today that wasn't a blowout, Gatehouse knocked down five, three-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points.
Gatehouse is a guy that I want on my team. He has a high basketball IQ, he understands movement without the ball, knows his spots and did I say he can shoot it. Really well. Sim Frazier has been around this game for a while and he can find dudes. Gatehouse is a guy that looks like he can play at the next level and will join the long line of prospects that Sim Frazier has helped along the way.
Beating An Old Drum
This is starting to get old with Cutter Sisk. Every weekend, every event. I don't have a choice but to write about him. He has been killing it the past two weekend that the Tennessee Tigers have been on our stage. After a forfeit on Friday night, Sisk dropped 27 and 28 points in the two games today to propel his squad to the final eight of the Anthony Edwards bracket at The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.
Besides the 28 points he scored against TNBA South, he grabbed the biggest rebound of the game in traffic. Sisk can play and he can play at the next level. What stood out in the two games today is his hands. He has mittens and he can catch just about anything. He has the footwork and the soft-hands that ultimately lead to success at the next level. I look forward to seeing what he does tomorrow.
