DULUTH, GA - One of the most historic, anticipated events of the travel calendar is upon us. The legendary Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions has begun, and Friday at the Infinite Energy Center was interesting, to say the least. 

Here are some notes from what I saw:

The Game of the Night: There’s no question that the best game that I saw on Friday night was the last one of the night between Game Elite and JL3’s 16U squads. 

Game Elite came out on top 65-62 largely thanks to London Johnson’s 31-point game. Johnson’s performance was the best that I saw, and it will likely go down as one of the best all weekend. He scored from all over the floor, including five 3-pointers. 

On the other side, JL3 got big shooting nights from George Washington III and Zayden High. Each of them netted four from beyond the arc. Washington led the way with 18 points and High was right on his heels with 16 points. 

This was the kind of game that had me leaving the building on a basketball high. It was the perfect way to get me even more excited for the rest of the weekend. 
 

The Most Unique Game of the Night: Another game that got me excited for the rest of the weekend was the one that Swain OYM played at 7:10. It spoke to the side of me that likes to see oddities and experience new things. 

This was certainly a game that I’ll be talking about for a while. Swain played the game with only four players. Not only did they play with only four players, they won with only four players. Not only did they win with four players, they won by 22 points with only four players. 

Have you seen something like that before? I haven’t. The closest thing I’ve seen to that is when the Alabama team with Collin Sexton played a portion of a game with only three players. They certainly didn’t win by 22 though. 

Shaun Nichols led Swain with 28 points, Joshua Dixon added 21, Mekhi Mathis scored 18, and the big fella, WIll Norwood scored 6. 

A High-Upside Guy: Aiden Sherrell caught my eye as soon as I walked into the building. He’s got the frame and build that stops basketball junkies dead in their tracks. He’s about 6-foot-9 and lanky. 

He’s got long arms that he uses to block shots, and he had a nice mid-range jumper. He scored 12 points for Atlanta Xpress 16U. 

Sherrell is a 2024 prospect, so he’s still got plenty of time to work on refining his game, but he’s already highly skilled, and he’s a guy that I will keep tabs on moving forward.