Jude Akabueze, Most Valuable Player
South all-stars won the Friday night game, but one of West Virginia’s best-kept secrets was unleashed by the North in the North-South All-Star Basketball Classic in the South Charleston Community Center, reports Herald Dispatch.
Nigeria’s Jude Akabueze, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound hulk from Class AA North Marion, was a late addition to the North squad and made a huge impact with 27 points and 16 rebounds. He was named as the North squad’s Most Valuable Player.
Akabueze, a native of Nigeria who signed with UAB in Conference USA, averaged 24.9 points and 15 rebounds last season for the North Marion Huskies. However, most basketball fans outside Marion County never got a chance to see him play because North Marion competed in a region with powers like Fairmont Senior and Philip Barbour and never advanced to the state tournament in Akabueze’s three years with the program.
University’s Joe Schmidle, one of the North’s coaches, saw Akabueze play “quite a few times” in recent seasons, and said he’s a special player.
“He’s very physical, intimidating, big body,” Schmidle said. “For a high school kid, he looks like he’s 22 or 23 years old, and he’s not fat at all. He’s quite a presence inside. He seems like the kind of kid that when he really has to turn it up a notch, he can.”
Akabueze was thankful for the opportunity to run with some of the best basketball players in West Virginia. He said he’s already worked out with some of WVU’s players at the Mountaineers training facility.
NORTH 103
Isaac Workman 3, Jesse Maddox 10, Landon Ridgeway 5, Cole Browning 11, Isaiah Morgan 12, David Shriver 17, Jake Stephens 14, Chase Dunaway 4, Jude Akabueze 27.
SOUTH 107
Jeremy Dillon 15, Ty Walton 4, De’Moni Edwards 5, Spencer Dean 3, Nate Samples 0, Jonathan Blankenship 7, Tyler May 9, Drew Williamson 14, Braeden McGrew 12, E.J. Phillips 16, Justin Phillips 13, Corey Hatfield 9.
Halftime: North 52-42; 3-point shooting: North 11-33 (Workman 1-3, Maddox 2-5, Ridgeway 0-1, Browning 0-2, Morgan 1-4, Shriver 3-12, Stephens 2-6); South 7-41 (Dillon 0-5, Walton 0-2, Edwards 1-4, Dean 1-1, Samples 0-3, Blankenship 1-4, May 1-4, Williamson 2-5, McGrew 0-5, E.Phillips 0-2, J.Phillips 1-5, Hatfield 0-1); Steals: North 7 (Akabueze 4), South 18 (E.Phillips 4, McGrew 3); Turnovers: North 30, South 11
Most Valuable Players
Akabueze (North), EJ Phillips (South)
Skill contests finals
Free throws (Best-of-10): Morgan d. McGrew 9-8.
3-point shooting (Best-of-10): Samples d. May 8-5.
Slam dunk: (Tie) Akabueze 30, Hatfield 30.
