This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Mountain View Resident Named MVP of AAU Basketball Tournament

Grant Vermeer shines in Las Vegas tournament last month in 16U national tourney.

Travel teams from all across the country landed in the City of Sin late last month to partake in the Las Vegas Easter Shootout.

The AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) boys basketball tournament brought a bushel of teams across several age groups to the desert for a few days of wall-to-wall hoops action.

The Oakland Kings won the 16-and-under elite division title, finishing a perfect 6-0 during back-to-back days of tournament play.

Find out what's happening in Mountain Viewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Participating in his first national tournament with the Kings travel team, Mountain View resident and current Bellarmine Prep-San Jose sophomore Grant Vermeer wasted little time shaking off any jitters on the big stage.

“I was actually really nervous during the first game of the tournament,” Vermeer said. “I missed my first couple of shots. My teammates and coaches just told me to keep shooting. That was really big for me. Everyone on this team roots for each other and has confidence in each other. It’s a great group to be a part of.”

Find out what's happening in Mountain Viewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Vermeer, a combo-guard that also plays small forward at times, is a deadly shooter that can fill it up from anywhere on the court.

By the time things were all wrapped up in Vegas, Vermeer of Mountain View and JoJo Zamora (Serra High-San Mateo) were named Co-Most Valuable Players of the tournament.

Both players lit it up behind the 3-point line to help their team steal the show against tough competition from elite teams from Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

The Kings defeated the Las Vegas Prospects, an Adidas fully sponsored travel team, in the final game to take the championship.

“We have great team chemistry,” Vermeer said. “A lot of AAU teams have players that really want to showcase their individual skills. Everyone on our team just focuses on our team goals.”

Vermeer and Zamora each recorded games in which they connected on seven 3’s during a Kings win. Oakland played in several 17-and-under tournaments before the Vegas event. Dealing with older and stronger players, especially in the paint, helped the team toughen up both physically and mentally for the rest of the summer tournament circuit.

 The Oakland Kings are currently ranked number 21 in the country by Fivestarbasketball.com.

“We play in a tournament in Sacramento next,” Vermeer said. “We’re hoping to qualify for the Anaheim National Invite.”

 The Kings roster is made up of mostly underclassmen from some of the finest high school basketball teams in the Bay Area. They are coached by former Fresno State standout and professional basketball player Darnell McCulloch.

Vermeer made the varsity team at local West Catholic League power Bellarmine Prep as a sophomore. Most comfortable as a set shooter, Vermeer’s game has blossomed during his two-month stint with the Kings.

“I’ve really tried to attack the basket more and have done a better job drawing fouls,” Vermeer said. “Getting to the foul line more and just being aggressive has helped my game a lot. I’m just really happy to be part of this team.”

His father is also current Mountain View Police Chief Scott Vermeer.

“I am very proud of Grant, JoJo and the entire team,” Chief Vermeer said.  “This is an extremely talented and hardworking group of young players of which Grant is very fortunate to get to play with.  Coach McCulloch is preparing every one of the players on this team to play in college and he cares about each player. I am very appreciative of the opportunity Grant has been given to play for the Oakland Kings.”

 

 

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?