2009 Travel Team Close to Final Roster
Mar 29, 2009
By: Tropics Staff
With the final weekend of tryouts under their belt, it's time for the Miami Tropics to sit down and make the final decisions on their 2009 roster.
After three games on Saturday, played during the Ralei Sealey Jamboree in North Miami, the staff is closer to putting together the group that will open play in late April as the 2009 Miami Tropics NIKE Travel Team.
Coach Art Alvarez liberally substituted his 13 man roster for the event, in hopes of finding the final 8 players who will join a group of four who did not participate this weekend, due to prior committments.
Sophomore point guard Angel Rodriguez (Krop) solidified his spot as the starting point guard averaging 12 points, 3 assists and 3 steals while taking command of the offense. It was a difficult assignment for the Puerto Rican native as many of the players had never seen each other, let alone play with one another before.
Joe Thomas (Krop) and Damien Dwaine (University) led the club in rebounding with Thomas grabbing 13 offensive caroms in the three games. Dwaine used his high basketball IQ to maneuver his 6'3" frame around bigger defenders, giving up as much as 7 inches to the opposition.
Young Tyrone Houghton has an incredible reach, to go with his 6'8" frame and fine hops. His 9 blocks, in limited playing time, showed he can be the defensive presence every team needs.
Juan Ferrales (American Heritage) was solid, proving to be the aggressive, physical type defender for which the team is looking, and broke out offensively with a 16 point performance in the final game of the day.
Kelvin Valdez (Choice Academy) struggled early but came up aces in the final tilt, filling the stat sheet in an outstanding performance.
Unsigned seniors, Douglas Mills and Elvis Baez (Patterson School) showed off their maturity, something the team will need with a number of underclassmen projected to make the team.
The remainder of the 13 players who participated, Paul Morrow and Brandon Wilcox (South Dade), Sandy Perez and Theiren Cockran (Homestead) and Rubyne Burrows (Dillard) all made their statements on the floor and will be highly considered when the final decisions are made.
In all, it was a good opportunity for these youngsters to display their talent and abilities to the staff in one last effort to become part of the Tropics' organization.
Go Back 
Go to top 
Send This Story To A Friend
