work apparently has paid off. The two teens will spend a week this summer getting a good look from college coaches at a national competition in Ohio. Wells, a senior, and Hirsh, a junior, were both standouts on the court this year for the Eagles. Wells, a small forward, averaged 10 points a game, and Hirsch, a point guard, averaged nine points a game and four rebounds. They will compete in the USA Junior Nationals competition July 18-24, which includes a free-throw contest, a three-point contest, and then pool play, where they will battle for a spot in the championship game.
Both qualified for the summer camp after attending a tryout of hundreds of high school players from Michigan and Canada on the Eastern Michigan University campus in early April. The competition in July will be loaded with Division II and junior college coaches and scouts, who will be looking for players to help bolster their programs.
“I went there and played not knowing if I could really make it, and in the end, I did,” Wells told a newspaper reporter last week. Wells says he is hoping this will give him an opportunity to play at the collegiate level this fall. “It’s exciting and fun,” said Wells, who also hopes the experience will earn him a basketball scholarship.
Hirsh still has a year left at East, but he also hopes that the scouts will see something they like when he takes to the hardwood at the summer camp. “It’s good to play against tougher competition. This is a lot tougher than the Metro League,” Hirsch said. The big difference: “Everyone’s a lot taller.”
The USA Junior Nationals is considered the top amateur high school basketball competition in the United States. It is viewed as an entry level to international competition and for high school athletes looking for college basketball scholarship opportunities. It is designed to serve as a gathering point for promising young players in an atmosphere of intense competition. Players who rarely are exposed to big time spring/summer competition go toe-to-toe with players of equal or superior skills.
Both students are working hard to save money for their summer trip. Each has to pay registration fees as well as transportation and lodging costs for the July competitions.
Photo caption:
Lapeer East Junior Aaron Hirsch and Senior Jeff Wells.
