What do you get when you put four of the top players in Chicago together? You get a “Top-Flight” AAU team.
Juniors Chris Colvin of Whitney Young, Brandon Orange of Simeon, Cortney Bell of Lincoln Park, and Darius Smith of Marshall have agreed to play together next spring and summer for Top Flight Sports, a budding AAU program based out of Chicago’s north side. These four juniors rank amongst the elite players in the city and in the state, regardless of class.
Colvin, a 6-2 guard, and Bell, a 6-6 forward, played together for Chris’ father Ike Colvin on Top Flight a two seasons ago when it was a top 15u team. Last year both players traveled around the country winning tournaments with Rising Stars, but the inside outside duo has decided that they wanted to return to their roots to finish out their AAU careers.
Colvin is a very athletic point guard with superb playmaking skills. He will be the top player on a Whitney Young team that comes into the season as the #1 team in Illinois. Colvin is receiving recruiting interest from coast to coast, as he has some big name schools amongst his suitors. Iowa, Illinois, and Miami are amongst the schools that have offered him, while Kansas, Georgia Tech, USC, Wyoming, Kentucky, and others are recruiting the flashy guard.
Cortney Bell has been Colvin’s AAU running mate for years, and he too is a big time prospect. The “uber-athlete” has a very versatile game, as he can shoot the three and handle the ball, as well as mixing it up down-low; blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. Bell grabbed the attention of college scouts from all over this past spring and summer, and he should collect some offers this season playing for highly regarded Lincoln Park.
Darius Smith, a 6-2 guard, is known around the City as possibly the most underrated player around, as he has been tearing it up in CPL play and in parks and gyms around Chicago for years, but is yet to receive the national recognition he deserves. He has a reputation in Chicago for being a tenacious on-ball defender and a savvy playmaker. He plays hard whenever he is on the floor and is a winner by nature, as he has taken his Marshall Commandos’ to consecutive 3rd place state finishes in his first two years playing varsity. Smith has never really competed on the national level in AAU, so this upcoming season will be an opportunity for Smith to break out and get the attention he deserves.
Brandon Orange can produce, plain and simple. The 6-4 small forward has a game a lot like Bell, as he is productive on the perimeter an in the paint. Orange made a name for himself around the state as a big time prospect while playing with Ferrari, and now he will get a chance to do so nationally. Orange is strong and athletic and really knows how to score the rock. The younger brother of former Simeon star Bryant Orange will be looked upon to score a lot of points this year for the #2 ranked Simeon Wolverines.
For more information on the program, including tournament and tryout dates, email Ike Colvin at pbt_playmaker@yahoo.com or call him at 224 639 5553.