WS Chronicle

]Last Saturday the best of the best middle school basketball players displayed their skills in the Forsyth County Middle School All-Star Game at the CP3 Basketball Academy.  The players were broken into teams based on grade level and allowed to compete in a three point and slam dunk contest.

Coach Jon Adams of the CP3 Academy says they decided to bring this game to the middle school kids a few years back because they knew the kids did not have “a lot to do” after their school seasons were over.

“They don’t have a tournament and after watching those games we decided it would be something nice for the community if we could give those Forsyth County public middle school kids something else after the season to participate in,” he said.

The seventh-grade game was very competitive between the red and white squads.  Teams were chosen by a draft the day before the game to make it that much more competitive.  Bryce Jackson of the white team not only won the game, but walked away with MVP honors for his stellar play.

The eighth-grade game was dominated by eventual MVP Julius Reese Jr., who scored 30 points on the night.  Reese, who played his middle school ball at Southeast, led the white team to victory Saturday afternoon.

Reese says becoming a Forsyth County All-Star was one of his goals from the start of the season.  He says he wanted to go out there and prove he is one of the best players on that level in the county.

“It was a lot of high expectations not only for me but for a lot of people in there,” said Reese.  “I knew I had to go out there and do what I do best and that’s just play ball.”

Reese came into the game with some extra motivation as his Southeast team lost to crosstown rival Kernersville Middle in the last game of the season.  He says that lost “hurt him” because he wanted the win so badly.  He says he used that to fuel him during the All-Star Game.

“I just wanted to go out there and prove a point because a lot of people say other names and don’t mention me a lot so I just wanted them to not forget who Julius Reese was,” he continued.  “For me I wanted to prove to them who the talk of the town was and show them who was next in the 336 and that’s me.”

Reese Jr. knows he has some big shoes to fill because his dad was one of Forsyth County’s greats from Mt. Tabor.  He will attend Glenn High School next year and plans to hit the ground running by putting in some hard work this summer. 

“I want my jersey up there in the rafters because my dad has his own legacy at Mt. Tabor and I want to leave mine at Glenn to let people know there are two Reese’s around, but that mine is better,” he said jokingly.

This spring, Reese will attend the 2018 John Lucas International Middle School Combine in Las Vegas, where he will be surrounded by the best middle school talent.