Taking a look at the pre-season top ranked teams participating in the 21st Annual Motor City Roundball Classic.
Team Page (Team info, Schedule, Results, Stats)
A regional finalist a year ago won’t have to worry about the University of Detroit-Jesuit this upcoming March unless they reach the Breslin but, will more than likely are on a collision course with Dakota in this season’s regional. The Raiders have a strong backcourt led by seniors Billy Thomas and Jacob Joubert will be boosted in a big way by junior transfer Amauri Hardy in December or after the semester in late January pending the MHSAA’s ruling on the transfer from Southfield. Junior power forward Nate Brooks moved to the area from Georgia this summer and will provide immediate production on both ends of the court. Senior forward Alex Darden is headed to the University of Cincinnati for baseball next season and for now will provide scoring, rebounding, and defense. - IPS Basketball
(20-4, Class A): North Farmington should battle Clarkston for the OAA Red championship and be one of the elite teams in Class A as well. The Raiders, who lost to Detroit Jesuit in the regional finals, return starters in 6-3 senior Jacob Joubert (9 points, 5 assists) and 6-6 senior Alex Darden (7 points, 7 rebounds), and have sixth man Josh Hogans, a 5-9 guard back as well, along with talented transfers in 6-3 junior guard Amauri Hardy from Southfield and 6-7 junior Nate Brooks from Georgia. Hardy and Brooks already have multiple offers from mid-major schools. - Detroit News
Outlook: The record might not be as impressive this season, but only because of a more challenging schedule that will make the Raiders state contenders come March. Jacob Joubert has started every game since his freshman season and is an effective point guard. Billy Thomas is a scorer from the perimeter as while attacking the basket. Junior Amauri Hardy, a transfer from Southfield, is a capable point guard who can play a variety of spots and will add depth. The player who might put the Raiders over the top is 6-8 junior Nate Brooks, a transfer from Georgia who is an athletic post player and can be a dominating force in the paint. - Detroit Free Press
(20-4), A: The Raiders have maybe their deepest team ever, as the program gained a number of high-impact transfers to add to a large chunk of returners off last season’s program-record 20-win squad that appeared in the Class A regional finals. Junior transfers Amauri Hardy, a Division I college recruit at the point and a two-year starter at Southfield, and Nate Brooks, an athletic 6-7 forward from Georgia, will slip into the starting lineup immediately. Seniors Billy Thomas (guard), Jacob Joubert (guard) and Alex Darden (center) round out the starters. Thomas started in the backcourt at UD-Jesuit as a sophomore on a final four club. Joubert and Darden, a MLB Draft prospect as a pitcher, are both entering their fourth year starting for North Farmington. The bench will be fueled by Josh Hogans, a spunky, hot-shooting guard who was one of the OAA’s top sixth-men last winter. - State Champs
North Farmington. The Raiders don’t have a lot of returning players from last year’s team, but they should once again be one of the area’s best thanks to a group of transfers that will make big impacts. Senior guards Jacob Joubert and Alex Darden are both four-year varsity players in the program, senior Josh Hogans split time as a starter and the first guy off of the bench last season, while twins Mher and Sasoun Tcholoakian are back for their third year on varsity. Senior G Billy Thomas is in the fold for a full year after transferring from Detroit U-D Jesuit midway through last year, while transfers Obi Duru (6-2 guard from U-D Jesuit), Nate Brooks (6-7 F/C from Georgia) and Amauri Hardy (6-3 G from Southfield) add a major talent infusion.. MiPrepZone
Despite the graduation of Mr. Basketball candidate Jeron Rogers, North Farmington, returns from its best season ever to be in good shape this winter. In fact, it seems to be in great shape. There is already a lot of talk surrounding the talents of 6-foot-7 junior forward Nate Brooks, who transferred in all the way from Georgia. Jacob Joubert returns as a steady presence in the backbourt while the Raiders also welcome in junior Amauri Hardy, who ran the point at Southfould a year ago. There's just a lot of depth and another 20-win season is not out of the question. - Mlive.com
