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Kimball’s D’Angelo Allen helps Deron Williams Elite capture title at 25th Annual Great American Shootout

DUNCANVILLE — Nearly 400 basketball teams and nearly 400 college coaches came to North Texas for the 25th Annual Great American Shootout to rediscover what was already known — the Dallas ISD has a lot of good players.

Led by players from Kimball, Carter and Lincoln, the Deron Williams Elite defeated the Texas Titans, 66-54, on Sunday in the final for the NBA Red Division.

Kimball’s 6-7 senior-to-be, D’Angelo Allen, had a pair of breakaway dunks to give Williams a 10-point lead late in the first half, and an injury-depleted, short-handed Titans roster was never able to pull closer than four points. Allen played on Kimball’s 2012 Class 4A state champion and 2013 state runner-up.

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“When you’ve had that bright light of playing in Austin shine on you, it gets you ready for anything,” Allen said. “We’ve been playing well together this summer. We won a big tournament in New York, and we wanted to win in Dallas, too.”

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With the versatile scoring of Carter’s 6-6 Jeremy Combs and the guard play of Lincoln’s 5-9 twins Erick and Derrick Neal, Williams won the “Rumble in the Bronx” tournament last month with a victory over a highly rated New Jersey team in the final.

Williams coach Horace Pope said defense had been a strength for a roster that includes 6-8 Omar Sherman, who played for Duncanville last season, and DeSoto guard Takedrick Brown.

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“They’ve executed well all summer together on offense and defense,” Pope said.

The heralded Titans played the final with a six-person roster after an injury to senior guard Alex Robinson of Mansfield Timberview in the semifinals put a sore left shoulder in a sling for the final. The Titans were led through the tourney by Robinson and 6-7 junior D.J. Hogg of Plano West.

But the Titans had lost Mickey Mitchell and Soso Jamabo to football injuries, and Triple A Academy star King McClure decided to concentrate on rehabbing from a knee injury after a standout showing at the Peach Jam Tournament last week in Atlanta.

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With Kentucky coach John Calipari along the baseline for the championship game, the Shootout drew hundreds of coaches in its four-day run, including Kansas’ Bill Self, SMU’s Larry Brown, Nebraska’s Tim Miles, Mississippi State’s Rick Ray, Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, Baylor’s Scott Drew, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and Texas Tech’s Tubby Smith.

Former Mavericks coach Avery Johnson also was on the sideline, watching his son play for the Titans.

Texas Thunder wins: In the NBA Blue Division, the Texas Thunder of Central Texas upset Mo Williams Academy, which featured Prime Prep senior guard Emmanuel Mudiay and junior Malik Newman. The highly rated guard duo combined for 43 points in a semifinal win over Team Texas.

A top-rated player for 2015, Newman said a family move may mean a transfer to Prime Prep.

Team Texas got strong tournament performances from Richardson Berkner junior Keenan Evans and DeSoto’s 6-9 senior T.J. Maston.

Briefly: The U14 championship showcased talented 5-8 guard T.J. Sparks of Duncanville, who will be a freshman. DeSoto's 6-1 Devante Doutrive also was part of the title-winning Truth. … Flower Mound Marcus sophomore 6-5 tight end Kaden Smith, who just got an offer from Alabama in football, played for Team Texas-Paterson. Smith started football and basketball at Marcus as a freshman.