With the national lights of ESPN glaring and a nationwide audience watching, Norcross senior Al-Farouq Aminu was the best player in the nation on Thursday night as he led his Blue Devils to a 59-48 win over Louisiana's Helen Cox High School.
Aminu, the top ranked senior in Georgia, scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a highly anticipated match-up against Greg Monroe, the nation's number one player in the nation.
Norcross started the game slow, watching Helen Cox climb out to a 12-0 lead but Aminu responded and scored all 12 of Norcross's points. He defended the post well, grabbing a couple of steals against Monroe, who scored just nine points (4-16 FG).
Aminu showed off his versatility, athleticism, great bounce and length against his Louisiana foe and it wasn't even close as to who the better player was between the two of them. Aminu, who was playing in front of his future college coaching staff, was confident and collected on the national stage. It was his best effort of the season.
Monroe has struggled in nearly all of his national match-ups this season and looks nothing like the player that dominated the individual camps over the spring and summer in 2007. Norcross double and triple-teamed Monroe throughout the game and A.J. Hawkins stepped up on the defensive end of the floor against Monroe.
Norcross plays North Gwinnett on back-to-back nights. The Blue Devils tip off at 8:30 tonight at North Gwinnett.
