Team Clt's James Demery, QCAA's Vaud Worthy win MVP at Bob Gibbons Tourney of Champions

Two Charlotte-area basketball stars, one in high school, one in middle school, won MVP at the prestigious Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions Sunday in Atlanta.

Gibbons, the national recruiting analyst, said the tournament attracted 256 total teams and 96 in the featured 17U age group that is for current high school juniors.

Northside Christian's James Demery won the 17U MVP after leading his Team Charlotte AAU team to a 62-46 win over the South Carolina Raptors. Team Charlotte, coached by Northside assistant coach and former North Carolina star point guard Jeff McInnis, reached the AAU national championship game last summer.

In the final, Demery had 20 points and nine rebounds.

"Demery was unstoppable inside and out," Gibbons said. "He's so athletic, a 6-5 (shooting) guard who can do it all."

Demery's high school teammate, 6-5 wing Keyshawn Woods had 11 points and eight rebounds in the final. North Forsyth High point guard Kedrick Flomo, a 6-1 junior, had 12 points and eight assists.

In the 7th grade division, Charlotte's Vaud Worthy led the QCAA Force to a championship. QCAA was 6-0 over 1 1/2 days to win the title. Worthy, a 6-foot guard, is the nephew of former Gastonia Ashbrook High star James Worthy, who went onto become an NCAA championship-winning All-American at North Carolina and an NBA All-Star and NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers. Worthy turned heads in middle school circles last winter when he scored 45 points and had 15 rebounds in his first game at Ranson Middle School.