The Nike Baltimore Elite 16U AAU basketball team of which slain Mount Carmel star John Crowder was a member, paid tribute to his memory this weekend by winning the Super Showcase AAU Tournament at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orilando, Florida.
The NBE squad, which includes several other Baltimore area players, used Crowder’s No. 15 jersey, draped over a seat on the bench, as inspiration. Crowder was fatally shot earlier this month after leaving a fourth of July celebration at his grandmother’s home in North East Baltimore.
Isaiah Miles of Glenelg Country and Ronald Scott of John Carroll combined for 26 points in the victory. The team also included Calvert Hall’s Julian Davis and McDonogh’s Kayell Locke.
The showcase was witnessed by scores of Division I basketball coaches and was one of the events where Crowder had hoped to perform well in his pursuit of a college scholarship. He would have been entering his junior year at Mount Carmel this fall.
His Mount Carmel teammates and classmates will conduct a prayer service in his honor at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on August 15. The dates was selected to coincide with his uniform number.
