Year 2: Overtime Select Championships
The 2025 Overtime Select champions - the All Nighters - receive their trophy. Photo Courtesy of Overtime.
The All Knighters defeat ISO WRLD 87-71 to win the 2nd annual Overtime Select championship
August 21, 2025
Held at the Overtime Elite (OTE) Arena in Atlanta’s Atlantic Station, the All Knighters garnered the championship of the second annual Overtime Select defeating ISO WRLD 87-71. The semis and final were held August 16-17, 2025. The first two rounds (two groups of four with four teams advancing) were held at the facility in groups of four over the two prior weekends with two of four teams advancing to the final weekend. Only players advancing to the final weekend are discussed below.
Overtime Select is a mini version of the well-funded Overtime Elite boys’ program held at the same facility. Approximately 30 high school age male players train, play and are educated during the school year while being housed at nearby apartments. Opened in 2021 costing many millions of dollars to build, the facility is state of the art with arena (over 1200 seating), two practice courts, a weight room, a medical training area, a walk of honor with player posters, a dining area with fresh food preparation, a massive audio-visual area to produce online content plus meeting rooms and offices. According to Overtime media, Overtime has around one hundred full-time employees in various capacities involved in its basketball productions.
See photos of some of the areas of the facility. In time, this should become known as one of the most significant facilities involved in basketball!
The Overtime practice facility.
The Overtime weight room.
All expenses paid!
Overtime Select spared no expenses with transport, lodging and meals fully covered for player and parent/guardian. Locals had the option of commuting or staying at the nearby (walking distance) Embassy Suites Midtown Atlanta.
Plenty of good quality but less depth
If you go to the Overtime Select rosters, you will see these teams (even those eliminated prior to the semis) were very talented, but depth in year two was not up to year one. Several quality invitees turned down the experience due to needing a break after July club ball. Others decided to go to other August events (including the Curry camp in California or play in the SLAM all-star game held just after Overtime Select concluded in New York to name two).
All Overtime Select games are archived on YouTube. Over the course of the three weekends, some contests were amazing competitive matchups while others saw teams pull away with no drama down the stretch. Still there were plenty of amazing individual moments over the three weekends worth seeing. Several games saw double digit leads built and lost, while other times the lead held was lost but recovered closer to the end of the game.
Not an all-star game!
A few state associations have attempted to block Overtime Select participation claiming it is an all-star event. While very talented, that is a totally improper description. In fact, there is a tryout from which multiple players were added. A more apt comparison is club ball - being the season only involving two weekends (four games max and two games minimum) plus teams hold practice in the morning on game days. One telling note is that you do not see the pain on the faces of losing team players in an all-star game as you do at Overtime Select (OTS)! If you are up for a challenge and have a chance to participate, consider Overtime Select!
What might make the OTS games better?
Coaches need to emphasize getting more post touches. As these players are used to carrying a big load from high school (and sometimes spring/summer club), there is a tendency to think shot first and pass second.
Second, referees need to do a better job protecting shooters. Granted, these are quality players and fans do not want to see incidental contact called but a better balance (calling the game a bit more closely) should be considered.
Third, maybe an extra week before the semi’s would have the players in physically better shape for semifinal weekend.
Honoring commitments
A couple of players from teams which qualified for the semifinals pulled out to attend another event which came the day after the final of Overtime Select. These players were encouraged to (and did) break their commitments to OTS although OTS would have gotten the players to the other event at OTS expense.
In America today, there are lots of events held that at times conflict. And players have a right to choose which events that they want to participate in. However, once a player commits to event A, organizers of these other events should not be encouraging these players to break their commitments to finish with Overtime Select. If their team had been eliminated, no problem! We need to teach people (young and old) to honor commitments that they have made!
Brief look at semifinals and final
Semifinal 1: All Knighters 68-66 Royal Reign
Aaliah Spaight had a massive impact on Royal Reign. Photo Courtesy of Overtime.
This was the most competitive game (14 lead changes; 6 times tied) of the weekend. Going in, the thinking was that the All Knighters, who was the most impressive team from the earlier rounds, should be considered the favorite. On the other hand, Royal Reign had to come from behind to win (15-14) the Bubble Breaker to advance to the semis. By halftime, the above looked accurate with the All Knighters leading 38-31 thanks to strong play by Ariyana Cradle (9 points), CeCe Dennis (9 points and Saniyah Hall (8 points). Aaliah Spaight kept Royal Reign relevant with 10 points with her team suffering largely due to 1/11 for 3’s vs 5/13 for the All Knighters.
Over the second half, Royal Reign outplayed the All Knighters thanks to bench scoring (14-1 in this half) plus continued scoring by Spaight who finished with 24 points. In the end, the game was decided by second chance points (10-0 for the All Knighters) with Hall putting in a Dennis miss to give her team a two-point win as time expired. Hall led the All Knighters with 21 points followed by Cradle with 17 and Dennis with 14 points. No other Royal Reign player besides Spaight reached double digits.
Semifinal 2: ISO WRLD 77-64 Cold Hearts (OTS)
This was a less competitive game than the first semi but not without a few twists and turns along the way. The first half was all ISO WRLD up 41-22 at half. The Cold Hearts were largely locked down by ISO defense shooting only 28.6% from the field to ISO’s 54.8% running loose with 18-0 for fast break points. The second half saw a massive comeback by the Cold Hearts cutting the lead to 61-58 with just under six minutes left in the game. Three-point shooting (6/10 in the half) was the main ingredient for the Cold Hearts as well as reversing fast break scoring (12-6 for Cold Hearts in this half). In the last five minutes, momentum turned back to ISO WRLD based on stronger play in the key (overall for the game 52-32 paint points favoring ISO WRLD) pushing the Cold Hearts further away.
Kaleena Smith led all scorers with 21 points (plus 15 assists to 0 turnovers). Nation Williams was ISO’s power in the paint with 10 points and 9 rebounds. The Cold Hearts were led by Kate Harpring (16 points), Kamora Moore (16 points in second half including 4 triples) and Addison Bjorn with 14 points. Note: Moore (5-5, guard, 2028 [AEBL of Power 24; Chattanooga Christian School, Tennessee]) was added to this team to compensate for a non-returning player. She played in week 1 for YGE.
Final: All Knighters 87-71 ISO WRLD
In week 2, the All Knighters had defeated ISO WRLD 90-71 looking quite dominant. Yet with these talented rosters, I expected this rematch to be a lot closer especially as the All Knighters had struggled to win in its semi. Wrong! The first quarter ended All Knighters up 25-23 with All Knighter balance slightly better than Iso’s Kaleena Smith keeping her team relevant with 10 points. In quarter 2, Smith posted just four points and no teammate stepped up resulting in a 46-34 All Knighter halftime advantage.
The third quarter saw ISO WRLD come active on multiple cylinders with Nation Williams its most notable contributor. Going into the final stanza, the All Knighters lead (once 22) was now down to five. However, momentum again shifted as the All Knighter big three of Hall (28 points for game) Cradle (15 points for game) and Dennis (29 points for game) all asserted themselves. Down the stretch, the only question was going to be the final margin of the All Knighter victory.
Kaleena Smith led Iso WRLD with 28 points on a high volume of shooting 11/28 from the field. ISO’s Nation Williams had a strong outing with 14 points and 19 rebounds. The All Knighters led on the points off turnovers (18-6), paint points (38-30), second chance points (12-8) and fast break points (17-11). The All Knighters managed to hide its lack of bench production by only losing this stat 17-11. ISO WRLD finishes second in Overtime Select I and II, both an accomplishment and a disappointment.
Looking at our selections for an unofficial Overtime Select Honor Roll [must reach final four to qualify] in alphabetical order with height, position, graduation year, OTS team in event with club team and circuit from this spring/summer, high school and state location of school in parenthesis. The MVP selection corresponds with the official pick of the event.
Best coaching job award to Sherri Pegues of Royal Reign
Coaching can get overlooked when so much talent is on the court. However, I must commend Royal Reign Coach Sherri Pegues for getting her team within one possession of the final losing 68-66 to the All Knighters in a thrilling semi. On the first weekend, the team had to come from behind to win the Bubble Breaker 15-14 to avenge a Day 1 79-76 overtime loss to YGE. Given roster makeup with key personnel not 100%, this team overachieved despite coming up short in week 2.
MVP
Saniyah Hall, 6-0, forward, 2026, All Knighters (Legends U [Power 24]; Spire Academy, Ohio)
What can one say about Saniyah Hall’s summer! MVP of champions at FIBA World U19 and now again at Overtime Select. She can lead her team in points and rebounds while also posting significant numbers of assists, steals and blocks. Over four games she averaged 21.25 ppg on 47.0% from the field plus 10.75 rpg, 4.5 apg , 3.25 spg and 2.25 blocks per game. Truly a stat stuffer! The Southern Cal commit is the heavy preseason favorite for national high school player of the year honors.
Saniyah Hall is the 2025 Overtime MVP. Photo Courtesy of Overtime.
Honor Roll from final weekend with overview of entire event considered
Addison Bjorn, 6-1, wing, 2026, Cold Hearts (OTS) (All Iowa Attack [EYBL]; Park Hill South High School, Missouri)
Bjorn’s strength is her versatility able to come up big on the wing here averaging 16.0 ppg on 51.1% from the field for the three games, mostly attacking the rim taking what the defense is giving.
Ariyanna Cradle, 5-8, point guard, 2026, All Knighters (Legends U [Power 24]; Spire Academy, Ohio)
Cradle was the All Knighters primary ball handler but contributed 18.25 ppg on 41.7% from the field and 6 rpg. One negative was only 2.0 apg.
CeCe Dennis, 5-5, guard, 2027, All Knighters (FBC United [GUAA]; Creekside High School, Georgia)
Dennis made an OT Select roster after trying out for the event not being pre-selected. She averaged 20.75 ppg on 47.7% from the field, hitting an outstanding 16/36 (44.4%) for 3’s. Add in 4.5 apg playing some point and quite a bit of off-guard!
CeCe Dennis was the breakout player of the 2025 Overtime season. Photo Courtesy of Overtime.
Kate Harpring, 5-10, point guard, 2026, Cold Hearts (OTS) (Southeast All Stars [3SSB]; Marist School, Georgia)
Harpring’s OTS showing may be seen as a disappointment to some after last year’s MVP showing. Still, she averaged 21.3 ppg on 51.1% from the field hitting 13/14 from the foul line (a weak area in high school this past year). In addition, the North Carolina commit posted 6.3 rpg and 4.3 apg. Still quite the performance helping to get her team to the semifinal!
Kaleena Smith, 5-6, point guard, 2027, ISO WRLD (Seven Days [3SSB]; Ontario Christian High School, California)
Smith continues to amaze for a player of her height and modest build. Special K (as she is known) posted 26.75 ppg on 39.8% from the field plus a strong 8.25 apg to only 2.25 turnovers per game. One reason her team did not get over the top was her 7/33 (21.2% for 3’s) which her team overcame in the semi but not the final.
Although coming up short in the championship for the second year, Kaleena Smith leaves a huge impression at Overtime. Photo Courtesy of Overtime.
Aaliah Spaight, 5-7, point guard, 2026, Royal Reign (Why Not Premier [EYBL]; Bishop Gorman High School, Nevada)
Spaight carried her team to within one basket of the final by posting 24.7 ppg shooting 43.6% from the field with a strong 19/22 from the foul line. She also led Royal Reign with 8.3 rpg and 5.0 apg, strong numbers for a point guard.
Nation Williams, 6-2, forward, 2027, ISO WRLD (Utah Lady Prospects [3SSB]; Centennial High School, Nevada)
Williams was a beast on the glass for ISO WRLD averaging 14.25 rpg plus 10.25 ppg on 39.8% from the field for the event.