Brian Crownover, Connecticut Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

 Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst with CAAInsider.com.  Based in Philadelphia, Brian is a frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report.

Over the weekend, Brian ventured into New Jersey to check out the action at the Primetime Shootout.  Here is his report from the action Saturday:

Scores:

Academy of the New Church 72 Timber Creek 58
The Hun School 76 St. Augustine 56
Mount Vernon 74 Roman Catholic 73
Lincoln 76 Rice 68
St. Pat’s 63 Oak Hill 54

Lincoln

Lance Stephenson (2009 Elite Prospect)

Lance was simply outstanding in this one.  It was the best performance that I’ve seen all year.  He started off on fire and score virtually every time he caught the ball.  He has a very smooth stroke and buried pull up three after pull up three.  Lance possesses such fantastic size and that’s one of the reasons he is so difficult to guard.  When he wasn’t shooting over the Rice defense, he was going around it.  He’s a very explosive ball handler who gets into the lane with ease.  He’s strong and has very little trouble finishing at this level.  Lance nailed a very difficult turn around fade away jumper.  The only thing negative to say about this game was that Lance tried to showboat too much.  He attempted a fancy behind the back pass on one occasion in the first half.  He did slow down as the game wore on, but still had a masterful 35 points in this huge victory.

James Padgett (2009 Prospect)
This big bodied forward didn’t do much in this contest other than crash the boards. He had few touches on the offensive end. His size is very impressive though.

Roman Catholic

Maalik Wayns (2009 Villanova Commit)

Maalik showed he was back on the big stage at Villanova last week.  He continued that excellent play on Saturday afternoon.  His pull up game was on and he buried a number of those shots early on.  He put on a three point shooting exhibition in the first half.  He also drove to the hoop and was able to use his quickness in the lane.  He banked in a runner while he was falling down.  He scored going right at another future Big East player, Kevin Jones.  Maalik also dished off several beautiful assists.  He blends scoring and passing together so well.  He finished with Most Outstanding Player honors with 26 points in this heartbreaking loss.

Aaron Brown (2011 Prospect)

This young freshman has been improving all year and recently was added to the starting lineup.  He’s not the prettiest or most fluid player on the court, but is very productive.  He battled on the boards and finished around the hoop as usual.  Aaron also stepped outside and hit a free throw line jumper.

Rakeem Brookins (2010 Prospect)

With Maalik Wayns dominating, there weren’t many scoring opportunities for Rakeem.  He did have a solid game though.  The smooth shooter hit a couple three pointers, ran the floor and even threw a nice pass.

Mount Vernon

Kevin Jones (2008 West Virginia Commit)

Kevin is such a tough player to defend because of his ability to play inside or outside.  His three point shot is far from textbook, but he drains it time and time again.  He keeps his body almost completely stiff and releases the ball at a high point.  As he’s accustomed to doing, Kevin then went inside and started working around the hoop.  He rebounds and finishes very well in the paint.  He hit a hook shot as well as several bank finishes.  Kevin also knocked down a couple mid range jumpers.  He still rarely puts the ball on the floor and if he adds that dimension the Big East opposition could really be in trouble.   He was Most Outstanding Player in this tight victory with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

Sherrod Wright (2009 Prospect)

Sherrod is a good sized player who can really get into the lane. He loves to attack off the dribble. He was able to get into the lane on numerous occasions and either scored or was fouled. He used a crossover move and banked in a short shot. Sherrod also buried a pull up foul line jumper, a runner and a three pointer. The aggressive guard finished with 22 points.

St. Patrick

Michael Gilchrist (Elite 2011 Prospect)

What bright future this kid has.  I was impressed seeing him playing up over the summer and he was already good.  Michael is now even better.  He’s very explosive and aggressive.  The wiry forward can handle the ball and also finishes very well.  He also hustles all over the court.  Michael already has a pretty good combination of inside and outside ability.  He does have to get bigger.  He’ll also have to work on developing more post moves or more of a jumper, but he’s well on his way.  Playing this big of a role on such a talented team is quite impressive.

Paris Bennett (2009 Prospect)

Paris has good size and a very good pull up game to compliment it.  His jumper is very smooth.  He hit from out to three point land.  Paris was also very active and ran the floor and scored on the break.  He drove left on several occasions and either scored or fouled.

Dexter Strickland (2009 North Carolina Commit)

Dexter did a good job of setting up his teammates in this one.  He drove to the hoop and dished off several nice passes.  He didn’t score a lot and struggled with some plays such as an airball of a three pointer and fouling an opponent on a three pointer.

Rice

Kemba Walker (2008 Connecticut Commit)

Kemba played quite well in this loss.  He hit several pull up jumpers as well as a step back jumper.  The super quick ball handler also got into the lane and made several plays.  He somehow hit a falling away one handed runner.  Kemba played quite well for the Raiders, but was overshadowed by Lance Stephenson’s spectacular performance.  He was Most Outstanding Player for his team with 23 points.

Durand Scott (2009 Prospect)

Durand had a strong game again.  He combines the ability to slash with the ability to knock down the deep jumper.  He made a beautiful up and under move and finished around the basket.  He also used a deadly crossover to draw a foul as well as an acrobatic three point play.  Durand is very tough to stop on the outside.  He can stop on a dime and pull up with his quick release.  By our count, he nailed three from beyond the arc. 

Oak Hill

Brian Oliver (2009 Prospect)

Brian came off the bench, but only had a limited role.  He hit one of his patented three pointers.  He also had a very nice aggressive take to the hoop where he drew a foul.  He seems like he’s still adjusting into his new school and new role.

Brandon Jennings (2008 Arizona Commitment)

Without question this is the worst I’ve seen from Brandon.  Normally he has the ability to take over the game with his passing.  His distribution of the ball was nonexistent in this one.  Brandon did hit a couple pull up jumpers, including from three, but overall his shot was off.  He also used his quickness to get into the lane and make a couple plays.  Overall this is the quietest game he’s probably played in a long time.

Keith “Tiny” Gallon (2009 Prospect)

Tiny is a massive big man with some unique skills.  He showed some ability to handle the ball in the open court and actually moved well for his size.  He didn’t have much of an impact offensively though.  His touches were limited with Brandon Jennings on the court, but he still could’ve done more.

Glenn Bryant (2009 Prospect)

Glenn made some very nice athletic plays.  He threw down a dunk and later converted an alley oop.  He also blocked a shot.  His touches were limited in this one though.  Syracuse is one of the programs involved and he does have the athletic ability of a typical Orange forward.

Brian also has additional player reviews from the event in his article at CAAInsider.com:  <a href=http://www.caainsider.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3541&Itemid=240>Primetime Shootout – Trenton (Day 1).

Last weekend, we also had a story from Adam Zagoria from Friday night at the Primetime Shootout as he updated readers on the recruitment of Brian Oliver, Keith Gallon and dan Jennings in Zags’ Primetime Recruiting Notebook.

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