Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Jeff Borzello, Louisville Recruiting, Marquette Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Providence Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, St. John's Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

HOOP GROUP HIGH SCHOOL SHOWCASE, PART I

BY JEFF BORZELLO

Although the Hoop Group Showcase at Rutgers University was chock-full of surprises throughout the two-day tournament, the ending did not catch anyone off-guard. Led by the 2010 duo of Markus Kennedy and Kyrie Irving, St. Patrick’s steamrolled its way through the field, culminating in a dominant victory over Windsor (CT) in the championship game. However, the tournament was not without surprises, as only 50 percent of the expected Final Four of St. Pat’s, St. Benedict’s, St. Anthony and Paterson Catholic actually reached the semifinals. St. Anthony’s, playing without Dominic Cheek, bowed out to NIA School White in the third round, while PC’s great comeback fell short against Susquehanna Twp (Pa.) in the third round as well.

One thing to note: most of the top teams were not at full strength, as several players were elsewhere this past weekend. Let’s take a closer look at some of the notable teams and players from the two-day showcase in part one of a two-part series.

St. Patrick’s (N.J.): St. Pat’s was by far the best team at the tournament, as they struggled in just one game – a 75-72 victory over New Rochelle, a contest that St. Pat’s led 43-13 at halftime. New Rochelle took advantage of numerous turnovers by St. Pat’s, and hit plenty of clutch threes in the second half to get back into the game. However, the comeback fell short and St. Pat’s pulled away at the end. In the quarterfinals, St. Pat’s easily took care of Seton Hall Prep, 54-41, holding star freshman Sterling Gibbs to just eight points. It seemed that St. Pat’s got better every game, as they annihilated both of their opponents in the Final Four, knocking off St. Benedict’s in a highly-anticipated match-up by the score of 61-35, and then took their dominance to another level in the finals. Windsor (CT) was the feel-good story of the tournament – but they must have felt horrendous after the 54-17 defeat it took at the hands of the Celtics. They scored just four points in the second half – zero in the final eight minutes. Oh, and St. Pat’s was without stars Dexter Strickland, Michael Gilchrist and Paris Bennett.

Scouting Report: Markus Kennedy (6-8, 2010)

One of the best players at the showcase, Kennedy did not demonstrate his dominance during the entire tournament, but when St. Pat’s needed him to takeover, he gladly obliged. First of all, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, he is supposed to be 7-foot-2 when he finishes growing. If that ends up being true, look out. Offensively, Kennedy is an outstanding force inside. He can finish around the rim, and is a ferocious dunker with both hands. He moves without the ball extremely well, constantly making himself available. He gets great position inside, enabling him to get easy baskets once he gets the ball. Kennedy also has decent hands. If he does not have a shot, he looks to pass the ball and does not force shots. He had a tendency to miss a few open lay-ups at times down low, but also showed the ability to finish with contact. While he does run the floor fairly well, he will need to play in more of a half-court setting in college. Defensively, he is a very shot-blocker who also changes shots without even touching them. However, he did fall victim to pump-fakes a couple of times when going for a block. He also needs to lose weight and get in better shape.

School List: Louisville, Xavier, Penn State, Rutgers, Rider, Ohio State
- Favorites are Ohio State and Georgetown (Hoyas have shown interest, but haven’t offered yet)

Quotable: “[My strengths are] as a rebounder, passer and screener. I need to work on my conditioning, though. I’m just running miles per day to try and get more stamina.”

Scouting Report: Kyrie Irving (6-1, 2010)

One of the many players who burst onto the scene at the Hoop Group was Irving, a transfer from Montclair Kennedy Academy who will step in immediately and make an impact for the Celtics. He certainly did just that this past weekend. He was simply an outstanding player who did nearly everything well. He can knock down perimeter shots from deep range, and has very good form on his shot. Irving can hit three-pointers in transition and in rhythm, and is also very difficult to stop going to the basket. He is a very smooth player who sees the floor well. He is a good passer with vision who finds open teammates. Irving has outstanding dribbling ability, and his quickness allows him to get into the lane whenever he wants. He can also run the fast-break with ease. He has a great first step that keeps defenders flat-footed and planted. Without the ball, he is adept at flashing to the rim for open baskets. Defensively, he is active and can pick up steals with his quick hands.

School List: Wake Forest, Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, Providence, Memphis, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Rutgers

Quotable: “I need to work on making my teammates better. I think I’m holding my own out there, but I have to remember there are four others players out there too.”

St. Benedict’s (N.J.): St. Ben’s, despite being without Tristan Thompson, Lamar Patterson, Tamir Jackson and Myck Kabongo, was solid throughout the tournament – aside from their loss to St. Patrick’s in the semifinals. The Gray Bees were led by the quartet of Aaron Brown (2010), Mike Poole (2010), Tavon Sledge (2011) and Myles Davis (2011). They opened with a closer-than-expected victory over PCTI, a game which they led 36-22 before a plethora of turnovers and mistakes allowed PCTI to get back into the game and eventually tie at 59 before Brown knocked in a basket with two seconds left for the win. An easy win over Monmouth followed, but the quarterfinals game against Neuman-Goretti was anything but easy. The Pennsylvania powerhouse, led by Andre Gillette, hung tough with St. Ben’s and the game went into overtime. The Gray Bees owned the extra period, though, as Davis scored five quick points to ignite a game-clinching run. As mentioned above, St. Ben’s tournament ended in the semifinals against St. Pat’s.

Scouting Report: Aaron Brown (6-4, 2010)

Although he is overshadowed by the more well-known players on St. Benedict’s, Brown was one of the most impressive players at the entire showcase. He is a match-up problem for most defenders given his entire skill set. Against PCTI, he was absolutely dominating around the basket, but he also showed the ability to run the floor and finish in transition. Brown is a great finisher, and he always goes strong to the basket. His strength gives him an advantage against smaller defenders. Brown has a non-stop motor, and he is relentless on the offensive glass. He has solid dribbling ability, but he is careless with the ball at times. Furthermore, Brown is a decent passer.

School List: Providence, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Kentucky, Hartford, Marist

Quotable: “I want go somewhere where I fit, like a family. I’m not going to go because of facilities, because everyone has nice facilities now. I want there to be a nice family there.”

Scouting Report: Tavon Sledge (5-10, 2011)

The first you notice when watching Sledge is his unbelievable quickness. Right off the opening tap, he grabbed the ball and sprinted up the court, outracing everyone for a wide-open lay-up. He can get to the basket against most defenders because of his quickness. He has outstanding leaping ability for someone his size, which helps his finishing efficiency. Sledge is absolutely fearless going to the rim, and has good body control when going up for a shot. He is also a very solid passer. Without the ball, he moves well, looking to get open for shots. Defensively, he has quick hands and is a pest to opponents. He does need to improve his perimeter shot, though.

School List: Marquette, Syracuse, Villanova, Big East

Quotable: “[The things I’m looking for at a college] are their academics and their culinary arts program. I want to be a cook.”

Scouting Report: Mike Poole (6-6, 2010)

Arguably the most highly-touted of the St. Benedict’s players who were at the Hoop Group showcase, Poole showed a full array of skills. He is an outstanding passer who has great vision for a forward. On many occasions, he drove past his defender with relative ease and dished it off to a teammate for an easy finish. He was able to run the break – and the offense, at times – because of his solid dribbling ability. Poole made a couple of poor decisions, but would make up for it with eye-opening plays, like his coast-to-coast lay-up in the second half against PCTI. He has a solid mid-range game as well.

School List: Marquette, St. John’s, UCLA, Connecticut, Kansas, UAB, Florida, Memphis (according to Rivals.com)

Linden (N.J.): One of the most disappointing teams at the tournament, Linden is not going to be a threat at all next season. They were expected to win a couple of games heading into the weekend, but their guards greatly disappointed and David Bruce did not assert himself at either end of the court. Their first loss was to St. Joseph’s (Montvale, N.J.), a game in which Linden fell behind early and could not catch up. Joseph Efese thoroughly dominated Bruce and the rest of the Linden frontline.

Scouting Report: David Bruce (6-10, 2009)

Like his team as a whole, Bruce was disappointing for the most part in the Hoop Group Showcase. Most of his hype comes from his dominant performance against St. Raymond’s in the Primetime Shootout. However, most of the people I’ve spoken with about Bruce seem to think that game was the worst thing that could have happened to in terms of recognition. Watching Bruce, you can tell he has talent but needs to work harder and take advantage of his natural abilities. He is tall and long, but needs to put on strength. Due to his length, he can block shots and get into passing lanes to deflect balls. Offensively, he can put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and finish. He uses his body well on drives and can score around the basket. He has good footwork and handle for someone his size. He has nice form on his shot, and can knock down mid-range jumpers. Bruce needs to become more consistent on the offensive end, though. On the other side, Bruce seemed to take stretches of plays off, demonstrating his inconsistency. He doesn’t use his size well defensively, and should be able to block more shots. He doesn’t seem to make an attempt at many of the shots that go up in his area. He could certainly be more intimidating around the rim on the defensive end. Offensively, Bruce is not overly active and does not make himself available. He needs to demand the ball more in the low-post. He makes an attempt at grabbing rebounds at both ends, but did not dominate the glass like his size indicated he should have. He is not aggressive enough offensively and struggles with defensive awareness at times.

School List: St. John’s, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Connecticut, Xavier, Kentucky, St. Joseph’s

In Part II tomorrow, Jeff Borzello takes a closer look at the talent with Paterson Catholic, Plainfield and Seton Hall Prep.

Be Sociable, Share!

•