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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE REVIEW: FRIDAY

Day One: Coaches Flock To See Preps At NPSI

By Zach Smart

Smithfield, R.I.—A crop of the nation’s top prep players hit the ocean state like a tidal wave this weekend, turning heads and extracting drool from a horde of Division-I college coaches at Bryant College.

The National Prep Invitational featured a torrent of talent and a nucleus of Big East-bound players. Some are hotly-pursued products on the recruiting market, others are early commits who need the extra year for various reasons.

Day one was underscored by national power Patterson’s (Lenoir, N.C.) mind-boggling, 81-56 drubbing of Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.). Both teams are leaking with talent, but the bench depth and red-hot shooting (56 percent) allowed Patterson to take a commanding lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Notre Dame shot the ball like they were handcuffed in a darkroom and relied too heavily on the perimeter game. It certainly didn’t help. Notre Dame shot a dismal 6-for-32 (19 percent) from beyond the arc and committed costly turnovers.

De’Andre Kane, who has toyed with idea of committing to Pittsburgh (academic issues are the only obstacles he must hurdle), but recently told Rivals.com the decision is now between Connecticut and Pitt, gave an accurate account of his upside. Simply put, Kane was the best player on the court during the best game of the day, talent-wise. He stood out like a nerdy white guy at The Source Awards after-party. Kane delivered pin-point passes, making his teammates better and creating offensive opportunities. He racked up 10 points, on 5-of-9 shooting, and handed out a game-high seven dimes.

Kane’s ability to facilitate offense helped thwart a Notre Dame Prep team front-loaded with Big East-bound ballers, including James Southerland, a Syracuse-commit, Johnnie Lacy, a Providence-commit, Sean Kilpatrick, a Cincinnati-commit, and New York guard Mohammed Lee (St. John’s, Pittsburgh, and Louisville have expressed interest).

Lacy, who will likely fill the scoring and dishing void left by point forward Geoff McDermott and guards Weyinmi Efejuku and Jeff Xavier after this season, simply didn’t have it in this game. Though he scored 10 points in 15 minutes, Lacy shot just 4-of-11 and committed a game-high four turnovers.

Kilpatrick, the explosive scorer from White Plains, N.Y., didn’t exactly pickup his teammate’s slack. Kilpatrick scored 10 points on a paltry 5-for-18 off-night from the floor. Kilpatrick couldn’t buy a bucket from three-point territory, where he went 0-for-9.

The nightcap was highlighted by Northfield-Mount Hermon’s 91-63 bludgeoning of Fork Union. Louisville-commit Mike Marra, who’s rumored to be the best Rhode Island sniper on this side of T.J. Sorrentine, didn’t fail to stamp his imprint.

The quick-strike three-point assassin put on a show in essentially his Smithfield, R.I. backyard, scorching the nets to the tune of 25 points on 8-for-16 shooting.

Smooth, crisp ball movement, three-point bombs, and an efficient fast break helped the Massachusetts-based boarding school jump out to an early 22-15 lead over Fork Union.

A three-pointer from Marra ratcheted the lead up to 29-19 as the game teetered around the seven minute mark. Junior Hector Harold (18 points, 6-10 fg, 3-6 3fg), a 6-foot-7 California native, got free for a banger that pumped the lead to 39-22. NMH continued to pour it on, holding a commanding 44-28 lead at the half.

NMH opened the second half with a bang, as Marra finished a fast break with an extravagant two-handed dunk. NMH’s 22-point bulge ballooned and the game quickly became a blowout.

Player Evaluations:

Hector Harold, 6-7 (2010) G/F, Northfield Mount Hermon: Boy, would we like to see this kid jump across the country and land somewhere in the Big East. He’s a three-point sniper with a high hoops IQ and likes to play in traffic. NMH coach John Carroll says he’s on all the big-time, high-major West Coast schools radar. The versatile Cali kid is getting a lot of love from the Big East, Pac-10, and ACC.

Michael Laplante, 6-5 (2011) G/F, St. Andrew’s School: The Rhode Island-bred young gun is getting looks from Providence, but has plenty room to refine his game. He needs to go to the cup more, become more aggressive, and develop a more mindful game. This would allow him to develop into a good passer. His team was thoroughly walloped by Findley College Prep (Henderson, NV) in a game that morphed into the “Desert Dunk-a-thon.” Still, Laplante could become an impact player and garner more Big East interest down the road.

Michael Carter-Williams, 6-3 (2011) G, St. Andrew’s School: The Hamilton, Mass. native is already getting looks from Providence and Syracuse. URI, Virginia, UMass , and Boston College have also put the little neophyte on their radar. The kid can stroke it and has good ball control, but he’s still very raw. He needs to pack some muscle onto his spindly, 170-pound frame. Didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, hitting just 4-of-14 against Findley, but will develop strength and maturity with age.

Cory Joseph, 6-3 (2010) G, Findley: Connecticut, Villanova, and Marquette are already after the slender guard from Canada. He’s currently ranked as a four-star prsopect and no.8 amongst point guards, according to Scout.com. The kid who turned heads at the Pitt Jam Fest showed he can score the ball (10 points despite playing only half the game) and employ a dish-before-swish mentality. He handed out a game-high seven dimes and set up some of Findlay’s super-sized bigs for rim-rattling alley-oops. The sky is the limit for this young man.

Anthony “Scoop” Ervin, 6-3 post-graduate, G/F Fork Union: Scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting against NMH, essentially serving as a one-man band. Ervin is being underrecruited…Very underrecruited. Jacksonville, The Citadel, Radford, and St. Francis N.Y. are all potential Division-I suitors. He could play at a higher level if he continues to show toughness and a knack for getting to the cup. Don’t get it twisted though, he does need to pack some meat on his 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame if he expects his D-I interest to mount. He has the heart to play at a solid program. His “I can do all things through Christ” tattoo may be indicative of that statement.

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