Georgetown Recruiting, Matt Whitfield, Pittsburgh Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, Villanova Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

SUNDAY AT THE HOOP GROUP TIP-OFF SHOWCASE

by Matt Whitfied

The Hoop Group got the high school basketball season rolling in New Jersey last weekend with their annual Tip-Off Showcase. The two-day event started on Saturday with games at Union High School and the action heated up on Sunday when it moved to Walsh Gymnasium on the Seton Hall campus.

Three games on Sunday brought out college coaches from Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia and Georgetown from the Big East alone braved some tough weather to make it to the Garden state to see a Sunday slate highlighted by the final three games of the event:

Trenton Catholic HS vs. St. Anthony’s of Jersey City
Paterson Catholic HS vs. Plainfield HS
Columbia HS vs. Seton Hall Prep

Here is a breakdown of the action from those three game below in a comprehensive report:

St. Anthony’s Wins a Nail Bitter Against Trenton Catholic

The bar is always set high at St. Anthony’s. Last season they went 32-0, won the NJISAA Tournament of Champions, and were ranked #1 nationally by the USA Today. Losing six players to Division 1-A college basketball teams hurts though, and it showed on the court Sunday.

Trenton Catholic, a team predominately comprised of underclassmen, came out and took full advantage of this playing like they were the defending state and national champions, as they posted a 23-16 halftime lead. The game, which was a clear defensive battle, had a lot of action and hard fought play.

After a firery halftime exchange between St. Anthony’s Coach Bob Hurley and a referee over a non-call, in which Hurley had to be restrained, St. Anthony’s would battle back, holding Trenton Catholic to just three points in the 3rd quarter, and in the process trimming their lead to two. Top NJ recruit and Villanova-commit Dominic Cheek, despite being heavily guarded and battling tendinitis in his left knee, would finish with 14 points and 10 rebounds. As expected, Cheek would be a key factor in the St. Anthony’s comeback. With 2:43 left St. Anthony’s would please the home crowd, as they would take a one point lead off a Matt Rista three-pointer. The next moments were tense for both teams as Trenton Catholic had a chance twice to take the lead, including a shot just before the buzzer, however both shots would miss, and the Friars of St. Anthony would narrowly miss their first defeat in more than a year.

Despite the 37-36 loss Trenton Catholic had a reason to keep their head up. Juniors Dondre Whitmore and Frantz Massenet lead the team with more than half of their points and helped show the basketball community they were much improved since their 77-44 drubbing last March against St. Anthony’s.

“This is kind of what we expected, but I don’t know if people here knew it was going to be like this,” said St. Anthony’s coach Bob Hurley of the close game.

St. Anthony’s showed Sunday that they are human, yet they have enough skill and fire power to comeback and win a close game. However, opponents must look out because on January 17 transfers Derrick Williams, Devon Collier, and Ashton Pankey become eligible and while they may be human now they might just become invincible again with these additions.

Backcourt Leads Plainfield to 2nd Straight Victory Over Paterson Catholic

Look at the players of Paterson Catholic and Plainfield. You’ll be able to notice right away that Paterson Catholic is a mixture of speed and size, and that Plainfield is not yet as big as their counterparts, yet has the capability to run with the ball all day long.

A turn of events happened Sunday and whatever it was it sparked Plainfield in the 2nd half because as their fans cheered and banged harder their play got even better.

Plainfield’s star PG Isaiah Epps seemed to know they were going to win.

“I knew we were going to play hard defense towards the end. I knew we were going to come back and win,” said Epps, a junior guard who listed Pittsburgh, Kansas, Maryland, Rutgers and Seton Hall as schools he is interested in after the game.

A win didn’t look probable for Plainfield at halftime though as they were down five points and had shoot the ball poorly, only hitting 36.8 percent from the field.

The 2nd Half might as well of been a new chapter for Plainfield as they showed those in the crowd who might have been day dreaming that first half that there is reason they’re a top ranked program in New Jersey. Behind the play of Epps (24 points), Anthony Baskerville (21 points), and Tyrone Johnson (16 points), Plainfield showed they had the best athletes on the court Sunday. The trio was primarily responsible for sparking the Plainfield rally after intermission and ended with as many points, 61, as the entire Patterson Catholic team. In addition, in the run Epps scored 13 straight Plainfield points and grabbed six of his seven total rebounds en route to the victory.

Patterson Catholic which fell to 0-1 on the season did have shimmering bright sports on the day. Myles Mack, only a sophomore was lights out in the loss. He finished with 15 points and 4 assists on a day where he shot six of nine from the field and three of five from the three. Junior man child, aka animal as called by some Plainfield fans, Trevor Clemmings finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds on the day. Patterson Catholic MVP in the loss, Lance Brown would finish with 12 points, and 9 rebounds.

This was the second straight year the two teams squared off. Plainfield beat Patterson last year also in a come from behind victory in the Cougar Classic.

Seton Hall Avenges Last Years Defeat, Beats Columbia 66-51

Seton Hall Prep’s basketball program is one of the more respected high school basketball programs in the state of New Jersey, so when they lose, especially to an opponent that’s not too highly touted, it comes as a shock to many. Seton Hall Prep had just lost a day earlier to East Orange Campus and so now the focus was on Coach Bobby Farrell and his team more than ever to not go down 0-2 on the season. Fat chance, a school just doesn’t graduate players like Brevin and Brandin Knight and Ashton Gibbs for a reason.

Seton Hall Prep came out slow in this game as they would trail 18-9 at the end of the 1st quarter. But the Pirates would get hot in the 2nd Quarter. John Caprio would hit a layup eight seconds in to start a 20-0 run which the Pirates would never look back from. Highly touted sophomore Sterling Gibbs, sporting a pair of Pittsburgh Panther logo’d Adidas footwear, would score seven of his 22 points in the quarter as the Pirates would take a 29-21 lead at the half, and never look back.

“We did a little better job, but we really have not played good defense since we started practice,” said Seton Hall Prep Head Coach Bob Farrell.

Seton Hall Prep better get their defense in check. They will play in the Neptune Holiday Jubilee in less than a week where they could face teams such as Neptune and Elizabeth, and then less than a week later against a vaunted Plainfield team.

SOME PLAYER NOTES:

Elijah Carter, 6’0 Soph PG. 3 Pts, 4 Rebs, 2 Steals for St. Anthony’s.
Good basketball player frame. A tad undersized for a Division 1 PG prospect his age. Showed a lot of hustle despite limited activity in this low scoring game.

Dominic Cheek, 6’6 Senior PF. 14 pts, 10 Rebs.
Vocal leader. Runs the St. Anthony offense. Still a threat despite double coverage. The Villanova-commit wasn’t overly impressive as he has been slowed this preseason because of tendinitis in his knee.

Myles Mack, 5’9 Soph PG. 15 pts, 4 Assts, 1 Reb for Paterson Catholic.
Real nice looking shot, probably the nicest in the game Sunday. Is only a sophomore but from the looks of it is a legitimate high major division 1-A prospect. Makes crisp passes in transition. Doesn’t play like he’s 5’9.

Jayon James, 6’6 Junior PF. 7 pts, 1 Reb, 9 Assts.
Did not look like the high-major division 1-A prospect today he is touted as. Sub-par speed as conditioning is an issue. Is an integral part of the Paterson Catholic offense however.

Fuquan Edwin, 6’5 Junior SF, 8 pts, 1 Reb, 1 Steal.
Good basketball frame. Was not overly involved in the Paterson Catholic offense today. However, has the reputation of a natural scorer.

Tyrone Johnson, 6’2 Soph PG. 16 pts, 9 Rebs, 6 Assts.
Has swagger on the floor. Plays like a QB on the basketball court who’s fearless to run at bigger opponents. Amazing basketball skills for his age.

Isaiah Epps, 6’2 Junior G. 24 pts, 7 Rebs, 1 steal
Leader of the team. Good rebounder considering his size. Good handle. Plainfield probably would be 0-1 without him.

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