Georgetown Recruiting, Pittsburgh Recruiting

BISHOP MCNAMARA CRUISES IN CRC EVENT

Pitt-commit Zanna has impressive outing for the Mustangs

by Ray Mernagh

First of all, before we get to the replay in words, let me give props to Gregory “Doc” Merrick. Merrick put on one whale of a tournament featuring ten Catholic institutions, and he did it on behalf of a great cause — cancer research. Doc was everywhere yesterday as he and his staff of incredible volunteers made this tournament one of the best-run events I’ve been to. Well done everybody!

Now, let’s get to the hoops action of the 2009 Cancer Research Classic at Wheeling (WV) Jesuit University:

Game One: Bishop McNamara Mustangs (Forestville, Md) vs Northeast Catholic Falcons (Philadelphia, PA).

McNamara comes in ranked 13th nationally and led by a quartet of D-1 caliber-recruits in 6′9 Talib Zanna, a 2009 Pittsburgh commit, 6′3 guard Rashad Whack (George Mason), 6′4 forward Lawrence Smith (NC A&T) and 6′7 forward Brandon Coleman of the class of 2010.

North Catholic counters with the top-rated player in the Illadelph’s 2011 class, Rakeem Christmas, a 6′9 sophomore who certainly passes the eye test for scouts everywhere and already has paid an unofficial visit to Georgetown.

Zanna is listed at 220 pounds which looks about right (maybe even 225-230) while Christmas is listed at 230 — he must be hiding it somewhere because he might be 210-215 (maybe). Zanna is much more mature physically and that only makes sense as he’s at least two years older. Xavier Harris is a 6′6 forward out of the 2011 class for North Catholic that is a name to remember.

McNamara is 8-1 on the season with the one loss coming to NYC power Christ the King 74-68 on the third day of the Bojangles’ Shootout after the Mustangs had beaten Norcross (GA) and White Station (TN) to get to the championship game of the prestigious event. Northeast Catholic are the defending Catholic League champions from Philly, finishing last year with a 34-1 mark, but their roster shows their youth as it’s full of juniors and sophomores.

Immediately Zanna impressed with his unselfishness. He receives the ball in the post and as the double-down starts to happen fires a rocket pass to Rashad Whack out top — Whack drains the trifecta. Christmas gets a shot attempt sent back at him as Zanna pins it against the board. After rebounding the block, instead of going right back up with it, Christmas brings the ball down and gets stripped by a duo of McNamara’s ball-hungry guards. Christmas moves up and down the court gracefully, but seems discouraged by both physical play from Zanna and Coleman and his team’s inability to get him the ball where he wants it. A great example comes during an inbounds play under Northeast Catholics bucket. Christmas is standing at the free throw line pointing up, letting the inbounds passer know that he wants the ball lobbed out to him. The pass is maybe a foot or two off the mark but well-within the athletic abilities of Christmas to go get it, instead he makes a half-hearted little hop and the ball is intercepted by a McNamara player. The first quarter ends with Bishop McNamara up 17-12 with Smith and Whack doing most of the damage off dribble-drives and pull-up jumpers. Zanna throws in a nice looking jump hook during the stretch as well.

Jaleel Mack, a 6′1 guard (2010) for Northeast Catholic, hits a three to start the second quarter and cuts the McNamara lead to two points at 17-15. McNamara’s good-looking sophomore guard Tyler Shipe answers with a three of his own. The play is fast and furious throughout the second quarter as McNamara turns up the pressure defensively and takes a 29-22 lead before Northeast Catholic coach Tom Kaiser attempts to stop the madness with a timeout. Northeast comes out of the timeout and has Xavier Harris, a good-looking 6′6 forward (2011) post-up a smaller McNamara guard. Harris backs him down before hitting a nice fade-away from about 12 feet. Then Brandon Coleman starts to catch my attention. Coleman blocks three straight shots on the same possession, then makes the fundamental decision to center the ball on the break instead of attacking the open space in front of him with the dribble. The decision results in a three-on-one fast-break with Coleman and Zanna running the court/filling the lanes right out of the UNC handbook. Zanna finishes plus gets fouled (Zanna was horrible from the line going 2-9 for the game — I can hear Pitt fan now “he’ll fit right in”). Marty Keithline does a real good job coaching this talented McNamara team — they play hard and with enthusiasm.

Finally, Rakeem Christmas shows some life when he gets a pass on the wing and his eyes light up at the sight of Zanna standing under the hoop. Christmas takes one dribble and lifts off with every intention of bangin’ both the ball and Zanna through the rim. It doesn’t result in a bucket but it’s Christmas’ strongest move of the day and sends him to the line for two well-earned freebies. He hits one of two — has nice form on his shot — and McNamara’s lead is now eight 33-25. McNamara then commits a turnover and Christmas sprints down the court on the break — he’s basically screaming for the lob but his guard either ignores him or misses him and the possession ends with another turnover. Coleman then asks for a lob of his own, receives it, and finishes for a 37-26 McNamara lead at halftime.

Christmas has the biggest highlight of the game in the third quarter with a fully extended dunk in which he jumps off two feet from a standing start — that play alone tells me why the youngster from the Islands is so highly regarded! Christmas spends the rest of the third quarter picking up four fouls because he seems to have decided — that no matter how bad this day has gone for both he and his team — he will not be dunked on! Christmas comes back in the game at the 6:52 mark of the fourth quarter and I write in my notes “lets see if the kid battles” but Zanna takes care of that with four straight buckets. Zanna puts the game out of reach as Zanna dunks, Zanna layup (Christmas’ fifth at 6:16), Zanna dunks, Zanna dunk — 64-37 Bishop McNamara and Zanna comes out with 3:59 left to a loud ovation from the crowd.

The final score is 69-39 Bishop McNamara.

”The first quarter we were just trying to feel them out and see what we could do,” Bishop McNamara coach Marty Keithline said. ”By the end of the first we had a good feel on what their guards could do and we knew we wanted to attack their big men.”

”We were able to play very good defense and take advantage of turnovers.”

On Coleman: “He’s a high-major recruit in football, plays wide receiver, lots of schools recruiting him from Georgia to Maryland.”

Player Evals:

Zanna — Is very good right now but also looks like a player capable of getting better and better. Hit his only perimeter shot, an 18-footer, and looked comfortable doing it. Does a good job running the court and sealing off in the post. Has a nice little jump hook. Rebounds and defends really well — had six blocks on the day. Plays hard and with a superior attitude. His motor doesn’t stop and his expression stays the same at all times. Pitt should be fine in the post with the addition of Zanna and Dante Taylor.

Christmas (2011) — Extremely young with unlimited potential. Has great feet, runs well, very bouncy. Has the ability to go get rebounds although he didn’t show it. Shoulders are broad and the rest of his body should fill out very nicely in time (think Charles Smith-type frame). His coach says he’s a good pupil. If Rakeem works hard this summer, he could be one of the top players in his class nationally on merit and not just potential. Liked the way he competed in isolated instances — especially for a young kid.

Xavier Harris (2011) — Good size for a young player with the potential to be a wing. Some things he did make me think he has a chance. Right now probably a solid mid-major prospect but might be getting some high-major looks based on his age.