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NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS FESTIVAL REPORT

BY JEFF BORZELLO

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – When it is a Saturday during the college basketball season and there are still dozens of assistant head coaches in the stands at a high school tournament, you know it must be a loaded event. That was the case at the National High School Hoops Festival at Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Md. on Saturday. Coaches from Connecticut, Virginia, South Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts and many other schools were in attendance to watch 10 of the best schools in the mid-Atlantic region.

The day started with Paul VI (Va.) vs. Wise High School (Md.), followed by Mountain State Academy (W.V.) vs. National Christian Academy (Md.), St. Mary’s Ryken (Md.) vs. Montrose Christian (Md.), West Charlotte (N.C.) vs. Bishop O’ Connell (Va.) and wrapping up with a showdown between DeMatha (Md.) and Benedictine (Va.). Here is a look at some of the top players in the event:

Player Notes:

Daryl Traynham, 2010, Wise High School: The extremely quick point guard who was reported to be playing at Maine Central Institute and Lee Academy this season ended up back in southern Maryland. Traynham showed an ability to get to the rim against defenders and created several shots for himself in the lane. He was able to finish against bigger opponents, and had several acrobatic attempts at the basket. Traynham is very fast with the ball and knows how to find teammates.

Obij Aget, 2012, Mountain State Academy: The 7-footer backs up fellow Sudan native David Nyarsuk down low, but he doesn’t seem like the second coming of Nyarsuk. Aget is more agile and has a better perimeter game than Nyarsuk. He is very long and tall, and uses that to be a solid defender and rebounder. Aget also showed a decent jab step and dribble-drive past a defender. However, he seemed tentative at both ends of the floor and could have been more aggressive.

David Nyarsuk, 2010, Mountain State Academy, West Virginia: The future Mountaineer has certainly improved since we saw him play at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando at the end of July. He is more mobile and can move around without the ball. He blocks shots very well at the defensive end, and constantly crashes the boards for offensive rebounds. On the negative side, with his size and skill set, he should be more of a factor at both ends. For example, he was beaten on a lob defensively on at least one occasion. Additionally, Nyarsuk needs to keep the ball up better; he lost the ball a couple of times when trying to dribble it down low.

Remi Dibo, 2010, Mountain State Academy: The 6-8 Dibo has the ability to be an interesting prospect at the next level. He is an inside-outside performer who can really shoot the three well for a player of his size. Dibo admits that he needs to be more of a factor inside and on the boards, but he did show the potential to crash the glass at both ends. He could be a solid player if he improves his all-around game a bit.

Ahmad Ibrahim, Mountain State Academy: Ibrahim comes off the bench for MSA, but he makes his presence felt immediately. He is scrappy defensively and his physical play at that end led to him picking up several steals and deflections. Offensively, he is aggressive and can drive to the basket for finishes, even with contact. The 6-6 Ibrahim runs the floor well and likes to get out in transition. He also has very solid vision and passing ability.

Anthony Bennett, 2012, Mountain State Academy: Bennett, a 6-7 forward, could be yet another high-major prospect to come out of Canada in a couple of years. He has very good athleticism and has a solid build at this point in his career. He can play above the rim and is a factor on the glass. Bennett also is solid defensively, and rotates well in help situations. One thing he needs to work on, though, is moving without the ball.

Justin Anderson, 2012, Montrose Christian: The athletic lefty is one of the top prospects in the class of 2012, and he showed why against St. Mary’s Ryken on Saturday. Anderson is a menace at both ends of the floor, picking up steals and deflections consistently on defense, and getting plenty of offensive rebounds at the other end. He has yet to demonstrate a consistent outside jumper, but he knocked down a couple of mid-range jumpers and had several tip-ins at the rim. Anderson has outstanding leaping ability and gets off the floor very quickly, enabling him to outrebound bigger players. He also passed the ball well, both in the halfcourt but especially in transition.

Tyler Hubbard, 2011, Montrose Christian: The backup point guard is a solid performer who could see mid-major interest eventually. Hubbard gets down the court with the ball very quickly, and can get to the rim against defenders. He has decent form on his shot, but the results are inconsistent. However, he did knock down multiple three-pointers in the second half. Hubbard also made a few mistakes in his transition decisions.

Nazareth Long, 2011, Montrose Christian: Another player who will likely see some mid-major interest, Long makes Montrose Christian go at both ends of the floor. Defensively, he pressures the ball from end-to-end, not allowing the opposing point guard to initiate his offense easily. Furthermore, he gets back in transition well and plays the passing lanes. Offensively, he controls tempo and gets Montrose into its half-court sets. He also runs the floor well, finishing at the rim on fast breaks.

Josh Turner, 2010, St. Mary’s Ryken: Turner had an excellent start to the game against Montrose Christian, but faded slightly as the game progressed. Within the first quarter or so, Turner hit a deep three, had an excellent mid-range jumper off the dribble over a defender and also scored another basket. He also had several nice rebounds and boxed out well. After that, though, Turner struggled. He began to force some shots and turned the ball over a couple of times with the ball and the dribble. It was also unclear if Turner was able to consistently create his own shot with the dribble.

Traveon Graham, 2011, St. Mary’s Ryken: Another solid scoring wing for the Knights, Graham did a little bit of everything. He showed an ability to pass the ball to open teammates for shots; he made several nice cuts to the basket to help out teammates in trouble; and he rebounded the ball very well, corralling defensive boards. Furthermore, Graham got to the basket and also hit a mid-range jumper.

Jacoby Davis, 2011, West Charlotte: One of the more surprising players that we saw at the Festival, Davis is an outstanding offensive player. The 6-1 point guard is a phenomenal shooter who has a terrific three-point stroke and can knock down shots from deep. Every time it leaves his hands, you think it is on its way into the basket. He also has excellent ball-handling skills and can beat his defender off the dribble. Davis is also a very good passer. Overall, he’s a crafty player who gets it done.

Julius Hamilton, 2012, West Charlotte: Hamilton is listed as a 6-3 forward, but he’s as versatile as they come. He can post up defenders down low with his back to the basket, and he is also comfortable handling the ball on the perimeter and initiating the offensive attack. Hamilton gets to the basket well, using his body to create space against defenders and finishing with contact.

Jordan Burgess, 2011, Bishop O’Connell: Burgess is another player who uses his body extremely well, giving himself opportunities off the offensive glass or down low against weaker defenders. He had multiple follows from the weakside off of misses, and had a couple of nice finishes in the lane. Burgess is aggressive and very active around the basket. In a word, he is productive.

Maurice Williams, 2010, Bishop O’Connell: Williams, a 6-0 point guard who is receiving mid-major interest, did not show that much against West Charlotte on Saturday. He does have a nice shooting stroke, both from the free-throw stripe and from the field. Williams can handle the ball and is a decent defender.

Marcus Carmon, 2010, Bishop O’Connell: The 6-7 Carmon has potential, but he needs to fine-tune multiple facets of his game. His face-up game looked subpar, as he barely grazed the rim on a 12-foot jumpshot in the first quarter. He also had trouble finishing the ball around the rim, despite getting chances down low. On the positive side, Carmon gets great position on the block and is very solid on the glass.

Larry Savage, 2011, Bishop O’Connell: When Kendall Marshall is running the show for your team, you are bound to get countless open opportunities around the basket. That proved to be true for Savage – but he failed to take advantage of several of them in the first half. He missed a multitude of finishes near the rim after Marshall found him with one of his patented no-look passes. However, he picked it up tremendously in the second half, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Mikael Hopkins, 2011, DeMatha: Hopkins was absolutely dominant against Benedictine on Saturday. From the opening tip, he demonstrated his enormous potential. Offensively, he showed several impressive post moves, including a turnaround jumper that he utilized multiple times. He scored at will once he got the ball down low, and was also active on the offensive glass. Defensively, his athleticism and length made opponents change their shots once they got into the lane, but he was still able to block a couple of shots. Hopkins also runs the floor very well.

Quinn Cook, 2011, DeMatha: Cook was a mixed bag on Saturday. On the positive side, he knocked down a couple of three-pointers and got to the basket against his defender several times. He had an outstanding no-look pass to Hopkins in the first half for a wide-open dunk. Defensively, he was an absolute pest while guarding Moody. He forced Moody into several bad shots and turnovers. On the other hand, though, Cook played out of control at times and turned the ball over too much. He was also beat defensively by R.J. Price off the dribble.

James Robinson, 2012, DeMatha: Coming into the game, I had heard a lot of hype about the young Robinson, who is already starting at DeMatha as a sophomore. However, he did not demonstrate much at all, although he was on the bench for much of the first half. He opened the second half with a couple of missed three-pointers, including an airball, but he showed excellent form and release on a couple of made jumpers later in the half.

Jerian Grant, 2010, DeMatha, Notre Dame: The future Fighting Irish guard was his usual self: a menace on the defensive end, racking up steals and deflections that lead to fast breaks and transition opportunities. Offensively, he was able to get to the basket against his defenders, but his outside shot was off. Grant’s first step is extremely effective, though, and he was able to finish at the rim. At one point, he had seven straight points and had about four or five one-man fast breaks. He will immediately step in and help Notre Dame’s defense next year.

Michael Gbinije, 2011, Benedictine: Gbinije started off slowly, but really came alive once Benedictine got down early. Despite being hounded by Victor Oladipo, Gbinije dominated stretches of the game, hitting multiple threes, several mid-range jumpers and blocking shots on consecutive possessions. Furthermore, he went baseline for several solid baskets, including a finish over Hopkins. Gbinije has a very smooth offensive game, and he is extremely difficult to stop. When he gets going, he can be an absolutely dominant offensive performer. It’s also no surprise that Benedictine was down 9-0 when Gbinije was slowed by Oladipo, but came back once he came alive.

Trey Davis, 2011, Benedictine: Davis wasn’t able to get into the lane that much against DeMatha’s tenacious defense, but he showed his shooting ability. Davis knocked down a three from the corner, and also was effective with his step-back pull-up jumper when going to his left. Shooting from the top of the key seemed to be his forte against DeMatha. When he did get into the lane, he had difficulties against Hopkins and the rest of the DeMatha defense.

Erick Moody, 2011, Benedictine: Airball. Shot off the side of the backboard. Missed lay-up. Travel. Airball on a three. Those are the first five notes I have written in my notepad next to Moody’s name. Needless to say, he did not have a very impressive game on Saturday. He was completely frustrated and shut down by Quinn Cook, who hassled him everywhere he went in the half-court set.

R.J. Price, Benedictine: Although not as big of a blip on the national radar as Moody and Davis, Price was impressive throughout the game at the offensive end. He beat Cook off the dribble a couple of times, creating opportunities for himself and his teammates. Price also hit a couple of outside jumpers and was able to score in a variety of ways. On the downside, his quickness led him to playing out of control at times.
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Recruiting Notes:

- Anthony Bennett: Although it is early in his recruitment, the Canadian has interest from Connecticut, Oklahoma, UNLV and Iowa State.

- Remi Dibo: The France native holds offers from Wyoming and Nevada, but also has interest from Wake Forest, Kentucky and Duquesne.

- Terrence Ross, who did not sign a letter-of-intent to attend Maryland after verbally committing to the Terrapins, will not comment on why he didn’t make it official. When pressed, a Montrose assistant said that the coaching staff doesn’t want reporters talking to Ross about it. “Only about the game,” an assistant said.

- Jacoby Davis: After picking up an offer from Charlotte last night, Davis now holds offers from Ole Miss, VCU and South Carolina, in addition to the 49ers. He also has interest from Virginia.

- Julius Hamilton: He is just a sophomore in high school, but the versatile and multi-dimensional Hamilton has interest from Kentucky, Winthrop and Florida.

- Trey Davis: Right now, he holds offers from VCU, Richmond and George Mason, as well as interest from Old Dominion and Clemson. However, his stock is on the rise.

- Mikael Hopkins: Maryland, Georgetown, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Florida, Florida State, Villanova and Pittsburgh.

- According to DeMatha head coach Mike Jones, the following schools have been in recently to check out Quinn Cook: Kansas, Florida, Georgetown and Syracuse.

- Furthermore, Jones said that 2012 prospect James Robinson has an offer from Notre Dame and interest from Georgetown, Maryland, Texas and NC State.
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