Connecticut Recruiting, Louisville Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Pat Stevens, Providence Recruiting, Seton Hall Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting

NBE PREP CORNER – UNDERCLASSMEN UPDATE (PART II)

BY PAT STEVENS — As mentioned in Part I of the Prep Corner’s Underclassman Updates, the group of young talent in the NEPSAC this season is pretty unprecedented when comparing to recent years.

The 2011 class has a pair of point guards who are among the best in the country at their position in Shabazz Napier (Lawrence Academy) and Naadir Tharpe (Brewster Academy). Two more have already given verbal commitments to Big East schools in Michael Carter-Williams (St. Andrew’s) to Syracuse and DaShaun Wiggins (Bridgton Academy) to Seton Hall.

Evaluating the 2012 class is still in the early stages but Andre Drummond (St. Thomas More) started at center to lead the USA U16 team to a Gold Medal this past summer at the FIBA Americas Games and Khem Birch (Winchendon School) will be one of the select few underclassmen who will play at this June’s annual NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp. Ricardo Ledo (St. Andrew’s) and Alex Murphy (St. Mark’s) have high-major offers from teams across the nation.

Expect the Big East to be in for another loaded year if the top talent elects to stay home.

LAWRENCE ACADEMY – Shabazz Napier (2011/6-0 PG/Charlestown, Mass.)

Running with an undefeated season and big wins over Class C rival St. Mark’s and Class B power Tilton School, Lawrence Academy heads to this weekend’s National Prep School Invitational with the event’s reigning MVP Shabazz Napier running the show for them.

“He’s just electric. His instincts are as good as it gets. Add to that his creativity and he makes for a fun player to watch,” Lawrence head coach Kevin Wiercinski said. “His maturity and leadership has really gone up though. He’s better at focusing in big games and being more in tune with what it takes to win a game rather than only make the big plays.”

Watching him in the team’s biggest game of the year thus far against St. Mark’s as well as in December’s Hoop Mountain Prep Invitational, there’s an appreciation for how his offense doesn’t predicate his defense. In each, we clocked him for 34 and 35 point outings but five-plus steals with several coming on clean strips at midcourt were pivotal.

“He loves to compete. He reads the passing lanes well, anticipates dribbles, but it’s not to say he doesn’t still need the tutelage of playing team defense,” Wiercinski said. “He’ll have his lapses where he’s out of position like any kid, but he’s as good as it comes at baiting guys into turnovers.”

Obviously it begs the question how he fits running a team in the half-court where he doesn’t have the green light, but he did a solid job this summer doing just that at the Reebok All-American Camp.

Still somewhat under the radar, however, thanks to playing with the second unit of his team that week, he raised his national profile with big outings against Phil Pressey and Austin Rivers back in the end of July’s evaluation period events in Orlando.

Wiercinski mentioned Arizona and Arizona State coming up for him in the fall. Alabama, whose staff recruited him when they were previously at VCU, made the trip to the Hoop Mountain event in December.

For the local, Connecticut was there as well, while Providence and UMass have tracked him hard and were in the house for both that event and the St. Mark’s game.

We’ll have more with him from this weekend’s National Prep School Invitational.

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BREWSTER ACADEMY – Naadir Tharpe (2011/6-0 PG/Worcester, Mass.)

One of the early season favorites has delivered with 20 wins over the likes of Notre Dame Prep, St. Thomas More and New Hampton. The Bobcats get a chance for redemption with a rematch against NIA Prep of New Jersey this weekend at the National Prep School Invitational. NIA handed Brewster and OT loss at the National Prep Showcase back in November. Their only other loss came in double overtime at South Kent.

Naadir Tharpe runs the show alongside Austin Carroll (Rutgers), CJ Fair (Syracuse), Will Barton (Memphis), Melvin Ejim (Iowa State), Maurice Walker and Ashton Kahn.

“He’s been inconsistent. There’s been games where he’s been dynamite and can play at the highest level of college basketball, and then the next game he’s just OK,” Brewster head coach Jason Smith said. “He needs to continue to value the basketball, cut down on turnovers, and be more active defensively.”

In their big matchup with St. Thomas More at the BABC Holiday Shootout, Tharpe delivered with a big-time effort of a game-high 26 points and drew praise from his coach for his defensive work against Bryon Allen. West Virginia’s Bob Huggins made the trip to see the matchup of the two guards along with top 2012 big man Andre Drummond of STM.

Providence and Boston College have been on him the hardest. National programs were in to see him in the fall but are taking a wait-and-see to this point. Smith mentioned specifically Wake Forest, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

With his speed, court savvy and improved shooting he showed against St. Thomas More, Tharpe will have his share of offers but can have his choice of where he wants to go if he can soon turn that corner.

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BRIDGTON ACADEMY – DaShaun Wiggins (2011/6-1 PG/Bronx, N.Y.)

Bridgton, winners of four of the last five NEPSAC Class A titles, is struggling this year with a 7-11 record heading into this weekend where they play the Canary Islands Basketball Academy and conference rival Northfield Mount Hermon.

Not necessarily an underclassman, DaShaun Wiggins made a verbal commitment to Seton Hall in the fall. The lefty scorer and California native Alex Harris form the Wolverines’ starting backcourt.

“He can put it in the hoop, but we need more from him,” Bridgton head coach Whit Lesure said. “We tell him, ‘Hey you’re a pretty good player. The points are great but make sure your talents rubs off on your teammates. Be a complete player.”

Wiggins is a true senior and Class of 2010 member but has been talked mostly about as doing another year before college. Lesure said that he could ultimately remain a 2010 recruit but academics will determine how things ultimately play out.

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SAINT ANDREW’S – Michael Carter-Williams (2011/6-5 PG/Boston, Mass.) and Ricardo Ledo (2012/6-5 SG/Providence, R.I.)

A young squad, St. Andrew’s dropped its big matchups in a battle of the undefeateds with Class B rival Tilton School and against Class C power St. Mark’s the day before as well. However, they hold a good win over conference foe Hotchkiss School and played Westwind Prep of Arizona tough out in Las Vegas during a new year’s tournament.

Michael Carter-Williams made his commitment to Syracuse prior to the season but started his junior year in a bad way when he went down with a hip fracture at the National Prep Showcase in the team’s first game.

“He’s had a terrific season after missing out on the start of it. He listened and went through all the therapy, got frustrated along the way but is better for having been faithful with it,” St. Andrew’s head coach Mike Hart said.

In one of his first games back after about a month off, he put 28 on Westwind and drew big praise from their team’s coaches. He’s also got a 30-point game against Brimmer & May to his credit, and his first-half against Tilton at the BABC Holiday Shootout was something to be seen.

“I’ve told people he’s a point guard who can score and no one’s believed me but we’re starting to see it now,” Hart said. “He’s been very good at running the team and has been better at the little things like the bounce pass, locking up on defense and getting his teammates better. He’s got a chance to get a triple-double every night because he plays hard.”

Sidelined for the team’s game with Trinity Pawling at the Hoop Mountain Prep Invitational back in early December, he showed his leadership during timeouts taking his guys aside and keeping their heads straight.

One player was sophomore Ricardo Ledo, a straight scorer with length and speed that can translate on defense when he applies it.

“Ricardo is accepting his challenges and he’s done OK. He knows he’s got to get better. He does one thing extremely well – he scores. But can you make your teammates better? Defense – he’s embracing it. All I ask of him is to just get better,” Hart said.

Ledo opened eyes when he showed flashes at the Reebok All-American Camp this past summer, where he was one of the youngest in attendance.

“He really enjoyed it. He played really well and we knew he would because in that type of setting – that’s him. It’s wide open and up and down the court,” Hart said. “I was really proud of the fact he went through the whole process by going to the Headliner camps and earning his invite.”

With Carter-Williams going down injured in that first game of the year against Blair Academy of New Jersey, Ledo stepped up with arguably one of the top five performances of the National Prep Showcase in the event’s final game of the weekend.

His court sense will grow but right now he’s scoring off the bounce and with the deep ball. The length was mentioned but the athleticism is there as well and it’s not only in space.

Against Tilton, he grabbed a loose ball that was tipped out to just above the free throw line after being battled for inside the paint. One hard-dribble later and in a flash he was taking off from a good distance for a cocked-back one-handed slam, all but in the rim until a foul would break it up.

Physically he’s blessed with special tools and with good habits still to add, he’ll be a big-time package.

“Some of the things he has to work on is being a better teammate. We’re all rooting for him and we’re all on his team, and we’re building trust as a group,” Hart said. “I’m glad he’s a sophomore because he needs time to mature. He’s looking at possibly being one of the best we’ve ever had in the program if he does what he needs to do.”

It’s still in the early stages but Hart commended Ledo’s family for taking command of the recruiting process and showing him some campuses already.

Hart mentioned Providence, Rhode Island, Boston College as locals who have been there since early and Kansas, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida and Maryland among a host of others that checked in during the fall with some having extended offers.

We’ll have more with Ledo from this weekend at the National Prep School Invitational.

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