Brian Crownover

BRIAN CROWNOVER WEEKEND RECAP

A look at the action from the Rasual Butler All-City Classic and Rutgers team camp

The calendar might say today is only June 10th, but judging by the temperature outside the last few days in the northeast as well as the amount of basketball Brian Crownover has seen of late, it could easily be mistaken for the middle of July!

This coming weekend Crownover plans to check out some of the action of the Villanova team camp Friday night before heading to the Rumble in the Bronx on Saturday. This past weekend he warmed up by taking in the action of the Rasual Butler All-City Classic in Philly and stopping in Saturday night at the Rutgers team camp on Saturday evening. Read on for his weekend re-cap of some of the top players he got to see at both events.

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ASHTON GIBBS READYING FOR PITT, BIG EAST

Pitt-bound guard working hard to prepare for the Big East

By Brian Crownover

Northern New Jersey is known for producing a ton of basketball talent and the Class of 2008 was no exception. Big East coaches often flock to this area to find players. Among the best players this year was University of Pittsburgh bound guard Ashton Gibbs from Seton Hall Prep.

Ashton had a strong senior season, averaging 23.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He finished his high school career as the school’s all time leading scorer with 1882 points. The NBE Basketball Report recently caught up with Ashton for his thoughts on his future with the Panthers as well as reflecting on his high school years.

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IS8 SEMIFINAL PLAYER REVIEWS

Brian Crownover set out from Philadelphia early Saturday morning for Long Island to check out the action of the GBOA East regional basketball tournament. Looking forward to seeing teams such as the NY Panthers, Gauchos, Team Philly, Grassroots of Canada, Juice All-Stars and others, Brian drove to Half Hollows Hills West High School in anticipation of catching the early action, however, a late scheduling change moved the tournament play to Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, but no notices were posted.

Not to waste a trip to the Big Apple, the ever resourceful Brian decided to catch the exciting action of the IS8 semifinals instead and he filled us in on the performances of some of the better 2008 Big East recruits as well as some younger talent that could fine their way to the Big East in the future…

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SOUTHERN JAM FEST PLAYER EVALUATIONS

The live period my be over, but the action this spring on the AAU circuit continued last weekend with the Hoop Group organized Southern Jam Fest on the University of Virginia campus and surrounding area. Brian Crownover, lead recruiting analysts for CAA Insider, was on hand along checking out the exciting action from the weeknd. Here is a look at some of the top players throughout the weekend that Brian checked out for the NBE Basketball Report…

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KING JAMES SHOOTING STARS REPORT

The live period was in full effect this past weekend with many of the top AAU programs in the country flocking to Akron (OH) for the King James Shooting Stars Tournament. Brian Crownover, lead recruiting analysts for CAA Insider, was on hand along with coaches from all over the country checking out the action all over the Akron area. Here is a look at some of the top players throughout the weekend that Brian checked out for the NBE Basketball Report…

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JORDAN BRAND CLASSIC REVIEWS

Historic Madison Square Garden was the scene for some excellent basketball on Saturday as the Jordan Brands Classic took place at the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena.’ Between the national game, which was the nightcap, and the regional game, featuring top players from the New York City area, nine Big East schools had class of 2008 recruits taking part in the action.

The regional contest was won by the Suburban All-Stars 129-127 over their New York City counterparts, despite a sparkling 36-point performance from George Mason-bound Ryan Pearson.

The National Game was won by the ‘Blue’ team, 124-114 over the ‘White Team’ with Brandon Jennings setting a Classic assist record by dropping 14 dimes in the contest.

Brian Crownover was taking in the action and filed a report on the nine committed Big East recruits, as well as Devin Ebanks, who has yet to choose a school after being released from his letter of intent with the University of Indiana. Brian is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAA Insider and a frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report.

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BOO WILLIAMS REVIEWS, PART II

Brian Crownover spent Saturday of last weekend checking out the action at the Boo Williams Invitational and was able to check out many of the exciting young players participating in the event. In his second installment, Brian takes a look at home some of the elite prospects of the event and how they fared. Several could be very serious Big East targets over the next couple months.

Brian is the lead recruiting analyst for CAA Insider, where you can find more from Brian on the Boo Williams as well as local action around Philadelphia. Be sure to check out his earlier report for NBE Basketball Report from the events: Boo Williams Reviews, Part I.

This update takes a look at a Pitt-commit in the class of 2009, a Syracuse-commit from the class of 2010 and several other very familiar names on the recruiting trail to Big East teams.

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BOO WILLIAMS REVIEWS, PART I

Brian Crownover spent Saturday of last weekend checking at the action at the Boo Williams Invitational and was able to check out much of the exciting young talent participating in the event. In his first installment, Brian takes a look at home some of the elite prospects of the event fared and several could be very serious Big East targets over the next couple months.

His review includes a pair of UConn commits from the class of 2009. Brian is the lead recruiting analyst for CAA Insider, where you can find more from Brian on the Boo Williams event where you can see his review on Ricardo Ratliffe who Rutgers is trailing for the class of 2008.

More from Brian on the Boo Williams Invitational coming soon.

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2008 CAPITAL CLASSIC REVIEW

The 2008 Under Armour Capital Classic took place Sunday afternoon at the Comcast center on the campus of the University of Maryland. In the featured contest, the US All-Stars, led by Duke-bound Olek Czyz, stormed past the Capital All-Stars, 123-85. Czyz took home the game MVP honors in the 35th edition of the Capital Classic, scoring a game-high 23 points.

Brian Crownover stopped by on his way home from the Boo Williams invitational and provided a brief rundown of the Big East-bound players who participated in this year’s event. As usual, the local Georgetown Hoyas were represented with several recruits, including Chris Braswell, Henry Sims and Jason Clark. Roscoe Davis, headed to West Virginia and Syracuse-bound Kris Joseph also took part in the all-star contest.

Read below for the Big East player summaries from Brian Crownover, lead recruiting analyst for CAAInsider.com.

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DONOFRIO CLASSIC PLAYER NOTES

The Albert C. Donofrio Classic, a single-elimination tournament played at The Fellowship House of Conshohocken. Annually, the event features most of the best high school players in the Philadelphia-South Jersey area, and often draws players from as far away as North Jersey and New York.

Brian Crownover, the lead recruiting analyst for CAA Insider has been checking out the action at the 2008 Donofrio Classic throughout the first two weeks of the event. Today, he adds some player evaluations of potential Big East recruits he has seen play the last couple weeks. You can also check out CAAInsider.com for additional coverage on the tournament.

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CHARM CITY CHALLENGE PLAYER ANALYSIS

The Baltimore All-Stars won for the fourth straight time over the USA All-Stars in the Charm City Challenge, evening the series at 4-4. A first quarter-ending 16-2 run put the locals in the lead 29-17 and they never looked back in their 107-82 win at the Towson Center Sunday afternoon.

With Big East commitments such as Henry Sims, Nasir Robinson, Roscoe Davis and Kris Joseph on display, the NBE Basketball Report made sure we had team coverage of the event.

First up, Brian Crownover, lead recruiting analyst of CAA Insider, breaks down the performances of the Big East committed players, as well as Chris Turner, an unsigned 2008 prospect who drops his latest school list that has a Big East school in the mix for his signature on a late signing period letter of intent.

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

Brian Crownover, the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAAInsider.com and frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report, headed up to New York City and St. John’s University on Saturday afternoon for the PSAL Quarterfinals. Here are the scores from the action:

Thomas Edison 80 Wadleigh 68
Boys & Girls 68 Campus Magnet 50
Thomas Jefferson 61 Cardozo 55
Lincoln 70 JFK 53

Also last week, Brian checked out the action between nationally ranked Chester and rival Harrisburg High School in the Pennsylvania State Tournament. Chester won 61-51 in a sloppy affair.

For Brian’s breakdown of players that are Big East commits (Nasir Robinson and Patrick Jackson) and Big East targets (Lance Stephenson, James Padgett, Keith Spellman, etc) read the rest of the article below.

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BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (2/20/2008)

Connecticut survived a scare on their home floor against DePaul on Tuesday night. It was their second dramatic win in their last two games increasing their winning streak to 10 games.

Tonight in the Big East, Marquette travels to meet St. John’s, Cincinnati welcomes South Florida and West Virginia head to Philly to meet Villanova. Earlier this morning we had our Wednesday Big East Game Previews post where you can find the links to local media game stories and previews, as well as our match-up analysis and a prediction from the NBE Blogger on each outcome.

Also this morning, we had the latest edition from Brian Crownover on the Philly HS Beat where Brian ran into Bob Huggins and Billy Hahn of WVU on the recruiting trail last night.

Included below in today’s update is a Louisville recruiting update courtesy of Zagsblog as well as notes on the recruitment of Scotty Hopson who has a couple Big East schools taking an interest on the newly appointed McDonald’s All-American.

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

Brian Crownover, the Lead Recruiting Analyst at CAAInsiders.com took in the Cherry Hill East Invitational over the weekend where he got another look at the loaded St. Patrick squad of Elizabeth (NJ).  Brian also shared the gym last night with Bob Huggins and Billy Hahn as they checked out one of West Virginia’s top 2009 targets playing in the District One Class AAAA semifinals match-up between Pennsbury and Norristown.

The District One Finals are this Friday and Brian will be checking out the action between Chester and Norristown, who beat Pennsbury last night.

Below are his player reviews of the high-major talent he saw in the recent contests.

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst of CAA Insider.com and a frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report.  Over the weekend, Brian headed from his home in Philadelphia to Trenton (NJ) to take in the action of the Primetime Shootout.

 Brian analyzed the performances of committed Big East players such as Jordan Theodore,   Lamont Jones, Jeremiah Kelly, Dion Waiters and Darryl Bryant as well as several other major college commitments and future Big East prospects like David Bruce, Omari Lawrence, Kevin Parrom and others from Paterson Catholic, Bishop Loughlin and Montrose Christian.

 Here are the scores of the games he took in:

Linden 77 St. Raymond’s 68 (OT)
Paterson Catholic 56 Montrose Christian 34
Christ the King 64 Trenton Central 47
Bishop Loughlin 72 Trenton Catholic 48
American Christian 68 South Kent School 62 (OT)

Check out his player analysis below:

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

 Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst with CAAInsider.com.  Based in Philadelphia, Brian is a frequent contributor to the NBE Basketball Report.

Over the weekend, Brian ventured into New Jersey to check out the action at the Primetime Shootout.  Here is his report from the action Saturday:

Scores:

Academy of the New Church 72 Timber Creek 58
The Hun School 76 St. Augustine 56
Mount Vernon 74 Roman Catholic 73
Lincoln 76 Rice 68
St. Pat’s 63 Oak Hill 54

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (2/7/2008)

Connecticut won at Syracuse in a thriller and it was a Rough Night in Jersey (zagsblog) as both Rutgers and Seton Hall went down in ugly defeats. The Scarlet Knights were beaten at home by St. John’s and Notre Dame blew Seton Hall out of their own building.

The Backyard Brawl moves to the hardwood tonight in Pittsburgh as the Panthers host West Virginia in a key Big East match-up.

Some recruiting news and notes as Brian Crownover reviews the action from this past weekend’s Rice/Bishop Loughlin game. UConn commit Kemba Walker was in action as was a few other Big East targets. Isaiah Philmore is a 2009 prospect with a Big East offer already. St. Anthony’s were missing two of their top players, but still cruised past one of the best in New Jersey, Linden.

With Sharaud Curry officially out for the season, Providence College will have to deal with inconsistency here on out, but hopes will be high again for Tim Welsh’s squad in 08-09.

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAAInsider.com. Based in Philadelphia, look for more contributions from Brian in the future on the Big East Basketball Report.
On Saturday, Brian headed over to Villanova for the Kobe Bryant Classic at the Pavillion. Brian took in four games on Saturday and will be on hand again this coming weekend when the action takes place at Rutgers on Friday and moves to Trenton on Saturday and Sunday for the Primetime Shootout. Here are the scores of the games Brian saw on Saturday:

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAAInsider.com. Based in Philadelphia, look for more contributions from Brian in the future on the Big East Basketball Report.

On Friday night, Brian headed over to Villanova for the opening games of the Primetime Shootout. Brian took in four games on Friday and will be on hand again this coming weekend when the action takes place at Rutgers on Friday and moves to Trenton on Saturday and Sunday. Here are the scores of the games Brian saw on Friday:

Scores:
Hotchkiss 72 Our Savior New American 58
Timber Creek 55 Plymouth-Whitemarsh 52
Chester 80 Jeannette 70
St. Benedict’s 77 American Christian 70

Read Brian’s individual player analysis on several Big East commitments and targets below:

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BRIAN CROWNOVER ON THE PHILLY HS BEAT

January 30, 2008

Brian Crownover is the Lead Recruiting Analyst for CAAInsider.com. Based in Philadelphia, look for more contributions from Brian in the future on the Big East Basketball Report. In the last couple weeks he was able to check out a four key local high school contests with several Big East commitments in action and some future conference targets. Here is his report:

Chester 82 Penn Wood 70

Chester

Nasir Robinson (Pitt 2008 Commitment)
Nasir was solid for the Clippers. He ran the floor well and had several nice finishes. I was really impressed with his passing ability as well in this contest. The aggressive wing crashed the boards and drew some contact. He really needs to work on his free throw shooting. With the style he plays he gets to the line so much, but can’t convert and winds up costing himself points. Also discouraging in this game was that Nasir lost his cool after a hard foul and went after the opposition. He wound up with a technical which only helped Penn Wood in their comeback attempt. Nasir is very strong and aggressive, he just needs to work on improving the other areas of his game.

Rahlir Jefferson
Rahlir did very little in the Chester victory. The lanky and athletic forward had a mere 4 points. He did have an impressive transition dunk. He also dished off a nice assists and pulled down some boards. Overall he was very quiet though.

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