Atlantic 10
NJ PLAYAZ SPRING FLING REPORT — PART III
April 8, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
After two days focused on the 17U tournament at Spring Fling, the 15U teams joined the party for Championship Saturday and ended up stealing the show. Team Takeover (DC) walked away with the Gold Championship in the 15U division and looked as strong as any 15U team in memory. They led the talent charge from the 2015 class but were joined by members of Team Scan, NY Lightning, and Albany City Rocks.
Top Performance of the Day:
Marcus Derrickson (Team Takeover 2015) – After sparking my interest Friday night, Derrickson convinced me of his elite status on Saturday winning tournament MVP honors after leading his team to the championship. The 6’7” 225 pound forward was unstoppable all tournament flashing NBA 3 point range on his jump shot as well as being the strongest 15U player in the paint. He was the dominant rebounder in every game he played in showing equal effectiveness on both ends of the floor. After proclaiming Derrickson a top 100 prospect after last night’s action I’m ready to go quite a bit farther and say he looks safely like a top 25 guy in 2015. IF he continues to grow and ends up a few inches taller that projection would go even higher.
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NJ PLAYAZ SPRING FLING REPORT — PART II
April 7, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
After a small slate of games Thursday night the 2012 Spring Fling came back with a long, full day on Friday. Pool play wrapped up, playoffs began, and contenders were separated from pretenders. Here is a sampling of the incredible level of talent of hand.
Top Performance of the Day:
Kuran Iverson (NY Lightning 2013) – Iverson is a name that’s been on the recruiting front for a few years already and he’s developed a reputation as an elite talent who struggles with consistency and doesn’t always utilize his natural gifts. Today he was sensational. Name a high level play that can be made on a basketball court and Kuran Iverson made it today. He rebounded above the rim. He blocked multiple shots in the lane. He went coast to coast and dunked on a defender. He made 4-5 perfect no look passes. He beat defenders off the dribble and finished in the lane. He hammered down a couple ridiculous alley-oops. When Iverson plays with energy and effort as he did today, he is basically unstoppable. His perimeter shot is still inconsistent at best and he settles for it too often but when he’s in attack mode on both ends of the floor like today Iverson is special.
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PLAYAZ SPRING FLING REPORT — PART I
April 6, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
The spring AAU season is here! After Findlay Prep’s miraculous comeback victory over Montverde Academy capped a thrilling high school season last Saturday, the NJ Playaz Spring Fling marks the start of the grassroots circuit. The 17U tournament kicked into full gear Thursday night with the hometown Playaz themselves taking center stage.
Top Performance of the Day:
Mike Young (NJ Playaz 2013) – Young started his final AAU season in great form showing off his rapidly improving skill set. Rebounding has been and will continue to be his greatest strength as Young cleaned the backboard on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he showed a significantly expanded perimeter game from when I had last seen him in the fall. Young knocked down multiple 3 point shots off the catch using solid form and looked very comfortable doing so. His ability to stretch the floor combined with his elite rebounding are a unique combination that will serve him well going forward. Young has excellent lateral quickness for someone his size and could potentially play both forward positions at the next level if his offensive game continues to improve. This versatility increases his already high stock and helps explain why Mike Young has become such a priority for so many high major programs.
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CLASS OF 2014 GUARD JA’QUAN NEWTON RECEIVING HEAVY INTEREST
March 13, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Matt Whitfield
John Mosco, the Assistant Coach at Philadelphia’s Neumann-Goretti High School has seen his share of high major Division-One players come through the Saints program; Scoop Jardine, Tony Chenault, and others. Ja’Quan Newton, an active combo guard is likely the next to follow in this trend. Newton is only a sophomore, but he has certainly has impressed this season as Neumann-Goretti is currently in the Pennsylvania State playoffs.
‘He has a chance to be one of the better ones [to come out of Neumann Goretti] because he just flat out scores and gets to the hole at will,” said Mosco.
Newton currently already has several high major offers.
“He has Wake Forest, Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers, Villanova, Temple and St. Joe’s,” said Mosco.
Local schools Rutgers, Villanova and Temple are all on hot on Newton’s trail too, but Mosco thinks Newton can play wherever.
“I think he could go anywhere to be honest. He doesn’t have to stay in [Philadelphia]. It’s not just staying locally [as a main factor in his recruitment]. He would like to have his mom and dad watch him play, but I don’t think he’s stuck on staying home.”
However, at this stage Mosco feels Newton needs to work on his jump shot to ensure that he is that high major player that he is expected to be.
“He needs to work on his jump shot to really be that high major player. If he could shoot it a little better it would really help him…but his athleticism is still really coming along. He’s still only a sophomore.”
Mosco added, “Carl [Arrigale], our Head Coach, thinks he can be a great two-way player defending the ball. He’s got long arms and he can play both sides of the floor.”
NBE will certainly see Ja’Quan Newton a lot this summer as he will be playing for Team Final. We expect to see many college coaches also checking out his development on the road and we will report back often on his developing recruitment.
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THADDEUS HALL ADDS OFFER FROM ST. JOHN’S; MORE SCHOOLS ON ’12 SCORING MACHINE
March 6, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
Thaddeus Hall can score the basketball. Nobody would need to look any further than his second round of the PSAL Class AA playoffs performance last week. The 6-foot-5, 195-lb senior for Thomas Jefferson High School scored 34 first half points to lead his team to to an 86-76 win over Robeson. Hall finished with a career-high 39 points, including six three-pointers, in the contest. Like a true leader, Hall praised his teammates in the aftermath, although he still admitted the first half outburst has been the highlight of his year so far.
“My season is going great,” Hall told NBE. “[I] can’t believe how much the underclassmen [are] stepping up [and] playing this good. My highlight of the season is scoring 34 in the first half on Paul Roberson [last Wednesday].”
Hall followed up the 39-point explosion with 25 more in Sunday’s win over Wadleigh in the quarterfinals. The back-to-back performances has led to a scholarship offer that has really gotten his attention.
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JOSH HART PICKS UP OFFER FROM VILLANOVA, INTEREST FROM TEMPLE
March 3, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
When NBE last saw Class of 2013 Josh Hart of Sidwell friends at the Jameer Nelson Philly.com Holiday Classic, the 6-foot-4, 200-lb guard had one of the day’s most impressive performances, leading his team to a win over Atlantic City (NJ). The smooth scorer continues to be a name that is overlooked for the most part nationally, but is definitely picking up plenty of college attention and expect that to continue when he hits the AAU trail this spring and summer.
“I will be playing with Team Takeover this summer and I am really looking forward to the competition in the EYBL this year,” Hart told NBE on Friday.
After helping Sidwell Friends to a league championship, which was the highlight of his season, his success will likely carry over to the AAU circuit and you can expect a lot of schools to be on his trail. He has recently added a new offer and some new interest from schools on the East Coast.
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Mernagh: Valley Recap Plus Some A-10 Stuff
March 3, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
Creighton and McDermott Get Tested by Drake
Doug McDermott hit two big three pointers in the middle of the second half and it looked like the Valley’s Player of the Year and his teammates were ready to pull away from Drake. The young Bulldogs had other plans though, cutting a 13-point lead with a little over 4 minutes remaining to 3 –63-60 – on a Rayvonte Rice bucket with 1:24 left on the clock. Creighton was able to salt things away by hitting 5-6 from the stripe in the final minute and winning 68-61.
McDermott was brilliant in the second half and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds for the game. Greg Echenique contested multiple shots in the last 3 minutes, blocking one by Drake’s Ben Simons that was huge down inside a minute left. Drake looks to have a bright future heading into next season while Creighton rolls into this afternoon’s semifinals in St. Louis where they will play Evansville. The Missouri Valley Tournament is a great event and anyone with a sports package on their TV can find it up in the Fox Sports Missouri/Midwest channels. Today’s games are usually the best. Tomorrow’s final will be on CBS I’m sure where it’s expected Creighton and Wichita State will slug it out (the greatest thing about this event is the expected rarely happens).
Evansville beat Missouri State 72-64 in the late game as Kenny Harris had 20 and Colt Ryan 19 to lead Marty Simmons’ crew. Evansville now plays #25 Creighton in what, judging by their two earlier games, should be a battle. The Purple Aces beat the Bluejays in Evansville and lost the game in Omaha in overtime.
Shockers Roll
The other semifinal features Wichita State going against Illinois State. The Shockers pounded a tired Indiana State club 72-48 in the Quarters while the Redbirds outlasted Northern Iowa. #14 Wichita State is 27-4 and led by a bevy of veteran players. The Shocks have had three different winning streaks of 8 or more this year and have an NCAA best record of 19-3 on the road since last season. The defending NIT champs are looking to make a deep run here in a few weeks (and with players like 7-footer Garret Stutz, Toure Murry and Joe Ragland, that’s a distinct probability).
Lowery Fired
Southern Illinois did the inevitable when, facing multiple consecutive losing seasons (including this year’s school record 23 loss campaign) they fired head coach and former Saluki player Chris Lowery. Lowery was the hottest name in the coaching business just four short years ago. He turned down more than one big six league job as SIU stepped up and rewarded him with a fat contract. That contract still had 2 years left on it – the buyout is $1.5 million – and in all likelihood was the only thing that kept SIU from pulling the trigger on Lowery last year. Lowery enjoyed great success, but is the latest example of how quickly things can turn on a coach when they lose players to transfer and miss on recruits. Hindsight is 20/20, but I’m guessing that Michigan job Lowery once turned down is looking pretty good right now.
A-10 Action at Noon
Rick – “I’m not a big Gay guy” – Majerus and his Billikens are coming to town to play Duquesne at noon. St. Louis is having a great year at 23-6 (11-4 in the league). I look forward to watching them play the always game at home Dukes at noon today.
JENKINS, BRITT HAVE GONZAGA POISED FOR WCAC PLAYOFF RUN
February 19, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Matt Whitfield
Gonzaga Head Coach Steve Turner feels good about his team with the playoffs in the WCAC set to begin this week.
“I think we’re having a tremendous season. I’m excited where we are. I think what a lot of people don’t understand is we’re sitting at 24-4 and in 28 games I haven’t played one game with my whole arsenal.”
Nate Britt, Gonzaga’s star Class of 2013 point guard who is verbally committed to North Carolina is one of the players who has sat out some games due to an injury this season, however when he has played he has often been lights out.
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KAZA KAJAMI-KEANE LOOKING FOR RIGHT FIT IN CLASS OF 2012
February 15, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
Canadian point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane has made another move. With many of the schools in on his recruitment looking for backcourt help to finish their Class of 2012 recruiting, Keane has scrapped plans for a post-grad season and is now looking to sign this spring and help one of those schools find their solution to their 2012 recruiting.
“There was a lot of thinking that went into me going to college this up coming year, but the main ones were how I already have the right grades and right academic habits to go forth and go to college,” Kajami-Keane told NBE over the weekend, “so there wasn’t really a need academically to stay in high school. Also another reason was because a lot of schools that were recruiting me were really interested in getting in a [Class of] 2012 point guard, so I felt that I would jump at the situation when it arose.”
Kajami-Keane hopes to find that right situation because he feels the time is now to move on to college and take his game to that next level.
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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — TOP PERFORMERS
February 8, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
Now that the National Prep School Invitational has come to close and I’ve had a few days to process all the basketball I watched it’s time to rank the performances from the weekend. Below are player rankings by class based on this past weekend’s performance only. These are not an overall opinion on these players but rather a snapshot based on how they played at Rhode Island College over the weekend. The top spot in 2012 came down to the nation’s two best big men and is a decision I agonized over before finalizing it.
Be sure to check out our daily coverage from a great weekend of hoops at the 2012 National Prep School Invitational:
’12 NPSI – Day Four Report
’12 NPSI – Day Three Report
’12 NPSI – Day Two Report
’12 NPSI – Day One Report
2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY FOUR
February 7, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
The first three days of the National Prep School Invitational were dominated by Steven Adams and his Notre Dame Prep squad. The 2012 big man from New Zealand erased any concerns after his foul-plagued showing at the Hoop Hall Classic and cemented his status as one of 2012’s top players. On Sunday it was time for another 2012 big man to steal the show and make his case for the #1 overall ranking in the senior class. With the gym buzzing and filled to a capacity that it saw at no other time all weekend the Tilton School and REDA (Ontario) took the floor at 1:30 PM. Nerlens Noel jumped center for the Tilton School sporting his trademark bright pink Nikes and his high top fade and put on the best show of the weekend.
Top Performance of the Day:
Nerlens Noel (Tilton 2012) – This was Noel’s first national appearance since announcing his intentions to graduate this year as a member of the 2012 class early Thursday morning. Providence fans packed the gym to see him as they made the cut of his seven final schools along with Kentucky, Syracuse, Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown and North Carolina. Dominance doesn’t even begin to describe the defensive effort put forth by Noel as he tallied 10 blocks to go along with countless more altered shots. It reached a point where REDA coaches could be heard screaming at their players who even attempted to challenge the big man as a shot in the lane against Noel was basically a turnover. Perhaps the most telling statistic of his dominance was on the scoreboard. Noel played the majority of the game’s first 29 minutes at which point REDA had only scored 19 points. At that time Nerlens went to the bench in a blowout victory and in the remaining 11 minutes REDA was able to put up 29 points. His defensive prowess is certainly nothing new but Sunday’s was a particularly stunning performance even by his high standards. Offensively Noel looked better than ever and as crazy as it sounds was literally playing point guard for his Tilton team during the 2nd half. He brought the ball up the floor every time and got his team into their offense sometimes breaking his man down off the dribble and other times running a play for someone else. I’m not suggesting that Noel is making a drastic position change but it was an indicator of how far along his ball handling and passing skills have come in the last year. Once only a defensive standout, Noel’s offense is catching up seemingly by the day.
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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY THREE
February 5, 2012 by NBE Blogger · 1 Comment
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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
With most college programs having games of their own on Saturday fewer coaches were on hand at Rhode Island College to take in the action but that didn’t stop the players from putting on a show. The best game of the day and arguably the weekend thus far was between New Hampton Prep and Canarias Basketball Academy. Canarias got out to a lead using their incredible size and strength but New Hampton came storming back to force overtime. New Hampton had lost stud sophomore Noah Vonleh to five fouls towards the end of regulation and it caught up with them in the extra session as Canarias prevailed 82-77. Despite coming up five points short on the scoreboard New Hampton had the top individual performance of the day from a somewhat unlikely source.
Top Performer of the Day:
Olivier Hanlon (New Hampton 2012) – committed to Boston College – Of the 10-12 times I’ve seen Hanlon play both with New Hampton and on the summer circuit with Albany City Rocks today clearly stands out as his best overall performance. The 6’2” physical point guard carried his team on his back for the entire 2nd half and overtime session by scoring and creating for others. Hanlon is at his best in screen and roll sets where he turns the corner aggressively and attacks the lane. In those situations he scored with the floater, got all the way to the rim, drew fouls on Canarias’ bigs, and found open teammates on the perimeter. New Hampton ran the same high ball screen seemingly every time down in the 2nd half and Canarias never found an answer for Hanlon’s fearlessness turning the corner. He also showed off his 3 point stroke as he played off the ball at times and knocked them down in catch and shoot situations. Just as impressive as his offense is Hanlon’s intensity and ball pressure on the defensive end. He never takes a possession off on that end and got multiple steals with his quick footwork and great hands. Boston College fans should look forward to a bulldog at the point guard for the next four years.
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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY TWO
February 4, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
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By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
The second day of the National Prep School Invitational featured nine games with tips starting bright and early at 9 AM. Things started off a bit slowly with the first couple of early morning games featuring sluggish, turnover prone play. Then at 1:30 PM everything changed when Notre Dame Prep took the floor against Canarias Basketball Academy. That’s when a 7 foot monster put his stamp on this tournament and in doing so earned top billing for the day from me.
Top Performer of the Day:
Steven Adams (Notre Dame Prep 2012) – committed to Pittsburgh – Adams was great in his team’s game on Thursday and nearly earned the top spot in my recap. He was noticeably better on Friday. Adams is a massive human being standing 7 foot, 240 pounds. Unlike most people his size though; he is an excellent athlete showing lateral quickness and powerful burst off the floor. Every time he got within five feet of the rim on Friday the back board was in jeopardy of being torn down. Adams dunks with such power whether he has time to set himself or has to go up quickly on an offensive rebound. The scary thing about the big kiwi is that he’s only scratching the surface of his massive potential. He still doesn’t understand the consistent aggression and energy that he can play with and the impact it will have on his game. Adams shows it in flashes and has incredible success every time he does but once a coach makes him realize that’s needed every play his impact will be off the charts. I don’t think I’m overstating it when I say that Steven Adams belongs in the discussion with the newly re-classified Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad for top player in the 2012 class.
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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY ONE
February 3, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
The National Prep School Invitational kicked off Thursday morning at a new venue of Rhode Island College after a number of years at the University of Rhode Island. The shift was made due to new NCAA rules not allowing tournaments of this nature to take place in Division-I gyms but the always well run event didn’t miss a beat. Eight games filled the schedule on Thursday with the nation’s No. 1 team Brewster Academy facing off against St. John’s Northwest Military Academy in the headliner. Two players faced off head to head in that matchup and they share top billing today after fantastic performances.
Co-Headliners of the Day:
Jakarr Sampson (Brewster Academy 2012) – Sampson played as well as I’ve ever seen from him in Brewster’s victory this afternoon. He has always been potent using a couple dribbles to attack the rim and showcase his absurd athleticism. Today, Sampson punished defenders for playing off him by consistently knocking down mid range jumpers from 12-18 feet. When that shot is falling he becomes basically unguardable because combined with his driving ability leaves defenders to pick their poison. On top of all his impressive offense, Sampson was the catalyst for Brewster defensively playing the top of their full court press. His length and quickness caused turnover after turnover often leading to rim shaking dunks. Undefeated Brewster was frankly in a bit of trouble before going to the press and letting Sampson wreck havoc. He made it obvious why he is one of the most sought after uncommitted players remaining in the 2012 class.
Aaron Ross (St. John’s Northwest Military Academy 2012) – A onetime Arkansas commit, Ross played like one of the nation’s bet forwards against the loaded frontline of Brewster. He tallied 30 points and 9 rebounds by mixing 3 point shots (3-7) with hard drives to the basket. Ross has the quickness to take his man out on the perimeter but also the strength to go to work on the low block. This combination gave Brewster fits all day as they tried various defenders to slow down the big man. Only Jakarr Sampson had any success but even he gave up his share of hoops against Ross. Finding balance between inside and outside will always be important for Ross as he doesn’t want to hunt jumpers and ignore his physical advantages. He also needs to be more committed defensively and will have to define a roll on that end. He is a little bit between a 3 and a 4 right now but needs to be a 4 defensively in my mind. Regardless of position he’s a beast and showed that off today.
NEW INTEREST HIGHLIGHTS SEASON FOR TERRENCE SAMUEL
February 2, 2012 by NBE Blogger · 1 Comment
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South Shore (NYC) High School guard Terrence Samuel is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Class of 2013 nationally. The powerfully built 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard began to make a name for himself nationally helping New Heights AAU to five impressive tournament titles on the spring and summer AAU circuit.
The attention in his talents has continued into his junior season with South Shore and his recruitment has expanded. Some of the new schools that have become involved has been the highlight of his season so far.
“Highlight [of the season is] picking up [recruiting interest from] Kansas and Memphis,” Samuel told NBE Basketball Report over the weekend.
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CLASS OF 2013 INTRO: BO ZEIGLER
February 1, 2012 by NBE Blogger · 1 Comment
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While already well known in the Midwest, Detroit (MI) Community High’s Byron ‘Bo’ Zeigler is poised to make a big name for himself nationally this spring and summer on the recruiting trail. The 6-foot-6, 191-pound small forward, according to our friends at Hoops Window, is a rubberband man on the floor, offensively and defensively and utilizes a speed burst dribble and glide towards the hoop with ease, it doesn’t matter from which side of the court, Zeigler is effective with both hands. On defense, Hoops Window compares Zeigler to a smaller Hakim Warrick when he throws up his long arms to block a shot.
Zeigler told NBE this weekend that he is continuing to work on his ball-handling as well as his on-ball defense this season. With the spring AAU season approaching quickly, he is also looking forward to hitting the circuit with his Michigan Hurricane teammates.
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FOUR SCHOOLS ON ISAIAH WHITEHEAD THE HARDEST
January 31, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
Lincoln (NYC) High School guard Isaiah Whitehead is just in his sophomore season but he already seems to have been a name we have been following for years. Such is life when your regarded as one of the top players, regardless of class, in New York City.
The 6-foot-4, 195-lb guard combines strength and athleticism into an impressive on the court package. Whitehead enters the stretch run of the 2011-2012 high school season with goals of a City and State title as well as Player of the Year honors.
This past summer with the Juice All-Stars playing top competition in Las Vegas, NBE saw Whitehead displaying his ability to get to the basket off the dribble. His athletic ability is apparent on both ends of the floor, and Big East and other teams from across the country have taken early notice of his talents.
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MONTVERDE ACADEMY INVITATIONAL – SATURDAY REVIEW
January 30, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
by Alex Schwartz
MONTVERDE, Fla. – Three teams from the Northeast and a squad from Georgia joined four schools from Florida for the 2012 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament this weekend. NBE Basketball Report was on hand Saturday for the final day of the event and took in four quality games.
In the seventh place game, Monsignor Pace (FL) defeated Leesburg (FL) by a score of 66-58. In the other consolation bracket game, Shiloh (GA) knocked off Imhotep Charter (PA) by two, 44-42, to claim fifth place.
Mount Vernon (NY) used a strong fourth quarter to take an 82-72 victory over Roman Catholic (PA) in the third place contest. Finally, Montverde Academy (FL) won the championship of its tournament with a 49-40 defeat of local foe Orlando Christian Prep (FL).
Top Performance of the Day:
Joshua Doughty (Mount Vernon 2013) – Doughty is not going to be a Division I basketball player, but this kid can definitely play college ball in a couple years. Doughty turned in the best performance of the day on Saturday and was the main reason Mount Vernon pulled off the comeback victory. The 5-foot-8 point guard scored 23 points in the victory, more than any other player scored all day. He had 21 points in the second half, including five 3-pointers in the third quarter alone. Overall, he connected on six shots from beyond the arc and displayed an intense, competitive nature.
WILL FERGUSON UPDATES RECRUITMENT DURING SEASON OF CHANGE
January 29, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Matt Whitfield
To say things have been easy this last year for Will Ferguson would be far from the truth. The lightning quick Class of 2013 point guard has switched AAU programs and now high schools all within the last year. Ferguson though feels he is playing better basketball now that he’s back to his hometown team and judging by the performance he put on Friday night against Oakton High School in a 74-61 win Friday night with a raucous crowd that was taunting him, things look that way.
“At O’Connell I butted heads with a lot of the coaches and I didn’t think I was playing the way I could….It’s something that he didn’t see in me or something that I wasn’t doing that led to this, so I just had to make that move,” said Ferguson of the early January transfer to Herndon High School.
Friday night Ferguson put on a dazzling display to point the Oakton High School fans tried everything to slow him down from screaming during free throws to taunting the Herndon star throughout. Ferguson however showed he was the best and player on the floor as he sped up and down the court with ease often times hardly contested in the paint with an impressive display of layups, runners and jump shots. At times he looked as if he was toying with the opponent, many of whom are nowhere near the caliber of a player he is.
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HOOPHALL CLASSIC 2012: WEEKEND’S TOP PERFORMERS
January 19, 2012 by NBE Blogger · Leave a Comment
By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst
Now that the 2012 Hoophall Classic has come to a close and I’ve had a few days to process all the basketball I saw it’s time to compile player rankings from the weekend’s performances. Below you will see players ranked by class based solely on their performance from the Hoophall Classic. These rankings are not an opinion on players overall game or potential but rather on the way they performed in Springfield.
2012 Player Rankings:
1) Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) – Muhammad only strengthened his place as the top overall player in the 2012 class for his efficient 37 point performance.
2) Kaleb Tarczewski (St Mark’s) – signed with Arizona – In an event loaded with top big men Tarczewski stood out as the top low post offensive option.
3) Katin Reinhardt (Mater Dei) – signed with UNLV – The future Runnin’ Rebel put on an offensive show knocking down nine 3 pointers en route to 35 points in a blowout victory.
4) Kyle Anderson (St Anthony) – signed with UCLA – Anderson’s fingerprints have been all over every one of St Anthony’s 44 consecutive victories and Monday was no different as he compiled 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
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