Richmond Recruiting

2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — TOP PERFORMERS

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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

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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY FOUR

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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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CITY OF PALMS REPORT — DAY THREE

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

What a day at Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Florida. We saw great games, great individual performances, and one great comeback. The nation’s consensus top player, Shabazz Muhammad, went off for 42 points in the final game of the night and that wasn’t even the most impressive showing of the day. Kentucky head coach John Calipari continued his borderline stalking of Nerlens Noel by planting himself underneath the baseline for much of the day which instantly ups the intensity in the gym. Enough setup, on to the recap of Monday’s action at the City of Palms Classic.

Top Performance of the Day:

Jordan Mickey (Arlington Grace Prep 2013) – Grace Prep trailed Mater Dei by 18 at the half after Mickey had spent the majority of the half on the bench with 2 fouls. He came out in the 2nd half and put on a clinic on the low block tallying 22 of his game high 29 points. Mickey scored all of his points by working for low post position and then powering through his defender and scoring over his left shoulder. He has great strength which he uses to setup his shots and then a soft touch to finish off plays. Grace Prep fed Mickey in the same spot time and again and he used the same moves over and over without being stopped. He does a great job of making a quick, decisive move after he catches it in the post so that a double team does not have time to arrive. Mickey’s monster 2nd half and overtime led Grace Prep all the way back from that 18 point halftime deficit and carried them into tomorrow’s semifinals. For a recruiting update on Mickey, see our report from Saturday: City of Palms Report — Day Two.
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ST. ANTHONY’S GUARD DUO DRAWING PLENTY OF INTEREST

As teammates with Sports U/Team Izod on the AAU circuit as well as with Hall of Famer Bob Hurley’s St. Anthony’s of Jersey City (NJ) program, Class of 2013 guards Hallice Cooke and Josh Brown have seen their recruiting profiles expand greatly over the last several months.

Brown exploded on the scene right before our eyes at the Rumble in the Bronx back in June. While many people took note of who did not show up at the Rumble, it was clear that Brown did show up and his play stood out. Brown showed he is a freak of an athlete and used his superior athleticism to make plays in all facets of the game. He’s a strong rebounder and once he grabs a defensive board it’s off to the races. An absolute blur in the open court, Brown is just as likely to dunk on an unsuspecting defender’s head as he is to make a simple bounce pass to a teammate for an easy score. In the half-court, he is simply devastating in pick and roll sets as he uses his speed to turn the corner and get to the rim and is also very adept at drawing the double team and whipping a pass to the screener for a layup.
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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK (8/26/2011)

- Jairus Lyles, 6-foot, Class of 2013 point guard from DeMatha and Team Takeover DC told NBE’s Matt Whitfield earlier today via text that three ACC schools are involved in his recruitment at the moment.

“NC State has started to recruit me,” said Lyles. “Miami [is] still on me as well as Wake Forest.”
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- Troy Long checked in with Matt Whitfield yesterday to let us know of a new suitor for Tariq Carey, the Newark (NJ) native will be attending St. Benedict’s this season.

“TCU just got involved,” said Long. “We are working on setting up an official visit in September.”
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- According to Andre Harrington, Maryland and Texas are the latest schools to show interest in Kuran Iverson.
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- Andre White really enjoyed his recent visit to Cincinnati.

“Visit was great,” White told Matt Whitfield via text last week. “Great staff, loved the campus and got to meet a lot of good people.”
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6-foot-2, 170-lb Kameron Williams, a guard from Mt. St. Joseph’s (MD) opened up eyes this spring with q 47-point performance in a 16U Boo Williams game against the ATL Knicks. He picked up offers from Miami, Dayton and VCU over the summer. Earlier this month he told NBE there was three schools standing out to him.

“Right now I’m interested in the University of Miami, Richmond and VCU,” he said.

this was before the problems came to light at Miami, but Williams is a long way off for a decision as he is just beginning his junior year.

“I think my decision will be made definitely before my senior season,” Williams said. “The school has to make me earn everything, I dont want anything to come easy to me. Because in life nothing will be easy.”
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Stefan Jankovic has a final five in his recruitment.

“I cut my list down to Wake Forest, Purdue, Missouri, Georgetown [and] Florida State,” he said. “Now I’m gonna take my five visits and the decision time in the fall.”

Earlier this month Jankovic took a visit to Wake Forest, it was not his first trip to see the Winston-Salem school, but it had a valuable motive as it gave his family a chance to see the school.

“I had already been there for a visit so I knew pretty much everything there, but I was impressed with how much my parents enjoyed the visit,” Jankovic said.

Wake will be tough to beat in this one…

ANDREW WHITE TALKS ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA VISIT

Bob Huggins and his West Virginia Mountaineers are getting an early start on the 2011-2012 season with an overseas trip to Italy this coming week. With the trip the team is allowed to have 10 practice sessions to prepare for their upcoming games. Bob Huggins also used the time this weekend to bring in a key target of their 2012 recruiting efforts for an unofficial visit as Andrew White came to Morgantown to see things for himself.

“I took a visit to West Virginia the past two days,” White told NBE’s Matt Whitfield this afternoon. “It went real well.”

White had a great summer on the AAU circuit with Team Loaded and quickly became a top target of many programs.
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IMPRESSIVE SUMMER FOR ANDREW WHITE LEADS TO MANY BIG OFFERS

By Matt Whitfield

Thanks to his recent performances at AAU events in Myrtle Beach and Milwaukee Andrew White has become one of the most hotly contested recruits in the Mid-Atlantic.

“A lot of schools have recruited me and they were somewhat serious, but in Myrtle Beach and Milwaukee I came out real sharp and my recruitment picked up real quick. I became a high target for some schools that got a good feeling [from my game],” said White.

White listed over a dozen high majors offers when NBE caught up with him on Sunday. White also stole the show as he had a plethora of college coaches watching him including West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins and assistant Larry Harrison.
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2011 ORLANDO AAU UPDATE (PART 6): HOUSTON DEFENDERS TAKE 17U SHOWCASE TITLE

By Alex Schwartz

It was a busy day in Orlando on Wednesday as the 17U AAU Super Showcase came to a close. The Houston Defenders earned the crown with an impressive 55-45 victory over BABC. Class of 2013 twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison led the Defenders as Aaron scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Andrew finished with eight points and 10 assists. Earlier in the afternoon the Defenders got past Team Takeover, rallying from a halftime deficit to advance to the championship game. For their part, BABC survived a stiff challenge in the semis from Hoop Heavan Elite out of NJ to advance to the televised championship game.

Now the full focus will shift to the AAU National Championships. The 16U is in full swing and the 17U championships are also getting going in pool play as well. Still plenty of basketball left these next four days as the second July live evaluation period closes out.

Below we have some additional player evaluations and recruiting information from yesterday’s action with a heavy concentration on the Houston Defenders (Derrick Griffin), Team Takeover (Jerami Grant), BABC (Jaylen Brantley, Jake Layman, Goodluck Okonoboh) and more (Bobby Portis)…

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UA SUMMER JAM PRESENTED BY NY2LA SPORTS — TOP PERFORMERS

By Alex Jesswein

Standout Seven: Top Players from the UA Summer Jam last week

Robert Carter–6-8 Power Forward–Atlanta Xpress: Although he was hobbled by an ankle injury, Atlanta Xpress Robert Carter really impressed us with his ‘old school’ approach. He won’t wow you with his athleticism or finesse, he just gets down to work in the block and is very adept at finishing with either hand. He did show an ability to step out and hit an open jumper but he will make his money doing the dirty work on the inside.
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Chris Thomas–6-5 Guard–Colorado Hawks: Thomas is an extremely talented player. He reminds me of former Memphis guard Chris Douglas-Roberts because of his ability to play multiple positions. He seems to be very comfortable playing with the ball in his hand and because of his size and length should be able to defend multiple positions at the collegiate level.
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Q&A WITH CLASS OF 2013 STOCK RISER HALLICE COOKE

One of the players that has made a quick ascension in the Class of 2013 in recent weeks is St. Anthony;s of Jersey City (NJ) guard Hallice Cooke. After playing well in the early July events on the East Coast, Cooke and his teammates at Sports U./Team Izod made a major splash by taking home the 16U crown at the UA Summer Jam presented by NY2LA Sports. Their championship run was culminated last Friday afternoon with a 51-48 win over the Illinois Wolves to take home the 16U Platinum Bracket Championship.

NBE was able to catch up with Cooke this afternoon to get his thoughts on the impressive early July run and hear the latest on his recruitment, which is starting to explode rapidly. Another impressive 10 days to close July and Cooke could become one of the most heavily recruited players on the East Coast in the 2013 class…

NBE Basketball Report (NBE): What is your current height and weight?

Hallice Cook (HC): I’m 6’3 and my weight is 175.
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NBE: Where do you live?

HC: I live in Union City, New Jersey
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NBE: Can you talk about what is the best part of attending St. Anthony’s and playing for Coach Hurley?
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NY2LA SUMMER JAM RECRUITING FOCUS: 2012 TEAM LOADED’S ANDREW WHITE

By Alex Jesswein

With coaches from Louisville, North Carolina State, Richmond, Old Dominion and more on hand, Team Loaded’s Andrew White didn’t seem to mind.

The 6-foot-6 small forward scorched Team Jennings for 29 points including six three-pointers in a blowout win. White was also impressive in a 35-point outburst against KC Pray and Play in pool play.

White, who attends the Miller School in Charlottesville, VA., is quickly becoming a household name among high-major coaches in the rising senior class (2012).

According to White, he has offers from Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Richmond, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), Wake Forest, Providence, BYU, Utah and George Mason.

White is also receiving interest from BIG EAST schools Louisville and West Virginia along with “a few others”.

He has taken unofficial visits to Richmond, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.

White is looking to narrow down his list and take some visits in August, once the summer AAU season is over.

When it comes down to it, White said he is looking for the school that has “the best mix of player development and team success” and a place where he can get a good education.

2011 NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM REPORT (PART II)

By Brian Bosworth

After a lunch break for teams, college coaches, and scouts alike, the 17U tournament got back in swing on Tuesday evening with jaw dropping performances becoming commonplace.

Peach Jam 2nd Session Scoreboard:
Team Takeover 85, Athletes First 54
Oakland Soldiers 69, Texas Titans 51
Memphis YOMCA 71, City Rocks 62
BABC 79, Meanstreets 70
All-Ohio Red 73, Houston Hoops 69
Baltimore Elite 78, Boo Williams 71
NJ Playaz 72, California Supreme 60
CIA Bounce 55, All-Iowa Attack 53
Georgia Stars 78, Arkansas Wings 71
Indy Spiece 62, Louisiana Select 61
CP3 66, The Family 61
Mac Irvin Fire 60, Howard Pulley Panthers 53

Here are the highlights from some of the top performances NBE caught in action on Tuesday:
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HOOP GROUP ELITE TEAM CAMP FINAL RECAP & RECRUITING NOTES

By Alex Schwartz

READING, Pa. — Featuring over 60 high schools from seven different states, The Hoop Group Elite Team Camp drew numerous Division I coaches to Albright College. At least half of Big East was represented there Sunday, the second and final day of the camp.

Head coaches from both of New Jersey’s Big East programs, Rutgers and Seton Hall, were in attendance along with at least one assistant. NBE Basketball Report also spotted or was informed that assistants from Cincinnati, DePaul, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Villanova and West Virginia were in Reading.

Amongst the attractions for the Big East schools were Kyle Anderson ’12, Nate Britt ’13, Reggie Cameron ’13, Hallice Cooke ’13, Will Ferguson ’13, Shep Garner ’14, Amile Jefferson ’12, Kris Jenkins ’13, Ja’Quan Newton ’14, Villanova-commit Daniel Ochefu ’12, Stanford Robinson ’13, Terrence Samuel ’13, Shamiek Sheppard ’13, Kavon Stewart ’13, Mike Young ’13, and more.
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TALENTED BALTIMORE ELITE SQUAD READY TO HIT JULY RUNNING

By Matt Whitfield

Baltimore Elite produces talented players that go on to high major programs year in and year out. Players such as Carmelo Anthony, Josh Selby, Donte Greene, and Malcolm Delaney all have played for the Baltimore squad at some point. Currently Baltimore Elite features talented youngsters such as Jamel Artis, Sam Cassell Jr., Isiah Miles and Daquein McNeil. NBE recently caught up with Assistant Baltimore Elite Coach Jerard Rucker to get the latest on Artis, Casell Jr., Miles, and McNeil.

“[Jamel Artis] he’s a 6’6 PG/combo guard. He has a lot of length. He can handle the ball well for his size. He’s an extremely good playmaker for our team. He’s getting better and better… I think he has a high ceiling. He can get a lot better, but he has been playing pretty well because the last couple months his play making ability has been out of this world and he’s really been paying a lot of attention to detail on the defensive end which has really helped us because he’s been playing against some of the better perimeter shooting guards and small forwards.”

In terms of colleges Artis, who as of now will be attending IMG Academy [FL] next year, has his share of new interest and offers.
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JASON BOSWELL, TARIQ CAREY ON THE MOVE; RECRUITING UPDATES

The summer time brings news daily on recruiting and also of high school players looking for new homes for the fall. Two players NBE plans to see quite a bit this summer have decided on new schools for the 2011-2012 school year.

Jason Boswell, a Class of 2013 forward out of New York City who will be on the AAU circuit this July with the Long Island Lightning program, has decided to leave St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth (NJ) and attend Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford (CT). At Trinity, Boswell will play for head coach Mike Walsh.

“Trinity Catholic has a strong academic program which offers great basketball opportunities,” Boswell said by text this morning. “My commute will be significantly reduced to approximately 30 minutes as oppsed to the two hours traveled each day to Elizabeth.”

The 6-foot-7, 182-pound rising junior told NBE just over a week ago that he has heard from Cincinnati, La Salle, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Miami, Xavier, Houston and Dayton shortly after the June 15th timeframe when college coaches were allowed to contact players in the Class of 2013. Boswell is looking forward to continuing his career on the basketball court at Trinity.
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TARIQ CAREY RECRUITMENT HOLDING STEADY

Tariq Carey, the Class of 2012 guard out of Newark (NJ) East Side High School, continues to fly under the radar as he heads into his final AAU season on the circuit. Playing for Gary Charles’ New York Panthers this summer could very well change that soon.

“I honestly feel he will finally get his just due this summer,” Troy Long told NBE’s Matt Whitfield late last week of Carey. “He has the grades and game of a Top 100 player, but everything happens for a reason. Once more people see him his stock will rise in my opinion.”

Long, an assistant coach at East Side High, handles the recruitment of Carey and other players in the Red Raiders’ program. He told NBE that Carey’s recruitment is holding steady, naming schools like Providence, Virginia, Notre Dame, UNC-Charlotte, Richmond and Rhode Island being active in the process with a few more schools from the Atlantic 10 also being involved. The previous staff at Penn State had invited Carey to their elite camp this summer and Long added that Richmond and Charlotte have also extended similar invitations.

“He just turned 17,” said Long. “He played great at Pitt[sburgh Jam Fest], he has upside and he’s proven he is on that level (Big East) and now he’s becoming more consistent…he’s excited about the upcoming live period.”

Before the live period NBE plans to get a good look at Carey at the upcoming Rumble in the Bronx. Last year at the Rumble Carey was regarded as one of the Top 10 players in the Class of 2012 NBE saw. Playing with the NJ Playaz last season, Carey showed a much-improved his all-around game as he hit several three-pointers, many of the knuckleball variety, which he struggled with in previous viewings. He also showed an ability to get into the lane and finish or distribute. Carey can score with contact at the rim. Defensively, he is very aggressive and is adept at racking up steals and starting fast breaks.

NBE looks forward to seeing Tariq Carey in action this summer. This under-the-radar recruit could be ready to plant himself firmly on the minds of high-major programs as they look for a do-everything guard in the Class of 2012.

NIKE BALTIMORE ELITE INVITATIONAL RECRUITING NOTEBOOK

Last weekend many of the top teams on the AAU scene in the Mid-Atlantic region invaded Baltimore to participate in the Nike Baltimore Elite Invitational. Most of the 17U action took place at Annapolis Area Christian School and that is where NBE Basketball Report’s Matt Whitfield spent his time Friday night and much of the day on Saturday. Below are some of the key recruiting notes he was able to pick up on in his time at the event.

Mike Owona: 6-foot-9; Class of 2013; Baltimore Elite – College physique already and just finished his sophomore season at John Carroll in Bel Air (MD). The native of Cameroon has decent agility and athletic ability for a young big man, moving well for a player his size. Battles on the boards, but still has a very raw offensive game with little in low post moves to score with back to the basket. While Owona definitely needs to work on his basketball fundamentals, he definitely has a shot to play basketball at the high-major level in the future as he has only been playing the game for four years.

As for his recruiting, he told NBE he has interest from Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Virginia Tech, Xavier and Maryland.
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Kameron Williams: 6-foot-2; Class of 2013; Baltimore Elite – Williams is an exciting scorer that starred in his sophomore season for Mount St. Joseph coach Pat Clatchey. He has continued to see his stock rise early this AAU season with some high scoring outbursts this spring. Williams told NBE over the weekend he is on the radar of progrms such as Providence, Miami, George Mason, VCU, Richmond and Maryland.
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MORE PITTSBURGH JAMFEST RECRUITING NOTES

By Lauren Kirschman

Recruiting rundown of some of the top names from this past weekend’s Pittsburgh Jamfest put on by the Hoop Group…

Jalen Robinson (2012)
Power forward
AAU Team: All-Ohio Red
Height: 6’7″, Weight: 215
Considering: Wisconsin, UCLA, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Xavier, Iowa, Penn State, DePaul, Cincinnati, Ohio University, Tennessee, Michigan
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Elijah Macon (2012)
Power foward
AAU Team: All-Ohio Red
Considering: West Virginia, South Florida, USC, Cincinnati, Tennessee
Offers from: South Florida, USC
Height: 6’7″, Weight: 200
Leaders: West Virginia and Cincinnati
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EYBL – BOO WILLIAMS: PREP SCHOOL PROSPECTS SHINE ON AAU TRAIL

BY PAT STEVENS

HAMPTON, Va. – The first major national event of the travel hoops season took place this past weekend with the first session of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League getting underway in it’s annual spot of long-time coach Boo Williams’ backyard.

Several prep school players were in action with their 17-under division teams, as BABC went 5-0 with Tilton (N.H.) teammates Georges Niang, Nerlens Noel, Goodluck Okonoboh and Wayne Selden (who mostly played 15U where they reached the championship game).

The Playaz also went undefeated with its backcourt shared by Myles Davis (Notre Dame Prep) and Darrick Wood (NIA Prep).

Albany City Rocks featured New Hampton (N.H.) teammates Zach Auguste and Olivier Hanlan along with Ricardo Ledo (Notre Dame Prep, MA), who averaged just under 24 points per game for the weekend.

Other prep school players included Mike Tobey (Hotchkiss/NY Gauchos/Virginia commit) and Sam Cassell Jr. (Notre Dame Prep/Baltimore Elite).

We managed to catch a pair of games in between session of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament while in town last weekend…

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NEWARK (NJ) GUARD TARIQ CAREY POISED FOR BREAKOUT AAU SEASON

by MATT WHITFIELD

Still under the radar, but things could all change this summer for Tariq Carey, a junior (Class of 2012) guard from Newark Eastside.

“Tariq has a few things going on now that High School season is over,” said his Newark Eastside High School Coach Troy Long. “He’s playing with the NY Panthers and Gary Charles that should prepare him for college because he will be coached by Rafer Alston.”

While playing for a Newark Eastside team that went 18-9 this season, which included tough games against Findlay Prep and Seton Hall Prep, among others, Carey picked up some new interest on the recruiting front.

“This season he has picked up interest from UVA (Virginia), Richmond and Rhode Island. That goes along with Notre Dame, Creighton, Clemson and Duquesne. His recruitment should start to pick up once AAU season rolls around because now he will be on a high profile team and he will finally get seen like he should.”

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