Columbia Recruiting

NJ PLAYAZ SPRING FLING REPORT — PART III

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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2011 CITY OF PALMS REPORT — TOP PLAYER PERFORMANCES

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Now that the 2011 City of Palms Classic has come to a close it’s time to put some measure on what I saw this week. Below are player rankings by class based on performances from this week alone. While they do impact my overall perception of these players, they are rankings strictly of what I saw in Florida this week.

Top 2012 Players:

1. Isaiah Austin (Grace Prep) – signed with Baylor – Austin was more committed to play inside on offense than he has been in the past and still rebounded and blocked shots at the highest level. He looked poised to challenge Shabazz Muhammad for top player in the class throughout the rest of the reason.

2. Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) – It speaks to Muhammad’s talent that after a subpar week by his standards he still slots in at # 2. He was the most persistent scorer at the tournament, getting his points every way imaginable.

As for his recruitment, Muhammad told NBE on the opening day of the event that he has no timetable for a decision and sounds as though he’ll wait right up until the spring signing period to make his call. He listed an up-tempo style and a program that gets its players to the next level as the two most important factors in his decision making process. When the time comes Muhammad will be choosing from his final 6 of UCLA, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, UNLV, and USC.
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CITY OF PALMS REPORT — DAY FOUR

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Each day at the City of Palms Classic seems to be more intense than the last. Today started off slowly with a mostly empty gym but it slowly filled up as the night wore and the semifinal matchups approached. When it was time for the tip of Montverde Academy and Grace Prep in the 1st semifinal there wasn’t an empty seat in the building. Through a delay when a power outage sapped the scoreboard, constant breaks to wipe up an increasingly slippery court, and a wildly overheated Florida gym, high level basketball remained the focus. A select group of players stood a cut above the rest and they are outlined below.

Top Performance of the Day:

Julius Randle (Prestonwood Christian 2013) – In the final game of the night with a chance to play for the title on the line Randle was brilliant. He tallied 31 points and 15 rebounds on 12 of 18 shooting while facing consistent double and triple teams in the post. Randle’s game has evolved as his skills have developed and while he still makes his living down low he showed the ability tonight to lead the break and facilitate offense for others from the perimeter. His shooting range now extends to the college 3 point line and he can comfortably handle the ball enough to help his guards break the press. Offensively, Randle has very few holes in his game but on the other side of the ball he does still need work. He has a tendency to sulk after a turnover and then miss a defensive assignment because he hasn’t let the play go. While not uncommon for a young player, stars of Randle’s caliber are held to a higher standard. If cleared up, there is nothing standing in his way from overtaking Jabari Parker as 2013’s top prospect.
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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 2 NOTEBOOK: TOP MATCHUPS CONTINUE

Khan/Judah not the only prize fight in town

By Raphielle Johnson

While boxing fans enjoyed the battle between Amir Khan and Zab Judah over at Mandalay Bay, two of the top AAU teams on the West Coast did battle at Bishop Gorman in the Las Vegas Fab 48. Led by the interior tandem of 2012 Brandon Ashley and 2013 Aaron Gordon, the Oakland Soldiers withstood a late rally to beat Belmont Shore 85-80. Both showed off their vast array of skills, especially Gordon with a few thunderous dunks.

The game was also valuable to see what Belmont Shore big men Zena Edsomwan and Grant Jerrett could do against two of the best prep players regardless of class. Edsomwan isn’t the kind of player who’s going to dominate the basketball but rather do the little things on both ends of the floor needed to win. Jerrett had his moments as well but it proved to be a tale of two halves for the Arizona commit.

In the backcourt the battle was just as intense, with the likes of Dominic Artis and Jabari Bird taking on Ikenna Ireogbu and Katin Reinhardt for Belmont Shore. With regards to dribbling skills, Artis may not have an equal in the 2012 class (Kris Dunn is another to consider). Bird can do just about everything on the floor, and while the 2013 prospect needs to continue to improve as a shooter he’s shown the ability to knock down open shots.
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RUMBLE IN THE BRONX: SATURDAY RUNDOWN

BY JEFF BORZELLO

BRONX, N.Y. – At first glance, the 2010 Rumble in the Bronx seemed like it had a loaded field. All the top teams from the New York/New Jersey area and several of the best national teams, including the Southern Kings, Dallas Mustangs and Franchise All-Stars, were expected to show up in New York City this weekend. However, with three other major events going on this weekend, including Adidas Nations, CP3 Point Guard Camp and the NIKE Hoop Jamboree, the individual talent was watered-down. Studs who missed the event included Michael Gilchrist, LeBryan Nash, Shannon Scott, Dai-Jon Parker, Rakeem Christmas, Kyle Anderson, Alex Murphy, Wannah Bail, DaJuan Coleman, Kuran Iverson and many more. With that said, though, there were still a number of standout players and performances.

Devonta Abron, 2012, Dallas Mustangs: With LeBryan Nash out at Adidas Nations, Abron took over as the go-to-guy for the Mustangs. The athletic, 6-foot-7, lefty big forward can finish very well around the rim and also showed a nice touch from the mid-range. He runs the floor and can catch the ball in transition. Abron showed a few nice moves with his back to the basket and also threw down one of the more impressive dunks of the weekend, over 7-footer Blaise Mbargorba.
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Blaise Mbargorba, 2011, NJ Roadrunners: Mbargorba is still developing all facets of his game, but he clearly has potential. The 7-footer is extremely long and has a good build, although he does need to add strength. He can run the floor and is able to finish in transition with dunks at the rim. The athletic Mbargorba is mobile, but he needs to move far better without the ball. Too often, he stood around and did not utilize his size advantage effectively.

Mbargorba, a native of Cameroon who plays at St. Benedict’s, lists Virginia Tech as his current favorite because he likes its basketball and engineering programs. Mbargorba is also being recruited by Boston College, Georgetown, Providence and Columbia.

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Saturday’s content below includes Desmond Hubert discussing three schools out in front in his recruitment and a possible Playaz teammate he’d like to play with in college, the impressive performance of Angel Nunez and his current recruitment, Chris Martin hints at a leader after a recent visit, Keaton Miles has two in front of his recruitment with one being from the Big East as well as recruiting and performance updates from Shaq Thomas, Davontay Grace, Shaquille Stokes, Kelvin Amayo, Derrick Wilson, Tyrone Johnson, Myles Mack, Kamari Murphy and MORE…

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