Cornell Recruiting

HOOP GROUP’S SOUTHERN JAM FEST: DAY ONE

by Alex Schwartz

HAMPTON, Va. – The Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest got underway on Friday at the Boo Williams Sportsplex and NBE Sports was on hand to take in the action. Throughout the night, we saw several standout performances and got to speak with a few players at the event.

TOP PERFORMER

Anthony Barber: The 6’2 point guard out of Hampton (VA) was absolutely sensational for Boo Williams in a blowout victory over the Stafford Hoyas to open up the event. Barber did basically anything he wanted with the ball and was nearly unstoppable when it came to getting to the rim. He scored at the basket, hit open teammates for layups, knocked down 3-pointers, and displayed a nasty crossover. Barber, an elite prospect in the 2013 class, had the look of a top 10 player as he dominated the game from start to finish in a number of different ways.

TOP SLEEPER PERFORMER

Rockell Lee-Vaughn: A little-known 5’9 point guard out of Springarn (DC), Lee-Vaughn had a superb showing in Metroball DC’s victory over East Coast Fusion. The class of 2012 prospect is clearly undersized, but he has a strong frame and quality quickness that help him make up for it. He can really hit shots from beyond the 3-point line and is also adept at making pull-up jumpers. Lee-Vaughn is a tough kid who also has some major leaping ability.
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THE HOOP GROUP’S PITTSBURGH JAMFEST: DAY THREE

By Brian Batko

The Hoop Group’s Pittsburgh Jam Fest came to a close Sunday with some very intense semifinals and championship games. Many of the usual suspects who had been playing well all weekend continued to do so on Sunday but one squad of 2014 players in particular stepped its game up an extra notch and NBE has the rundown.

Caleb Martin and Cody Martin (Team Loaded NC 16U, 2014, Davie) – Even more so than the Harrison brothers in the grade above them, these two 6’6” wings have extremely similar bodies and games. In fact, at this point in their development, they play almost exactly alike. They’re both fairly slender but appear to have the frame to really add strength and muscle. In leading Team Loaded (NC) to the 16U championship on Sunday, the two uber-talented North Carolina natives showed off a nice mix of skill and athleticism and played very well off of each other. Both are good passers that like to work in the high post and on the wing slashing to the basket. They also attack the glass and are active on defense. Their jump shots are decent right now but could certainly improve. In a competitive quarterfinal game against a solid Team Work (OH) squad in the morning on Sunday, Cody finished with 14 points, a handful of rebounds, and a couple of steals while Caleb put up 19 points including a couple of threes and several boards as well.

Also like the Harrisons, Caleb and Cody are 100 percent a package deal as far as their recruitment goes. Still early for the rising juniors, they already have offers from North Carolina State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech and are hearing from the likes of North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Xavier, Clemson, Kansas, and Georgetown. Both said they can see themselves in the ACC but that they’d like to wait and take as much time as they can before making their decision.

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BUSINESS AS USUAL FOR ISAIAH WATKINS ON SPRING AAU TRAIL

This weekend starting Friday evening colleg coaches will hit the road for AAU events across the country. Stops in Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and areas far and wide will be popular destinations for Division 1-A head coaches and assistants as they are allowed to evaluate talent for the first time in the busy April AAU schedule in a few years. While the intensity of the action is likely to be ratcheted up a few nothches, CIA Bounce big man Isaiah Watkins is taking it all in stride.

The 6-foot-8 Watkins attends St. Benedict’sPrep in Newark (NJ) and performing in front of college coaches is a regular event for him and his Gray Bees teammates. It was one of the reasons why he chose to attend a school like St. Ben’s and play with a powerful AAU program like the Canadian CIA Bounce program, which participates in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL).

Yet, Watkins is looking forward to showcasing his improvement as a player, but also has goals for himself to continue to impove against the top flight competition he will be facing.
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NATIONAL HOOPS FESTIVAL RECRUITING REPORT

On Saturday, Matt Whitfield made the trip to Hyattsville (MD) and DeMatha High School for the 2011 National Hoops Festival event. The early season event is typically one of the favorite stops for NBE on the December schedule and this year did not disappoint with several powerhouse programs headlining the event with a very solid day of action on the court. Here is the scoreboard from Saturday’s contests:

–Bullis 62, Riverdale Baptist 59
–Episcopal 44, Benedictine 38
–Paul VI 65, West Charlotte 58
–Oak Hill 68, Grace Prep 59
–DeMatha 83, Jamesville-Dewitt 57

NBE was able to catch up with players such as Kennedy Meeks, Beejay Anya, Stanford Robinson, Jordan Mickey, RJ Curington, Emmanuel Mudiay and more. See below for the latest in recruiting updates form many of the top uncommitted players participating on Saturday…

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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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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK: ELITE PROGRAMS REACHING OUT TO 2013 PROSPECTS

The live July evaluation period is right around the corner. Once again NBE will be out in full force during both 10-day recruiting periods, stretching from East to West and North and South to keep up with all the recruiting information. It is always a fun process to see what college coaches are out on the recruiting trail and who they are watching.

In the meantime, the phones of top prospects in the Class fo 2013 have been ringing off the hook as colleges are permitted to contact a recruit once a month on the phone or via email. June 15th was the first day contact was allowed and programs wasted little time reaching out to prospects.

“Santa Clara called me at 12:00 on the dot,” said Tyler Ennis. “Oregon State, Santa Clara and Iowa State all did.”

Ennis is a 6-foot-3, 178-pound guard who plays on the AAU spring and summer circuit with CIA Bounce out of Canada. He attended St. Benedict’s in Newark (NJ) last season and has had a busy early summer season with trips to LA for the Pangos Camp and to the University of Virginia campus for the recent NBA Top 100 Camp. His play has drawn very good reviews and it shows in the latest list of schools that have been in contact since the 15th.
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SUPER 16 SHOWCASE NOTES

by RICHARD KENT

The event was held at the brand new TD Banknorth Arena on the campus of Quinnipiac University. Quinnipiac’s head coach Tom Moore, formerly an assistant at UConn, was like a proud poppa in the stands, watching some of the top talent in the country eye his digs.

Probably the best player on display was former Providence-commit, 6-foot point guard Naadir Tharpe of Brewster Academy and the New England Playaz. Tharpe can see the court well and is a pure point. He is now still involved with Providence along with Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Indiana and UMass, among others. He was coached in the event by John Carroll,former head coach of the Celtics.

Tharpe played against J.B. Hoops of Pennsylvania led by rising junior 6-foot-5 forward Terry Turner, drawing looks from Penn State,Temple, La Salle, St. Joe’s and to a lesser extent Syracuse and Rutgers. 6-foot-7 Mark Bevacqua also impressed. He has a high ankle sprain but is being looked at by some Big East schools.

The New England Playaz 16s were led by 6-foot-9 Evan Cummins of Northfield Mt. Hermon who is drawing looks from Ivies such as Brown, Penn and Cornell.

The New York Panthers were stuck in traffic and didn’t show by press time. Many coaches were there to see 6-foot-7 Maurice Harkless of South Kent (via NYC), heavily recruited by Rutgers, who is on his new list, along with Memphis, St. John’s, Georgetown, Miami, South Florida, Xavier, Virginia, Maryland, Syracuse, Temple, Pitt, Providence and Cincinnati, according to adviser Nate Blue’s twitter this afternoon, since retracting his verbal commitment from Connecticut. Many coaches were also waiting on Kadeem Jack, who will join Harkless at South Kent next season, as Jack is Working Through Recruiting Process as a 2011 Prospect now.

Rising sophomore Kuran Iverson was a star for Connecticut Select 16s and was being looked at by Big East assistants from UConn (Andre LaFleur), Pittsburgh (Pat Skerry) and Cincinnati (former Rutgers assistant Darren Savino was there on behalf of the Bearcats).

Present for Rutgers was Van Macon, who previously coached under former Hofstra and now Fordham coach Tom Pecora, who was also present. The two remain friendly.

ESPN’s Andy Katz headed the media contingent and was looking all over the place for West Virginia coach Bob Huggins, who was due to arrive by evening. Word is Huggins made sure to make himself seen when elite 2012 prospect Andre Drummond took the floor for Connecticut Basketball Club later on.

Affable Harvard head coach, and former Seton Hall head coach, Tommy Amaker was there looking at some prep players. He did not rule out coaching in the Big East again.
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NBE recently welcomed Richard Kent, a veteran college basketball writer, to our growing team. Richard has written for SI.Com, Athlon and has covered the NCAA Tournament in the CBS Studio. He also has done extensive work on women’s college basketball, having founded the Big East Women’s Basketball Report and written three books on the topic. He broke the story nationally that UConn and Tennessee would no longer be playing. His day job is practicing law as a matrimonial attorney in Fairfield, Connecticut where he is a member of Best Lawyers In America.
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KING JAMES SUMMER SHOWCASE STANDOUT PLAYERS

RAY MERNAGH

In between the Adidas Invitational in Indianapolis (IN) and the NY2LASports.com Summer Jam just outside of Milwaukee (WI), NBE made a stop at the King James Summer Showcase which was being held in and around Chicago (IL) this past weekend. Most of the top 17-U teams competed at the Fieldhouse is Waukegan (IL) and that is where NBE found a spot to watch the action Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Below we detail the performances (and update the recruitment) of some of the event’s top players, including Zach Price, JaKarr Sampson, Percy Gibson, Ryan Boatright, Michael Chandler, Nyles Evans, TJ Buchanan, Paxton Strub, Shelby Moats, Jonah Travis and Kendall Griffin.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read the coverage from Waukegan and the 2010 King James Summer Showcase below. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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KING CITY CLASSIC EVALS & UPDATES (PART C)

by JEFF BORZELLO

CLEVELAND – After a fairly lackluster experience at the LeBron James Skills Academy – aside from the hype of having James there, of course – the 75 or so players from that camp traveled about 40 minutes north to Cleveland State University for two days of tournament-style games. The players, broken into eight teams, competed in two games each before entering the playoffs. It was far easier to evaluate the prospects in the game-setting than it was in the drills and the controlled scrimmages.

In our King City Classic Update (Part A) we took a look at Big East commits such as Wayne Blackshear, Tyrone Johnson, Michael Carter-Williams and James Price and their performances when we were watching. In King Citty Classic Update (Part B) NBE updated notes on mega-prospect Anthony Davis as he discussed his three finalists, talked with LaQuinton Ross about offers and visits and spent time with Myles Davis as he discusses the new offer from ‘Nova and the impact of friend Tyrone Johnson committing to the Wildcats recently. Desmond Hubert, Myles Mack and Ben McLemore also chat about their recruiting. Now we move into part C below and touch base with players such as Rodney Hood, Kedren Johnson, Bernard Silluvan, Cedric McAfee, Jahii Carson, LJ Rose, J-Mychal Reese, Trey McDonald and more…

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more of our coverage from Cleveland and the King City Classic. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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MALCOLM GILBERT VISITS BIG 10, BIG EAST SCHOOLS

Fast-rising 2011 big man helps East Coast Elite to Rumble title, takes visits

Malcolm Gilbert was a key performer recently as East Coast Elite surprised the field at the Rumble in the Bronx to take the 17-U title at the annual showdown played at Fordham University. Gilbert teammed with 2011 Pitt commit Jaylen Bond and uncommitted 2011 guard A.J. English and others to turn back Connecticut Basketball Club in the championship contest.

While Gilbert did not score in the event’s finale, his defense against highly touted 2012 big man Andre Drummond gave onlookers a glimpse of why he is a coveted prospect in the 2011 recruiting class. Gilbert blocked five of Drummond’s shots and was a big reason the 6-foot-10 CT prep star spent mush of the game out on the perimeter and finished five fo 17 from the field.

Since the Rumble in the Bronx, Gilbert told NBE he took a vist to Pittsburgh last Thursday, Ohio State yesterday (Monday) and expects to visit Duke in the coming week.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership to read more on Gilbert’s visits and recruitment, and any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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RECRUITING NOTEBOOK FOR MID-MAY

Over the course of the last few weeks the staff and contributors to NBE have been out on the road checking on some of the biggest events of the spring AAU season. Through the travels and in between we have accumulated quite a notebook in recent weeks of recruiting updates and it is time to clear out that notebook with a recruiting list frenzy of some of the players we have seen and talked to on the AAU trail.

You can log-in or sign up for NBE Premium access by SUBSCRIBING (HERE) for as low as $2.08 a month with our annual introductory membership and read the latest on Trashon Burrell, Tavon Sledge, Derrick Randall, Cecil Kirk trio of Antoine Meyers, Durand Johnson and Antoine Allen who is transerring from Miami, Eugene McCrory and Justin Miller, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

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