Delaware Recruiting

BOSWORTH: SUNDAY’S NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE BREAKDOWN

By Brian Bosworth, National Scouting Analyst

The National Prep Showcase was back in full swing on Sunday with top teams like Brewster Academy, New Hampton Prep, and the Tilton School all in action. While the rosters of most prep schools in this event are dominated by seniors and post-graduate players it was a pair of underclassmen that stole the show on Sunday.

Co-Headliners of the Day:

Nerlens Noel (Tilton School 2013) – With college coaches such as John Calipari (Kentucky), Steve Lavin (St. John’s), and Ed Cooley (Providence) on hand to watch him play Noel put on quite a show Sunday night. Having already established himself as the premier defensive big man in America during the summer with BABC, Nerlens showcased an expanding offensive game that brings his upside to a new level. He played on the wing for much of the first half and repeatedly used a deadly right to left crossover to attack the rim and finish with his left hand. Despite being right handed he seems to prefer using his left to finish around the basket and did so with startling efficiency in this game. If Noel can continue to develop his offensive skills to complement his defensive brilliance he will give Jabari Parker a serious challenge for the spot of #1 overall player in the class of 2013.
Read more

HOOP GROUP ELITE TEAM CAMP RECRUITING UPDATES: PART I

With the Hoop Group’s Elite Camp Session I concluding on Friday evening, the action continued on the campus of Albright College in Reading (PA) on Saturday with the Elite Team Camp, also hosted by Hoop Group, tipping off. A break from the norm of camps and AAU competitions, this July live period event features high school teams going head to head in front of very interested college coaches. The games certainly have a different feel than the normal summer contests and an impressive field only increased the interest of scouts, media, coaches and fans to come by the Albright campus on this beautiful summer day.

Just perusing the names of the schools in the national bracket and you knew you were in for a treat. Traditional Philadelphia powers Neumann-Goretti and Roman Catholic are in the field as well as Friends Central, Westtown and Penn Wood from the eastern half of the Keystone State. Upstate New York was represented by Jamesville-Dewitt outside of Syracuse and Rochester’s Bishop Kearney High School. The DC-area came strong with Gonzaga, St. John’s, Bishop McNamara, Largo, Paul VI, Patterson and more. New Jersey powers St. Anthony’s and Hudson Catholic came to play and New York City had Xaverian and South Shore. That is just a fraction of the teams on hand…

Matt Whitfield spent most of the day in Reading and will have plenty to report on. Below are just a few of the recruiting updates he accrued on this busy Saturday of basketball action…
Read more

PHILLY GUYS BRING PHILLY TOUGHNESS TO NBA TOP 100 CAMP

By Ron Bailey

June 20, 2011 – Now that the National Basketball Players Association Top 100’s dust has settled, even more information can be reported on attending student athletes being recruited by BIG EAST member schools. Of course the league’s footprint was large, as kids from throughout the nation listed institutions from that conference. Two from Philadelphia are featured here.

Amile Jefferson – 6’8”, 195 lb, senior F, Friends Central (PA) – Jefferson, winner of the Camp’s Academic Achievement award put in work akin to good student’s preparing for final exams – he rebounded, filled lanes, defended, passed and scored his way to a stellar performance. To say he was one of the event’s most effective players is an understatement, as is noting Amile was a very hard worker.

What’s more impressive is that he still is not the best shooter or ball handler; Jefferson does it with effort, intelligence and grit, the last evidenced by playing around half the camp with a dislocated pinky finger on his left hand (which could demand surgery). Sure he hit shots (particularly spot up wing jumpshots from just inside the three point arc) and patted getting the rim (particularly in fast break/scatter court situations), it’s just that these are necessary points of improvement. Add getting stronger to that list ,which Jefferson recognizes as necessary.
Read more

RASUAL BUTLER ALL-CITY CLASSIC RECAP & RECRUITING NOTES

by Alex Schwartz

PHILADELPHIA – The 17th annual Rasual Butler All-City Classic took place last night at Benjamin Franklin High School in Philadelphia. The top players in the Philadelphia area took the court for three games, one for each of the high school classes besides the outgoing seniors.

The first contest was the Freshmen Game and the White team defeated the Black team by a score of 94-78 in a matchup of 2014 standouts. The MVP from the victors was 6-foot-5 power forward Jamal Custis of Neumann-Goretti (PA) with 18 points. Eric Anderson was named White’s MVP, as the 6-foot-4 small forward from Haverford (PA) dropped 15 points.

The Defensive Player of the Game award went to the White team’s Conrad Chambers, a 6-foot point guard out of Friends Central (PA). He was the game’s top scorer with 19 points. It was Black’s Malik Smith, a 5-foot-10 point guard from Del Val (PA), who won the Unselfish Player trophy.

Other double-digit scorers for the White team were 6-foot-2 combo guard Ja’Quan Newton and 5-foot-11 point guard Troy Harper. The Neumann-Goretti (PA) teammates had 10 points apiece. For the Black team, 6-foot-1 combo guard Shep Garner and 6-foot-2 combo guard Rashann London, teammates at Roman Catholic (PA), had 14 and 12 respectively. In addition, 6-foot-2 shooting guard Malik Starkes of Olney (PA) added 11.

The second game was easily the best one, with the Black team winning 93-86 in the Sophomore Game featuring 2013 players. The MVP from the winning side was 6-foot-6 small forward Rondae Jefferson of Chester (PA) who had 18 points. For the White team, the MVP was 6-foot-2 shooting guard Rysheed Jordan of Vaux (PA) who also had 18.

The Defensive Player of the Game honor was given to 5-foot-6 point guard Yahmir Greenlee of Boys’ Latin (PA), a member of the White team. Stephen Vasturia, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from St. Joseph’s Prep (PA) on the Black squad, won the Unselfish Player honor. In addition to Jefferson and Jordan, both Black’s 5-foot-10 point guard Britton Lee of Roman Catholic and White’s 6-foot-5 power forward BJ Johnson of Lower Merion (PA) had 18 points.

Three other players finished the game with double figures in the points column. Shafeek Taylor, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Roman Catholic, scored 15 points for Black, while 6-foot-3 combo guard Miles Overton of St. Joseph’s Prep had 14. Finally, 6-foot-8 center Zac Tillman of Shipley School (PA) finished with 11 points for the White squad.
Read more

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
————————————————

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
——————————————————
Read more

NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM: DAY THREE

BY JEFF BORZELLO

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – If Tuesday was the day when the stars came out, with big-time performances from Mike Gilchrist, Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Marquis Teague and Brad Beal, Wednesday was the time to showcase some lesser-known talents from the class of 2012. There were only four sessions of U-17 games, with four sessions of U-16 contests. The playoffs also kicked off during the night session for each age group, with Team Takeover, BABC, St. Louis Eagles and Spiece – the group winners – advancing to play Metro Hawks, Team Final, Oakland Soldiers and Boo Williams, the runners-up in each group. In U-16, group winners Team Takeover, Georgia Stars, BABC and Memphis YOMCA squared off. With the night session featuring all playoff games, the semifinals in U-17 and finals in U-16 are set for tomorrow. Thursday will see Team Takeover take on Team Final and the St. Louis Eagles face Spiece in U-17 action, while BABC and Georgia Stars battle for the U-16 title.

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 North Augusta (SC) and the Nike EYBL Peach Jam’s third day of action as 18 more players update NBE on their recruitment and additional player evals are posted. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

Read more

LEBRON JAMES SKILLS ACADEMY RECRUITING NOTES: PART I

by JEFF BORZELLO

AKRON, Ohio – While most of the top college coaches and AAU teams were in Indianapolis to start the July live period, 75 of the best high school players in the classes of 2011 and 2012 – and one from the class of 2013 – convened at the University of Akron for the LeBron James Skills Academy. It was the culmination of four separate skills academies over the past weeks: those of Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant and Amar’e Stoudemire. It was a true camp setting, with dozens of drills, but there was one noticeable difference: the King himself, LeBron James, showed up to play pick-up with the players. That was arguably the highlight of the event, as there was not too much to glean from the campers based on various passing and dribbling drills. However, there was plenty of recruiting notes and updates to pass along as NBE caught up with players such as Jabarie Hinds, Ricardo Ledo, Ricardo Gathers, JaKarr Sampson, Branden Dawson, Trevor Lacey, Nick Faust and many more for the absolute latest in their recruiting situations in detail as they talk leaders, visits, offers 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 recruiting updates below from the Lebron James Skills Academy and all of our July ‘live’ period news and notes. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

Read more

NBPA TOP 100 EVALUATIONS CONTINUED (SG/SF)

by RAY MERNAGH

Continuing on with our NBPA Top 100 camp player evaluations and recruiting notes we move into the category of shooting guards and/or small forwards. After opening up the series with a look at the star-studded field of point and combo guards on Saturday (see article here for a look at 11 guards that caught our eye off the bat) we move to some of the top wings. Players such as Wayne Blackshear, Mike Gbinijie, PJ Hairston only enhanced their reputations while Nick Faust, Ben McLemore and Nik Stauskas either made a name for themselves or cemented their status as high-major players. The camp also can be a valuable learning tool as some extremely talented players saw firsthand the competition will be there each and every day at the highest levels and we look at a few that should have better days ahead.

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 full player evaluations and recruiting notes on some of the camp’s shooting guards and small forwards. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

Read more

BIG EAST NEWS & NOTES (6/7/2010)

*********Follow NBE Sports on Twitter: http://twitter.com/NBESports*****

Some news and notes to get caught up from the weekend as we begin preparing for this weekend’s Rumble in the Bronx, our favorite event of the year. St. John’s held a shooting and skills camp over the weekend and brought in some impressive talent to their school. The I-95 Elite Challenge was held over the weekend and plenty of talent from Baltimore and Washington, DC participated and there is plenty of recruiting news from the event. Also we hear from Jim Calhoun defending his current program from NCAA allegations and Bobby Gonzalez speaking out for the first time since being fired from Seton Hall. A controversial admin assistant at USF is leaving the program and Cincinnati is heading north of the border this September to get a head start on their 2010-2011 season.

Read on below for all of the latest News & Notes around the Big East basketball conference. Sports fans should also visit StubHub.com – The Safe Way to Buy & Sell Tickets Online for tickets to any NCAA event or NBA, MLB, NHL game or UFC, WWE or concert tickets at an arena near you this spring.

Read more

NIKE EYBL (LOS ANGELES) NOTEBOOK

Doug Ferguson has made the trek to Session #3 of the Elite Youth Basketball League put on by Nike. This session was held at the Hangar Athletic Xchange in Los Angeles and just like the two previous stages the 42 teams making up the field battled hard with spots in the Peach Jam this July up for grabs.

In this notebook for NBE, Doug takes a close look at the big man battle between Amir Williams of The Family and Mikael Hopkins of Team Takeover from Saturday night. Also, an update on Trey Burke as the All-Ohio Red Guard officially re-opened his recruitment (after telling NBE’s Ray Mernagh he was going to do so last month) earlier this week and recruiting lists from players such as Jakarr Sampson, Anthony Davis, Nick Faust, Cimeon Bowers 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 our coverage on the Los Angeles stop of the 2010 Nike EYBL, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

Read more

SOUTHERN JAM FEST REVIEW: DC ASSAULT EDITION

BY JEFF BORZELLO

HAMPTON, Va. – The Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Va. is quickly becoming the place to be for AAU events in the spring. It hosted the first leg of the Nike EYBL a few weeks ago, and then hosted the Southern Jam Fest, run by the Hoop Group, this past weekend. While not as loaded as the EYBL, the Jam Fest featured several of the top AAU teams in the mid-Atlantic region, with teams also coming from various states throughout the country (and Canada). In our Part I of our Review (found HERE), we took a look at some of the key players with Team Loaded, Boo Williams, Grassroots Canada and more. Here is the second installment – and the D.C. Assault edition – of our look at some of the top players from the weekend.

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 players such as Quinn Cook, Jordan Goodman, Eugene McCrory and more from one of the nation’s top AAU programs, as well as any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage.

Read more