Hofstra Recruiting

THE HOOP GROUP’S PITTSBURGH JAMFEST: DAY TWO

By Brian Batko

A full slate of games on Saturday at the Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest meant a lot more players in action, a lot more eye-opening performances, and a lot more recruiting updates. Below is a rundown of all the players from various classes that NBE caught up with on Saturday at the Jam Fest:

Andrew Harrison (Houston Defenders, 2013, Travis HS) – Regarded as a top five player in 2013, Harrison did nothing to prove otherwise on Saturday. The 6’5” point guard handled the rock, showed off his nasty crossover and great vision, and was able to get his shot off whenever and wherever he wanted. He and his twin brother Harrison listed a top four of Kentucky, Maryland, Villanova, and Baylor but said that doesn’t mean that another school can’t still get into the picture with them.

Aaron Harrison (Houston Defenders, 2013, Travis HS) – Not quite as quick and smooth as his brother, Aaron prefers to play off the ball, spotting up for threes and also attacking the rim. He and Andrew are 100 percent a package deal at the college level, according to them, and whichever school ultimately lands this dynamic duo better have plenty of minutes to go around in the backcourt.
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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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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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NJ PLAYAZ SPRING FLING REPORT — PART II

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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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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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY TWO

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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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HOOPHALL CLASSIC 2012: SATURDAY RECAP

After two days filled with local contests and a sampling of girl’s games, the Hoophall Classic took to the national stage on the boys side Saturday. Traditional powers like Oak Hill Academy, Gonzaga College Prep, St. Patrick’s and DeMatha Catholic headlined the action at Blake Arena in Springfield. Many players improved their stock on Saturday but none more than an undersized big man from Gonzaga College Prep.

Top Performer:

Kris Jenkins (Gonzaga 2013) – Jenkins had a breakout performance on national TV a week ago at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, West Virginia and backed it up today at the Hoophall Classic by dominating an individual matchup with Riverside’s Ricardo Gathers. Jenkins is 6’6” at best but still has great strength for the power forward position. This allows him to hold his own defensively while causing all kinds of problems for opponents on the offensive end. He did the majority of his damage on midrange jumpers but showed that his range extends to the 3 point line knocking down a pair of triples. Jenkins was productive from the opening tip until the final whistle not even allowing an errant Ricardo Gathers elbow to the face to slow him down. After scoring at will on top 10 sophomore Jahlil Okafor and top 30 senior Ricardo Gathers in the past week, it’s safe to say that Jenkins can contribute at the high major level.
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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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BOSWORTH: NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL SHOWCASE WRAP-UP (TOP PERFORMERS)

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Now that the National Prep Showcase has concluded it’s time to take a moment and digest everything that I witnessed in New Haven this weekend. One thing that jumps out is that the talent level in New England is at an all time high. While many players are imports from other areas of the country a large part of rosters on New England prep times are made up of local talent. Most notably, Nerlens Noel in 2013 and Noah Vonleh in 2014 both have a chance to become the top player in their class nationwide. These two separated themselves from everyone else at this event both with their current production and with their long term potential.

Past those top two, Ricardo Ledo deserves more recognition for his performance on Friday night. Ledo’s ability to score has never been questioned but his intangibles and whether or not he is a winner have long been debated. Against La Jolla Prep he not only scored from everywhere on the floor but he proved to be the vocal leader of a talent rich South Kent team. He specifically seems to have taken on somewhat of a mentor role for talented junior Chris Thomas. According to South Kent head coach Kelvin Jefferson Ledo has been everything he could have asked for and more both on the floor and in the locker room. He has taken Thomas under his wing in a sense and has been an incredible positive influence. If this progression continues, Ed Cooley landed an even bigger star than already thought.
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ELITE ’14 PROSPECT CHRIS MCCULLOUGH ENJOYS UCONN VISIT

Chris McCullough burst onto the national recruiting radar this summer with a series of strong performances during the month of July, first at the Hoop Group Elite Session 1 Camp and the Hoop Group team camp playing with the Salisbury (CT) School. McCullough built up a strong following and next thing you knew college coaches were making sure they knew where his team SCAN AAU squad would be playing throughout the remaining of the month.

McCullough, who credits the work off the court with Team SCAN for helping him achieve honor roll status in school, visited Connecticut earlier this week with AAU teammate Conrad Chambers, another highly regarded player in the 2014 recruiting class. McCullough told NBE earlier today he enjoyed the trip.

“The trip was good, good experience,” said McCullough of the visit to UConn. ‘[The highlight was] chilling with Coach Kevin Ollie.”
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2011 DESERT DUEL MEMORIAL – DAY ONE RECAP: COACHES GALORE ON HAND FOR ACTION

By Raphielle Johnson

With the second ten-day open period of the month on the back end it would have been easy for teams still playing to perform in a sluggish manner. But that didn’t happen on Wednesday, especially at the Desert Duel Memorial Tournament where a few games needed overtime to render a decision. One of those games was the matchup between Long Island Lightning Blue and Seattle Rotary Select, with the Lightning making up a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of regulation and going on to win by the final score of 69-65.

The guard tandem of Kareem Canty (2012; postgrad) and Melvin Johnson (2012) made crucial plays down the stretch with both being able to get to the rim off the dribble. Canty’s more of a scoring point who was also to make some nice passes to his big men after beating his man off the dribble, and the pull-up jumper he says he’s been working on was on display as well.

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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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LAS VEGAS AAU DAY 4 NOTEBOOK: WILD, WILD WEST IN VEGAS

By Raphielle Johnson

By the end of the last college basketball season it was best to simply expect the unexpected. The same could be said for this weekend in Las Vegas, which has produced an unexpected champion in the Kansas City 76ers. The 76ers won the Las Vegas Fab 48 by beating Team Breakdown (Florida) in Monday night’s title game.

While the stands weren’t filled to brim as they were last summer (Oakland Soldiers tend to bring out the crowds), there were a few college programs represented in the coaches area with 2013 wing Ishmail Wainright the primary focus.

Ben Howland (UCLA) and Steve Lavin (St. John’s) were both there to watch Wainwright, who considers Earl Watson (who has connections to both as he played at UCLA under Lavin) to be an older brother and mentor. Other programs represented include Western Illinois, George Mason, Kansas, Missouri, UC Irvine, South Florida, Cal Poly, Nebraska, UM-KC and Creighton.

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2011 NIKE EYBL PEACH JAM REPORT (FINAL REPORT)

By Brian Bosworth

The single elimination playoffs got underway Thursday night at the Peach Jam with four quarterfinal match-ups. The run-and-gun acrobatic show of the Oakland Soldiers against Kyle “slow-mo” Anderson and his New Jersey Playaz Club was too much to pass up so that’s where I planted myself. “Slow-mo” gave a Herculean effort ending up just 1 rebound shy of a triple double but in the end the Soldiers athleticism was simply too much to overcome and they advanced to the semifinals. Players from both teams showcased their talents for the bevy of college coaches in attendance.

Dominic Artis (Oakland Soldiers/2012) – Artis is a short statured point guard who has been getting reviews this spring as potentially the best point that the West coast has to offer. His play in this game made it easy to see why. He drained deep three pointer after deep three pointer both of the catch and off the dribble finishing 6-9 from behind the arc. In addition Artis is quick and crafty with the ball constantly working his way into the paint and creating scoring chances for teammates. He served as the engine that made this high powered Soldiers offense go leading his team both vocally and with his play on the floor.

Kyle Anderson (Playaz Basketball Club/2012) – What more can be said about Kyle Anderson that hasn’t been said already? He was brilliant against every defender on the Soldiers roster. They threw bigger guys at him and he used his deadly crossover to get into the paint. They threw shorter, quicker defenders at him and he went down to the right block and went to work. It seemed like every player on the Oakland Soldiers got a chance at stopping Kyle Anderson and every one came away shaking their head. Scouts can critique Anderson’s foot speed all they want. He is a winning basketball player who with excel at any college he chooses thanks to his toughness, basketball IQ, and leadership.
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HOOP GROUP WV JAM FEST RECRUITING NOTES – DAY 1

By Lauren Kirschman

The first of two 10-day evaluation periods for the month of July come to a close today. One of the top annual events each year to close the period is the Hoop Group’s West Virginia Jam Fest, predominately help in the Morgantown (WV) area. With recent NCAA legislation preventing the games to be held on the WVU campus local high schools hosted contests as well as other sporting centers, including a local ice rink.

On day one of the event there was a large crowd of assistant coaches tracking down Amile Jefferson at University High School for an evening game and, as usual, the Team Final 16U club had their share of coaches on hand when they played. Below are some recruiting notes from the day’s action on Semaj Christon, Melvin Johnson, Rondae Jefferson, Dashawn Suber and more…
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HOOP GROUP ELITE CAMP: FRIDAY AFTERNOON RECRUITING NOTES

By Matt Whitfield

The Hoop Group’s Session One Elite Camp wrapped up on Friday afternoon with a series of championship games and all-star contests. The camp’s Top 20 All-Star game draws the most interest and NBE spotted staff members from South Florida, Quinnipiac, Cornell, Wagner, Pittsburgh, Penn State, Rutgers, Drexel, Rice and Villanova.

One of the Top 20 All-Star participants was Quenton DeCosey, an athletic 6-foot-5 wing from St. Joseph of Metuchen (NJ) and the Team Izod/Sports U AAU travel program. DeCosey told NBE on Friday he has offers from Rice, Seton Hall, Temple and Towson. Virginia, West Virginia, St. John’s, Georgetown, St. Joseph’s and Rider are showing interest.

DeCosey told NBE that he has taken unofficial visits to Seton Hall and Temple and plans to check out Georgetown next week on an unofficial visit.
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RECRUITING EXPANDS FOR BRIAN BERNARDI

The July live evaluation period will be an important one for Brian Bernardi. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound guard out of Xaverian High School in New York City already has several solid mid-major programs putting scholarship offers on the table and it is expected schools from high-major conferences will also be tracking his progress this month during the two 10-day live periods.

The current school list for Bernardi is long and includes a variety of schools throughout the college basketball spectrum. Boston College, Xavier, Hofstra, Virginia, Fordham, Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Temple, Siena, Fairfield, SMU, Boston University , East Carolina, Marist, James Madison, Manhattan and Wagner were listed as the programs actively recruiting him.
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RUMBLE IN THE BRONX REPORT – PART II

By Brian Bosworth

In the stands at Manhattan College on Saturday, spectators were consistently grumbling about who wasn’t in attendance for this years’ Rumble in the Bronx. Multiple high profile players chose not to make the trip to New York with their respective teams headlined by Andre Drummond and Kris Dunn of CBC, Omar Calhoun and Jason Boswell of the New York Gauchos, Kuran Iverson and Nkereuwem Okoro of the Long Island Lightning, Noah Vonleh of Mass Rivals, and Clyde Smith of New Heights. Despite missing all these future college stars, the tournament rolled on with plenty of guys stepping up in their absence. The top performances from Saturday at Manhattan College are documented below.

Ricardo Ledo (Expressions Elite 2012) – Ledo struggled mightily offensively throughout the majority of his teams’ early morning contest with the Riverside Hawks but showed down the stretch why he’s considered one of the nation’s best players. With his team trailing by 7 late in the second half, Ledo buried three consecutive NBA range 3 pointers each one deeper than the last to spark a 15-0 run and lead his team to victory. He is truly an elite scorer and only struggled today because he settled for the long ball too often. When Ledo is aggressive attacking the basket and takes 3 pointers in rhythm, he is completely unstoppable offensively.

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BRIAN BERNARDI SHOOTING FOR A BIG SPRING & SUMMER ON AAU TRAIL

Shooting almost can be considered a lost art in this day and age in the sport of basketball. A pure shooter that can knock down shots from the perimeter is viewed as a commodity. With the three-point line acting as the great equalizer in the game today, college coaches will take notice when a player establishes himself as an elite pure shooter in his class.

This spring and summer on the AAU circuit Xaverian (NY) High School shooting guard Brian Bernardi hopes to establish himself as just such a player in the Class of 2012. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound sniper averaged over 16 points a game, eclipsing the 20-point mark eight times, including a season-high 24 in an 81-64 win over a St. Raymond’s team stacked with Division 1-A prospects. According to one of his coaches his reputation as a pure shooter is well-entrenched in the NYC area.

“Hands down, best shooter in city,” Chris Alesi told NBE yesterday. “According to [long-time Xaverian High School] coach Jack Alesi, [Bernardi is the] best [shooter] to come out of Xaverian since Chris Mullin. If there are five better pure shooters in the country, I’d be surprised.”

College coaches have already come to see Bernardi work out and the list has been impressive.
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