Manhattan Recruiting

CLASS OF 2013 STOCK RISER: DAYSHON SMITH

Dayshon Smith has opened many eyes this summer. Eyes of fans, scouts and college coaches alike.

Right out of the gates this spring as one of the NJ Playaz Spring Fling Top Performers with the NY Lightning AAU program and through three sessions of play in the Nike EYBL, Smith has performed at a high level. His biggest strengths right now are his perimeter shot, tight handle, and the calm with which he plays. The best point guards know how to control pace and make opponents play their speed and that is something that Smith understands very well.

This is what NBE’s Brian Bosworth wrote about Smith on the final day of the Spring Fling:

Smith capped an outstanding weekend by making his best plays in the second half of the championship game. His Lightning came up short in overtime against the New Rens but Smith did everything he could to get the game into overtime. Two plays in particular stand out and deserve mention. Late in the second half Smith came down the lane after turning the corner from a high ball screen and dunked in the face of 6’8” jumping jack Kenton Facy. Then with 30 seconds remaining and his team trailing by three, Smith brought the ball up court and pulled up from behind the line tying the game and sending it to overtime. He had the guts to both take and make the biggest shots in the championship game and increased his stock in the process.

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TEAM FINAL G/F B.J. JOHNSON CONTINUES TO PILE UP OFFERS

One of the hgihest stock risers in the Class of 2013 this spring has been B.J. Johnson of Team Final. The 6-foot-6, 170-pound G/F has excelled on the Nike EYBL circuit, putting back-to-back eye-opening weekends together when the EYBL kicked off and college coaches were in the stands.

“It was exciting to get to play in front of a lot of big time coaches,” Johnson told NBE Sports shortly after the April open evaluaiton periods. “I hope they saw what I do well on both the offensive and defensive side of the floor as well as how much effort I put into what I do.”

Through three EYBL sessions Team Final is sitting with an 8-6 ranking and in position to clinch a spot in the EYBL Championship round this July at the Peach Jam with a solid performance in Oakland (CA) this coming weekend.

For his part, Johnson is second on the team in scoring (9.8 ppg) and rebounding (4.8) trailing only Rondae Jefferson in both categories. That type of performance really got the attention of college coaches as he had schools such as Boston College, Rutgers and >Pittsburgh exppress new interest right away. BC followed up with a scholarship offer joining the likes of James Madison and Penn State in the days immediately following the Boo Williams EYBL event.

Johnson has always been high on the Big 5 radar for the local Philadelphia schools as he attends Lower Merion (PA) HS. St. Joseph’s, Temple and La Salle have been in the mix with him previously, as well as Boston University, and they all have company now as the scholarship offers continue to come in.

“New offers from Rutgers, Richmond, Duquesne, Manhattan and UMASS,” Johnson told NBE earlier today.

NBE will be on hand this weekend in Oakland (CA) as Raphielle Johnson will be reporting on the action. So stay tuned for more coverage on B.J. Johnson, Team Final and the Nike EYBL this weekend and through the summer

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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NATIONAL PREP SHOWCASE: DAY THREE

by JEFF BORZELLO

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – A long weekend of basketball culminated Sunday with another six games between the top prep schools in the country. It started off with an easy Brewster Academy (N.H.) win over a hard-working but fatigued Princeton Day Academy (Md.) club. After that came a battle between Maine Central Institute and Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.), where MCI pulled away in the second half. Kiski (Pa.) and La Lumiere (Ind.) was an interesting match-up on paper due to the frontcourts of both teams, but Kiski emerged victorious. NIA Prep and New Hampton had a back-and-forth battle that featured big leads and subsequent comebacks, but in the end, NIA Prep was too athletic and balanced. Tilton (N.H.) came out in a big way against Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.), blowing them out from the opening tap. The final game of the event kept everyone interested, with Blair Academy (N.J.) holding on to beat St. Andrew’s (R.I.). Here’s a look at some noteworthy players from the final day, starting with a player we will see in the BIG EAST next month:

Enosch Wolf, 2010, Wilbraham & Monson: Wolf will join Connecticut at the end of the fall semester, which comes in a couple of weeks. The German native is more versatile than one might think, showing off an ability to handle the basketball and step out to knock down outside shots. The 7-foot-1 lefty is very mobile and can run the floor. His stroke from the free-throw line is solid and he defends well. Moreover, Wolf is an effective rebounder – something the Huskies are lacking this year.

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 membership to read more detailed scouting reports and the latest recruiting notes gathered on Day Three of the National Prep Showcase. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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HOOP GROUP SUMMER CLASSIC RECRUITING NOTES

Matt Whitfield headed down to the Hoop Group Summer Classic on Sunday at The Hoop Group headquarters in Neptune (NJ) for some ‘live’ period basketball action. He was joined by head coaches such as Mike Rice, Kevin Willard, Steve Lavin, Fran Dunphy and many more high-profile assistant coaches checking out the action yesterday.

Below Matt runs down some of the key recruiting stories from the event, including listing coaches seen watching Durand Johnson and Cecil Kirk, Ryan Arcidiacono and the PA Playaz 2012, the NY Panthers as well as some individual updates from Jordan Allen, Davontay Grace, Savon Goodman, Jared Sina, Dom Hoffman, Blaise Mbargorba, Jabarie Hinds, Chris Martin, Jamir Hanner 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 The Hoop Group’s Summer Classic. Also, any of our Premium Content Articles & Event Coverage is available to subscribers.

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