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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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2012 NATIONAL PREP SCHOOL INVITATIONAL — DAY ONE

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

The National Prep School Invitational kicked off Thursday morning at a new venue of Rhode Island College after a number of years at the University of Rhode Island. The shift was made due to new NCAA rules not allowing tournaments of this nature to take place in Division-I gyms but the always well run event didn’t miss a beat. Eight games filled the schedule on Thursday with the nation’s No. 1 team Brewster Academy facing off against St. John’s Northwest Military Academy in the headliner. Two players faced off head to head in that matchup and they share top billing today after fantastic performances.

Co-Headliners of the Day:

Jakarr Sampson (Brewster Academy 2012) – Sampson played as well as I’ve ever seen from him in Brewster’s victory this afternoon. He has always been potent using a couple dribbles to attack the rim and showcase his absurd athleticism. Today, Sampson punished defenders for playing off him by consistently knocking down mid range jumpers from 12-18 feet. When that shot is falling he becomes basically unguardable because combined with his driving ability leaves defenders to pick their poison. On top of all his impressive offense, Sampson was the catalyst for Brewster defensively playing the top of their full court press. His length and quickness caused turnover after turnover often leading to rim shaking dunks. Undefeated Brewster was frankly in a bit of trouble before going to the press and letting Sampson wreck havoc. He made it obvious why he is one of the most sought after uncommitted players remaining in the 2012 class.

Aaron Ross (St. John’s Northwest Military Academy 2012) – A onetime Arkansas commit, Ross played like one of the nation’s bet forwards against the loaded frontline of Brewster. He tallied 30 points and 9 rebounds by mixing 3 point shots (3-7) with hard drives to the basket. Ross has the quickness to take his man out on the perimeter but also the strength to go to work on the low block. This combination gave Brewster fits all day as they tried various defenders to slow down the big man. Only Jakarr Sampson had any success but even he gave up his share of hoops against Ross. Finding balance between inside and outside will always be important for Ross as he doesn’t want to hunt jumpers and ignore his physical advantages. He also needs to be more committed defensively and will have to define a roll on that end. He is a little bit between a 3 and a 4 right now but needs to be a 4 defensively in my mind. Regardless of position he’s a beast and showed that off today.

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MERNAGH: MARQUETTE IS ROLLING

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By Ray Mernagh

Marquette has won seven straight to get the Still-Warriors to 19-4 (8-2 in BEAST play) but neither the gaudy record or the streak is the most impressive thing about these sleek jets wearing the nicest uniforms (it ain’t even close) in all of college basketball.

Nope, it’s the way they snatch you, like a boa constrictor suddenly engulfing your jugular. One second you’re chilling in the bush, the next you’re deader than the Washington Wizards playoff hopes.

Poor Kevin Willard. His Seton Hall team was battling, trading blows with the Buzz Bunch.

Then BAM, Vander Blue caught a lob and swung from the rim not long enough to get a tech but just long enough to kind of survey the situation,kind of take it all in. It’s as if he was trying to warn the Pirates: “You all still have time, get out while you can because what is about to go down will most definitely not be pretty!” And it wasn’t pretty for the Hall or their fans, but it sure was beautiful to watch for just about everyone else.
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MERNAGH: ADAMS WILL BE FINE

Steven Adams is almost 7 feet (6’11″ after checking with his coach).

Steven Adams runs like a deer and rebounds out of his area (he tracked one 17 feet before grabbing it). He has incredible raw instincts defensively, knowing when to keep his feet with his arms straight up, when to jump and when to body his man.

Steven Adams makes hard catches look routine.

Steven Adams threw a 75 foot outlet pass to Myles Davis that led the Xavier bound guard perfectly for a breakaway dunk.

Steven Adams attempts to dunk everything he catches within a foot of the rim.

Steven Adams has a nice stroke on his outside shot.

The things that Steven Adams has to grasp about basketball will be easily taught and learned by a kid with so much enthusiasm for the game.

Steven Adams will be fine.

Plus, he’s quite refreshing to talk to.

Rest easy Pitt fans, the kid can play.

NEW INTEREST HIGHLIGHTS SEASON FOR TERRENCE SAMUEL

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South Shore (NYC) High School guard Terrence Samuel is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Class of 2013 nationally. The powerfully built 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard began to make a name for himself nationally helping New Heights AAU to five impressive tournament titles on the spring and summer AAU circuit.

The attention in his talents has continued into his junior season with South Shore and his recruitment has expanded. Some of the new schools that have become involved has been the highlight of his season so far.

“Highlight [of the season is] picking up [recruiting interest from] Kansas and Memphis,” Samuel told NBE Basketball Report over the weekend.
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CLASS OF 2012 JUCO PROSPECT INTRO: Q&A WITH MATT KORCHECK

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Each year the spring signing period sees many junior college prospects make their decisions on what four-year college to attend following their two-year stint at the JUCO level. One prospect that is seeing quite a bit of interest is Cochise (AZ) College big man Matt Korcheck.

The 6-foot-9, 220-pound PF/C orginially signed with UTEP and then head coach Tony Barbee in November of 2009 as part of the 2010 recruiting class out of Sabino High School in Tucson (AZ). When Barbee left UTEP for Auburn and Tim Floyd took over the Miners program, Korcheck headed to Cochise College where he averaged 8 points and 6 rebounds as a freshman. With a good performance at the annual Jerry Mullins JUCO showcase camp over the summer and a strong season so far, interest has picked up tremendously in Korcheck among high-major programs and he took the time over the weekend to participate in a Q&A with the NBE Basketball Report…

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CLASS OF 2013 INTRO: BO ZEIGLER

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While already well known in the Midwest, Detroit (MI) Community High’s Byron ‘Bo’ Zeigler is poised to make a big name for himself nationally this spring and summer on the recruiting trail. The 6-foot-6, 191-pound small forward, according to our friends at Hoops Window, is a rubberband man on the floor, offensively and defensively and utilizes a speed burst dribble and glide towards the hoop with ease, it doesn’t matter from which side of the court, Zeigler is effective with both hands. On defense, Hoops Window compares Zeigler to a smaller Hakim Warrick when he throws up his long arms to block a shot.

Zeigler told NBE this weekend that he is continuing to work on his ball-handling as well as his on-ball defense this season. With the spring AAU season approaching quickly, he is also looking forward to hitting the circuit with his Michigan Hurricane teammates.
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LEFT COAST LAYUPS WITH RAPHIELLE JOHNSON: BRACKETBUSTER PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED

Long Beach State, Saint Mary’s among marquee match-ups

By Raphielle Johnson

Monday was a big day for the sixteen conferences involved in the selection process for the Sears BracketBusters event, as these match-ups (February 17th-19th) are a final chance for teams to pick up a resume-building non-conference win. Long Beach State, who played an absolutely brutal non-conference schedule, will play at Creighton in one of the marquee games of the event. Dan Monson’s 49ers are undefeated in Big West play, and led by point guard Casper Ware and forward T.J. Robinson they’re more than capable of winning in what will be a tough environment in Omaha.

Two WAC teams, Nevada and New Mexico State, also earned televised match-ups with the Wolf Pack heading east to take on Iona and the Aggies hosting Drake. The Wolf Pack could certainly use the boost that would come with a win in New Rochelle as the best win on their resume at this point would likely be their win over Washington. Nevada’s won 14 of their 18 games against teams ranked 101st or worse in the NCAA’s RPI and Iona has won 13 such games (with two losses). The individual matchup between Deonte Burton and Scott Machado will be one of the must-see events of the weekend, but given the talent on both sides of the battle there will be a lot more to watch than just those two.
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FOUR SCHOOLS ON ISAIAH WHITEHEAD THE HARDEST

Lincoln (NYC) High School guard Isaiah Whitehead is just in his sophomore season but he already seems to have been a name we have been following for years. Such is life when your regarded as one of the top players, regardless of class, in New York City.

The 6-foot-4, 195-lb guard combines strength and athleticism into an impressive on the court package. Whitehead enters the stretch run of the 2011-2012 high school season with goals of a City and State title as well as Player of the Year honors.

This past summer with the Juice All-Stars playing top competition in Las Vegas, NBE saw Whitehead displaying his ability to get to the basket off the dribble. His athletic ability is apparent on both ends of the floor, and Big East and other teams from across the country have taken early notice of his talents.
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WOODALL: I GOT THIS

By Ray Mernagh

Travon Woodall has been the object of scorn from certain groups of Pittsburgh fans over his four years in the program.

Complaints have ranged from he didn’t start for his high school team to he’s too sloppy with the ball to he takes too many chances. Some have even gone so far as to say the redshirt junior isn’t a D-1 caliber player.

Woodall has almost always come through for his team. I’ve witnessed him win games by blocking a shot at the rim, hitting multiple three-pointers or by finding flying teammates for alley-oop dunks or cutters for layups. I’ve watched him guard a 6’8″ post player because nobody else was left to do it, purposely taking an elbow to the chops because it meant a foul on the man he was guarding. He’s always had a really good assist-to-turnover ratio and has never, ever, played with fear. He’s also always been Pitt‘s toughest player.
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RECRUITMENT OF TYLER ENNIS POISED TO BE BIG STORY IN CLASS OF 2013

Our northern neighbors of Canada have been producing a steady stream of elite basketball prospects recently and St. Benedict’s Prep guard Tyler Ennis may be the best of the bunch in the Class of 2013. Nolan Shulman, the authority on Canadian prep basketball, certainly would agree with that assumption.

“He was routinely the best player on the floor at every stop on the circuit this summer,” Shulman, National Recruiting Analyst of Flagrant Fouls and Editor-in-Chief of the Ultimate Recruiting Handbook which concentrates on Canadian basketball prospects, told NBE this fall. “His overall floor game is as good as any Canadian point guard we’ve had in the last six years, a group that includes Junior Cadougan, Cory Joseph and Myck Kabongo. He understands the strengths of his teammates and always puts them in a position to be their best.”

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MONTVERDE ACADEMY INVITATIONAL – SATURDAY REVIEW

by Alex Schwartz

MONTVERDE, Fla. – Three teams from the Northeast and a squad from Georgia joined four schools from Florida for the 2012 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament this weekend. NBE Basketball Report was on hand Saturday for the final day of the event and took in four quality games.

In the seventh place game, Monsignor Pace (FL) defeated Leesburg (FL) by a score of 66-58. In the other consolation bracket game, Shiloh (GA) knocked off Imhotep Charter (PA) by two, 44-42, to claim fifth place.

Mount Vernon (NY) used a strong fourth quarter to take an 82-72 victory over Roman Catholic (PA) in the third place contest. Finally, Montverde Academy (FL) won the championship of its tournament with a 49-40 defeat of local foe Orlando Christian Prep (FL).

Top Performance of the Day:

Joshua Doughty (Mount Vernon 2013) – Doughty is not going to be a Division I basketball player, but this kid can definitely play college ball in a couple years. Doughty turned in the best performance of the day on Saturday and was the main reason Mount Vernon pulled off the comeback victory. The 5-foot-8 point guard scored 23 points in the victory, more than any other player scored all day. He had 21 points in the second half, including five 3-pointers in the third quarter alone. Overall, he connected on six shots from beyond the arc and displayed an intense, competitive nature.

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MERNAGH: PITT KEEPS HOPE ALIVE HEADING INTO BIG MONDAY SHOWDOWN AT WEST VIRGINIA

Pitt 86 Providence 74 is what the scoreboard read when the buzzer sounded last Wednesday night. It remained there for maybe a half second before the board changed to reflect the record for Pittsburgh inside the Peterson Events Center since it was built. The loss side of that all-time record has grown more in the last month than in the last several years.

Wednesday evening’s result inside the Peterson Events Center brought relief to a program and fan-base in dire need of a fresh breath.

Now all of a sudden, in the span of 72 hours, relief has turned into, dare I say…hope?

What was a slightly encouraging win for Pitt against Providence parlayed itself into an actual conquest over a #10 ranked Georgetown team that came in sporting the resume of a soon-to-be top 3 seed. In movie terms the Pitt Panthers have quickly moved from Waiting to Exhale territory directly into the How Stella Got Her Groove Back neighborhood.
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STEVEN ADAMS DRAWS A CROWD IN PITTSBURGH DEBUT

By Lauren Kirschman

Steven Adams‘ abilities on the basketball court are unquestionable.

He’s 6-foot-11 and already built like a player headed for the NBA. In Notre Dame Prep’s 75-36 victory over Massanutten (Va.) Military Academy in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Legends Classic at Ambridge High School, he finished with 12 points 14 boards and three blocks. He showed exceptional body control and rebounding ability, while also impressing with his capability to run the floor.

He’s already being billed by Pitt fans as a “savior”.

But by talking to him, you wouldn’t know it. That might be the most impressive thing of all.

Adams seemed genuinely surprised to find a sizable cluster of reporters — some with recorders and other holding cameras — waiting for him outside Notre Dame Prep’s locker room.

“Usually it’s only two people or one person with a notepad,” he said. “No cameras or anything.”
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WILL FERGUSON UPDATES RECRUITMENT DURING SEASON OF CHANGE

By Matt Whitfield

To say things have been easy this last year for Will Ferguson would be far from the truth. The lightning quick Class of 2013 point guard has switched AAU programs and now high schools all within the last year. Ferguson though feels he is playing better basketball now that he’s back to his hometown team and judging by the performance he put on Friday night against Oakton High School in a 74-61 win Friday night with a raucous crowd that was taunting him, things look that way.

“At O’Connell I butted heads with a lot of the coaches and I didn’t think I was playing the way I could….It’s something that he didn’t see in me or something that I wasn’t doing that led to this, so I just had to make that move,” said Ferguson of the early January transfer to Herndon High School.

Friday night Ferguson put on a dazzling display to point the Oakton High School fans tried everything to slow him down from screaming during free throws to taunting the Herndon star throughout. Ferguson however showed he was the best and player on the floor as he sped up and down the court with ease often times hardly contested in the paint with an impressive display of layups, runners and jump shots. At times he looked as if he was toying with the opponent, many of whom are nowhere near the caliber of a player he is.
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WOODALL BACK IN THE SADDLE FOR PITT

Junior point guard finishes with 17 points & 9 assists against Providence as Pitt ends 8-game losing streak Tuesday

By Anthony Jaskulski

November 30th of the Panthers basketball season seemed like no big deal.

As per status quo, Pitt knocked off Duquesne, and it just seemed like guard Travon Woodall sprained a muscle or something to a lesser degree.

Present day, that injury turned out to be a major component to what was the longest losing streak for a Pitt basketball team since the 1994-95 season, dropping an unheard of eight straight games, including an 0-7 start to their BIG EAST schedule.

Wednesday night was a sign of bliss for the Panthers, as everything seemed back to normal, as the squad bounced back with an 86-74 victory over Providence, and Travon Woodall finished the game with a strong 17 points, 9 assists and just 1 turnover, not to mention going a perfect 4 of 4 from beyond-the-arc.
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LEFT COAST LAYUPS WITH RAPHIELLE JOHNSON: 49ERS ESTABLISH THEMSELVES AS BIG WEST’S BEST

By Raphielle Johnson

For the second straight season, many college basketball fans on the west coast were looking forward to the first meeting of the season between Big West heavyweights Long Beach State and UCSB, widely regarded as the two best teams in the conference. But while the venue changed (the first meeting last year was in Long Beach) the result remained the same, as the 49ers dominated to the tune of a 71-48 whipping at the Thunderdome.

Casper Ware, who was named Big West Player of the Week for the third time this season, scored 14 points and dished out five assists but his most important work came on the defensive end of the floor. James Nunnally, who averages 15.4 points per game on the season, was limited to just five by the senior from Staten Island. Dan Monson’s team is versatile and possesses a number of options, from Ware and Larry Anderson to James Ennis and T.J. Robinson inside, which made for a difficult matchup for Nunnally, Orlando Johnson and the Gauchos.

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OBSERVATIONS FROM GEORGETOWN/RUTGERS

By Matt Whitfield

A paid attendence of 12,852 saw No. 10 Georgetown rally late to edge upset-minded Rutgers Saturday at the Verizon Center. An Eli Carter three-pointer gave the Scarlet Knights a 50-45 with 2:35 to play in the second half. The Hoyas would finish the game on a 7-0 run with freshman Otto Porter scoring the last six of those points, including two free throws with 8 seconds left to lift Georgetown to victory. Here are my observations from the game…

Rutgers distributes the ball fairly well. Players from Rutgers often continuously move the rock on the offensive side setting up many open looks or decent shots. Knocking down the shots proved difficult as RU shot just 37.7% (20-53) from the field and only four of seven from the foul line.
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PITT LEFT SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS

By Ray Mernagh

Took a break last night from the media section and took in the Pitt vs. Louisville game — with my wife — from some spectacular seats at just about mid-court about 5 rows behind the Oakland Zoo (shout out to my man for the hookup). It’s been a strange month and a half for Pitt basketball as the Panthers were 0-6 in Big East action heading into last night’s Game Day festivities.

Heading into the Pete, and all day long for that matter, I kept going back to one thought: This would be the night that Pitt gets the 1,000 pound gorilla off their backs and actually posts a mark in the W column. Part of the reason for the feeling was the performances Pitt turned in following their beat-down at the hands of Rutgers, a game that finally exposed the Panthers for what they are (not very good) and gave Mike Rice a good three-to-four hours on the phone calling recruits afterwards. Rutgers saw blood in the water, saw prey willing to give up the fight, and pounced like any Shark worth its saltwater does.

The Marquette game gave some hope as the effort was much better and Ashton Gibbs’ shooting returned with the help of a move back to his natural shooting guard position. Still, some quick turnovers in the second half ultimately doomed the Panthers. Syracuse followed about 48 hours later and again, Pitt battled before ultimately losing in a respectable manner. So heading into this weekend, and all the hype that surrounds a campus when Dukie V comes to town, something was telling me Pitt might just hand Louisville an L.

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HOOPHALL CLASSIC 2012: WEEKEND’S TOP PERFORMERS

By Brian Bosworth, National Recruiting Analyst

Now that the 2012 Hoophall Classic has come to a close and I’ve had a few days to process all the basketball I saw it’s time to compile player rankings from the weekend’s performances. Below you will see players ranked by class based solely on their performance from the Hoophall Classic. These rankings are not an opinion on players overall game or potential but rather on the way they performed in Springfield.

2012 Player Rankings:

1) Shabazz Muhammad (Bishop Gorman) – Muhammad only strengthened his place as the top overall player in the 2012 class for his efficient 37 point performance.

2) Kaleb Tarczewski (St Mark’s) – signed with Arizona – In an event loaded with top big men Tarczewski stood out as the top low post offensive option.

3) Katin Reinhardt (Mater Dei) – signed with UNLV – The future Runnin’ Rebel put on an offensive show knocking down nine 3 pointers en route to 35 points in a blowout victory.

4) Kyle Anderson (St Anthony) – signed with UCLA – Anderson’s fingerprints have been all over every one of St Anthony’s 44 consecutive victories and Monday was no different as he compiled 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
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