Connecticut Recruiting, Georgetown Recruiting, Notre Dame Recruiting, Pat Stevens, Providence Recruiting, Rutgers Recruiting, Syracuse Recruiting, West Virginia Recruiting

NBE PREP CORNER - UNDERCLASSMEN UPDATES (PART I)

BY PAT STEVENS — This year’s New England prep schools are especially loaded with talent among its underclassmen, more so than past years.

Still, a number of top Big East players spent not just their post-grad or senior years in the prep ranks but multiple years, most recently being the likes of Antonio Pena (Villanova/St. Thomas More), Jerome Dyson (Connecticut/Proctor Academy), Rob Thomas (St. John’s/South Kent and St. Thomas More), Gilbert Brown (Pittsburgh/South Kent), Lazar Hayward (Marquette/Notre Dame Prep) and Devin Ebanks (West Virginia/St. Thomas More), along with current freshmen James Southerland (Syracuse/Notre Dame Prep), Mike Marra (Louisville/Northfield Mount Herman), Alex Oriakhi (Connecticut/Tilton and Winchendon) and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (Connecticut/Tilton and Winchendon).

In this first installment, four teams with a pair of future Division I players are highlighted…

ST. THOMAS MORE – Trashon Burrell (2011/6-6 SF/Albany, N.Y.) and Andre Drummond (2012/6-11 C/Middletown, Conn.)

The Crusaders have been taking down everyone in their path this season aside from recent showdowns on the road at Winchendon and against Brewster Academy on Martin Luther King Weekend at the BABC Holiday Shootout in Everett, Mass.

Trashon Burrell has been a surprise with Bryon Allen, Dominique Langston and Andre Drummond entering the year as the team’s headliners. Big dunks both off the dribble and ahead of the pack are his signatures but Burrell’s control of the passing lanes stands out most impressively, racking up five-plus steals each time we’ve seen him this year at the National Prep Showcase, the team’s first home game vs. New Hampton and against Brewster.

“He’s got a nose for the ball, he’s pretty cerebral, and he’s just long, active, quick and aggressive,�? head coach Jere Quinn said. “Once he puts on some weight and adds strength he’ll be able to finish better. But he enjoys competing and he offensive rebounds very well.�?

Coach Quinn encourages his team to shoot the long ball and spot up in transition, and he notes Burrell could take his game up a big notch with the addition of a being a weapon from the outside.

Burrell has listed interest from Connecticut, Providence, Syracuse and West Virginia and we’ll check in with him again at this weekend’s National Prep School Invitational.

Andre Drummond came in with a big reputation, a consensus top five player and in some services’ the No. 1 player in the early Class of 2012 rankings.

If anybody can keep things in perspective for a player dealing with hype, it’s Quinn.

“He came in not knowing how to play at a level required for a league of 18-19 year olds,�? he said. “But he’s 16 years old so that’s to be expected. He was an athlete that can do some impressive things. He just needed to spend the time in the gym for the skill part and learn to play every possession.�?

Against New Hampton in the team’s home opener, he battled foul trouble and showed flashes. Against Brewster a month and a half later, more minutes were seen as well as more plays that made sense.

“We’d like to see him post up stronger, improve his 10-12 foot jumper, his foul shooting, his weak-side defense,�? Quinn said. “But he’s averaging about five blocks, 12 points and 10 boards. He’s had some incredible games and made some incredible plays that you just can’t teach.�?

And each time we’ve seen him, some form of USA Basketball gear has been on him. Drummond was one of a select few honored to play for the U-16 National Team that won gold this past July at the FIBA Americas Games. The team trained in June at USA Basketball headquarters in Colorado Springs and went on to Argentina to win its five contests by an average of 33.8 points per game. Next up is more training and the FIBA U-17 World Championship Games this summer.

“He seemed to love it,�? Quinn said. “We tell him you have to be intelligent with how many games you’re going to play. He has to prioritize his most important teams. Is it going to be his school team, summer team, USA team, etc.? When the kid comes in with a stress fracture in his foot it’s your body telling you to slow down. He’d be best to just skill himself to death and learn the game. But the great thing is he loves to play. He even tries to practice with our younger guys just because he loves to be out there.�?

Drummond will have his choice of schools. He’s been on the campuses of Connecticut and Providence and figure all the Big East teams that can land a player of his caliber have made a pitch. Then there’s national interest to combat. Friday against Winchendon, North Carolina was in to see him.

“It’s a matter of who isn’t recruiting him,�? Quinn said. “We tell him to enjoy your high school years and take care of the basketball you’re playing right now. Toward the end of next year we’ll ask, ‘where would you like to go?�?

Between Drummond and Burrell, it’s a St. Thomas More team having success in the post-grad league with a pair of underclassmen giving a big lift.

“They’re both talented kids with the potential to be pretty good. They’re recognizing how hard they have to work and are getting it 90 percent of the time,�? he said. “But they know we demand you play both ends of the floor and if you don’t want to do that, we can find a nice seat for you to watch.�?
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NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON – Aaron Cosby (2011/6-2 PG/Louisville, Ky.) and Vince Van Nes (2011/7-0 C/Dorset, England)

NMH has a number of notable wins this season as it continues to roll with head coach John Carroll’s run-and-shoot system.

Averaging about 85 points, they opened the season winning their first two games at the National Prep Showcase, have wins over Winchendon and St. Mark’s and hold a split with South Kent.

Aaron Cosby is a big part of it with the team averaging a 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio and he himself averaging 2-to-1.

“His goal was to be a point guard when he came here and he’s transitioning to that really well,�? Carroll said. “He’s always been known as a tremendous scorer, now he’s turning into a tremendous floor leader.�?

Boston College was in the other night to see him and Carroll says Stanford, Virginia, Penn State and Notre Dame all showed high interest during their visits to NMH in the fall.

Vince Van Nes has been out with a mild concussion for three weeks now and could return at the NPSI.

“He’s learning to bring it seven days,�? Carroll said. “He runs the floor, can shoot the three, has good timing blocking shots – he’s six months away from his best ball.�?

According to Carroll, he’s completely wide open in his recruiting.

Also of note is Evan Cummins (2012/6-8 PF/Westborough, Mass.), who Carroll says has been offered by most of the Atlantic 10 and caught Connecticut’s eye in NMH’s game against St. Thomas More.
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SAINT MARK’S – Alex Murphy (2012/6-8 SF/Wakefield, R.I.) and Kaleb Tarczewski (2012/6-11 C/Manchester, N.H.)

Defending Class C champion St. Mark’s lost its regular season square off against rival Lawrence Academy but bounced back and knocked off Class B power St. Andrew’s.

Alex Murphy was a big part of the win as he shouldered the load to score 28 points to go with eight assists while “Nate Lubick (2010 Georgetown signee) was in foul trouble.

“He took that game over. It was a real turning point for him breaking out like that,�? head coach Dave Lubick said. “We had seen it coming with his aggressiveness picking up, defending harder, and adding the toughness to his skill. He’s scoring but not forcing things. He’s taking things to another level and it’s a real good sign.�?

Murphy recently gave the site a list of Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, Indiana, Michigan, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Connecticut, Boston College, Providence, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, adding some interest from UNC, Duke, Texas and Kentucky.

Kaleb Tarczewski is also coming into his own as well after transferring from his New Hampshire home and is boosting the team’s frontline alongside Lubick and Melsahn Basabe (2010 Siena signee).

“He’s getting excited about getting in the weight room. He’s being more aggressive when he gets in scoring position, being less deferential and more eager to score himself,�? Lubick said. “What’s expected from him at practice was a little bit of shock at first. He was comfortable as a back-up and now he’s getting hungrier. He’s got plenty of skill and natural ability and is really asserting himself now.�?

HOTCHKISS SCHOOL – Derrick Wilson (2011/6-1 PG/Anchorage, Alaska) and Clyde Smith (2012/6-1 CG/Houston, Tex.)

Head coach Fred Benjamin had some encouraging news on his backcourt.

“They both received offers from Notre Dame recently,�? he said.

Clyde Smith scored 37 points in the game in front of the Irish coaches. Northwestern, Stanford and Harvard are also said to be real high on the sophomore.

“He led us in scoring the first five games of the season,�? Benjamin said of Smith, who plays alongside Georgia Tech bound swingman Jason Morris.

Derrick Wilson was one of the few underclassmen invites to this past summer’s NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp and has wider interest.

“Virginia Tech, Rutgers, Georgia Tech, Stanford and Washington are a few that are high on him,�? he added.

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