The NBE Basketball Report was out in full force this past weekend in Trenton (NJ) for the annual Primetime Shootout at the Sovereign Bank Arena. The action was jam-packed both Saturday and Sunday with Matt Whitfield and Brian Crownover spending time covering the most anticpated event of the year in the high school basketball landscape on the east coast. Here is the second of a three-part series on player evaluations (and recruiting updates) from the two long days of basketball. The look at the top players we saw from 2011 and 2012 is up next…

Class of 2011:

Steele Davis
Native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Built well for a sophomore (class of 2011), but for all of his size he could use it better. Isn’t overly quick at getting up and down the floor. Only average defense, however, with time and added muscle, things should improve. Played against a senior only an inch smaller than him, and while he got the better of him, you’d expect more from a nationally recruited sophomore. Most vocal Our Savior New American player. Finished with 22 points in the loss.

Following the game, Davis told NBE that West Virginia, Boston College, USC and Memphis have already offered.

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The NBE Basketball Report was out in full force this past weekend in Trenton (NJ) for the annual Primetime Shootout at the Sovereign Bank Arena. The action was jam-packed both Saturday and Sunday with Matt Whitfield and Brian Crownover spending time covering the most anticpated event of the year in the high school basketball landscape on the east coast. Here is the second of a three-part series on player evaluations (and recruiting updates) from the two long days of basketball. The look at the class of 2010 is the deepest report of them all…

Shaquille Thomas
Undersized, looks to be the smallest player on Mountain State Academy, so gaining weight at strenght is a priority going foward. Shots didn’t go down for him early on. OK handle, however was heavily guarded in this game by Aaron Brown. Showed his special athletic ability with a few follow-up dunks that leaves a lasting impression.

Brian Crownover’s Take on Thomas: Shaquille was playing back in his home state after the recent transfer to Mountain State Academy in West Virginia. He’s such an explosive player and he really showed off his athleticism with a few impressive follow-ups. On the inside, Shaquille converted after a nice duck-under move. From the outside, he hit a three pointer (although he did miss another jumper). Shaquille grabbed a few boards too.

Following the game, Thomas told NBE that Florida, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Kansas and Clemson have been showing interest. Coach Huggins has been there for several games and Thomas was at WVU when they hosted rival Pitt last month.

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The NBE Basketball Report was out in full force this past weekend in Trenton (NJ) for the annual Primetime Shootout at the Sovereign Bank Arena. The action was jam-packed both Saturday and Sunday with Matt Whitfield and Brian Crownover spending time covering the most anticpitard event of the year in the high school basketball landscape on the east coast. Here is the first of a three-part series on player evaluations (and recruiting updates) from the two long days of basketball. The class of 2009 is first…

Glenn Bryant
Brian Crownover’s Take on Bryant: This lanky forward put together an impressive game. Glenn was at his best playing around the goal. He had several athletic dunks after nice passes from his teammates. In the post, he also converted on a hook shot. Glenn put together a strong game on the glass. Defensively, he showed more of his leaping ability with a couple blocks. He did hit a three pointer from the outside. Showing more on the wing than he did today would certainly help his game.

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Updates via Matt Whitfield, live in Trenton

The action has continued in Trenton on Sunday after a busy day on Saturday.

6:42 PM Update: Final live update from Trenton. Terrence Ross, the Montrose Christian 6′7 underclassmen swingman who has come east from the great Northwest rattled off a list of Louisville, Maryland, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Kentucky, Kansas and UNLV as schools showing interest.

3:56 PM Update: A Villanova assistant has been spotted, Jay Wright is expected for the Montrose Christian game a little later.

Trenton Catholic point guard, Dondre Whitmore, a 5′9 junior, mentioned to NBE that St. John’s and Seton Hall have shown some interest. Schools like Robert Morris and Iona, among others, have offered scholarships.

3:14 PM Update: Carmen Sol, out of Puerto Rico, made the trip to New Jersey for the Primetime Shootout and star senior Raymond Cintron, Jr. is a player to watch. Cintron, a 6′1, approximately 200 lb. point guard, connected on five three-pointers in the game with local powerhouse Trenton Catholic. After the game, Cintron mentioned that Rutgers, LaSalle and Florida International have offered scholarships. Cintron told NBE that he is very high on the Scarlet Knights.

1:50 PM Update: Sophomore guard Corey Edwards of Christ the King tells NBE that he has scholarship offers from St. John’s and Auburn while Seton Hall, Villanova, Kentucky, George Mason and Princeton have also expressed early interest.

Read on for updates from Saturday…

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Long Island Lutheran Edges New Jersey Power, St. Anthony’s 60-58

by Matt Whitfield

St. Anthony’s did something they hadn’t done in a little over six years Tuesday night, and if you’re a fan of the Jersey City school it wasn’t a good thing. Facing their second straight opponent in nearly 24 hours, St. Anthony’s probably realized from the get-go that Long Island Lutheran was not just another team from Long Island, but a battle tested and aggressive team that was ready to play from the start.

Through three quarters the game was real close, and the trend continued in the fourth quarter. The Brookville school came out shooting the lights out early on in quarter. Led by hot shooting and several three-point shots, Lutheran took as much as a seven-point lead, 50-43, on a Tyler Harris three with 4:28 left.

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