On Friday,
November 9th, the college basketball season kicked off with must see
games in Germany, Brooklyn, and various aircraft carriers. One week later, the
high school season kicked off in a small, cozy D-3 gym at Albertus Magnus
College in New Haven, CT. The National Prep Showcase kicked off its three day
event with many of the top prep schools throughout the US participating. This
event features talented athletes already committed to top D-1 schools (i.e.
Indiana, Syracuse, and Louisville) along with a plethora of talent trying to
give all of the low to mid major D-1 coaches in attendance one final viewing during
the early signing period.
Game(s) of the Day:
1A – Wilbraham & Monson 58
Putnam Science 57
Putnam
Science put on an exhibition in the first half and led by double-digits.
Wilbraham & Monson looked extremely disjointed early on and the game
resembled five individuals playing against a cohesive team. Dayton commit,
Dayshon Smith led the way for Putnam with his nifty dribble drives to the
basket where he continuously found open teammates for good looks. Despite the
first half struggles of W&M, transfer Goodluck Okonoboh, a former teammate
of Nerlens Noel at the Tilton School, stepped up his game and controlled the
paint with 8 blocked shots in the first half. While Putnam dominated the first
half, W&M came out with a different intensity in the second half and quickly
turned a first half deficit into a competitive game. Once the game got close, Smith
put Putnam on his shoulders and scored 14 points in the second half as he was
unstoppable off the dribble. Smith put his team up one with a nice floater down
the late with 1:06 to go and then found a teammate for 3 to go up 55-51. Putnam
could have iced the game on the free throw line, but instead some costly misses
and turnovers let W&M hang around. With 11 seconds to go, Putnam turned the
ball over under its own basket up one point, and Okonoboh was able to hit the
game winning lay-up with 1.2 seconds left.
1B – Fishburne Military 64
Northfield Mount Hermon 59
NMH was
missing their top player in Zena Edosomwan, a Harvard commit, and did not look
to be in the same class as Fishburne Military, led by Kuran Iverson, a top 40
player in the class of 2013. Despite appearances, NMH moved the ball efficiently
and played solid defense to lead the majority of the game. This team featured
ivy league commits Anthony Dallier (Yale) and Michael Fleming (Dartmouth),
along with Skyler White (not the Breaking Bad character), and Josh Hearlihy.
This group effectively shut down Iverson in the first half making him settle
for contested and forced jump shots, but they had trouble containing him in the
second half as he scored 15 of his 19 points. Iverson hit two free throws with
56 seconds to go to take a two point lead that would not be relinquished. It
took the more athletic Fishburne school almost 31 minutes to take the lead, but
they dominated the final minute and came away with a five point win.
Top Performers:
 |
| Future Louisville stud |
Terry Rozier, 6’2” 2013 PG, Hargrave Military Academy:
Rozier put on a clinic in his first game and should have Louisville fans
extremely excited. Rozier is currently ranked #97 by CBS Sports and #84 by Scout;
however he will soon be on the move and should settle closer to the #54 ranking
that Hoopniks has him at. Rozier had a swagger like Florida guard Kenny
Boynton, but while Boynton did his high school damage behind the three point
line, Rozier did his aggressively attacking the basket. Rozier used his
athleticism and toughness to get by his defender anytime he wanted and used
fantastic body control to finish in the lane. Rozier knocked down a corner
three in the first half to go along with a one-handed break-away dunk to end
the half. Seeing his team’s lead slip away in the 2nd half, Rozier
quickly hit a driving lay-up and then on the next possession found an open
teammate for three which essentially sealed the victory.
Anton Gill, 6’4” 2013 SG Hargrave Military Academy:
Gill was plagued with injuries during the July recruiting session, but looked
healthy in his first Showcase game. Gill knocked down several 3’s and finished
with 18 points.
Jaylen Brantley, 5’11’ 2013 PG Notre Dame Prep: Despite not
being gifted with out of this world speed or length, this crafty pg still found
a way to keep ND Prep in the game against Hargrave by knocking down 6 three
pointers on his way to 26 points. When Brantley wasn’t knocking down threes he
was effective using the pick and roll to get to the basket. Brantley is a smart
pg, doesn’t make many mistakes, and is one of the top shooters at his position.
Kuran Iverson, 6’8” 2013 SF Fishburne Military School:
Iverson’s first and second half performances closely resembled his high school
career: up and down. Iverson struggled in the first half with countless misses
on outside jump shots. He also tried to create off the dribble, but had
difficulty penetrating against the Yale bound Anthony Dallier. This all changed
in the second half as Iverson was seen finishing on the break, hitting short
jump shots, getting to the free throw line, and even hitting an eighteen foot
step back jump shot. With the game on the line, Iverson could not be contained
in isolation situations.
Daniel Dixon, 6’5 2013 SG Fishburne Military School: The
former Northern Virginia All-Region selection and William and Mary commit
turned some heads with his performance against NMH. With Iverson struggling in
the first half, Dixon showed off his skill set by using his quickness to create
jump shots for himself along with several drives to the basket. Dixon, and
current Tribe guard Marcus Thornton should provide William and Mary athleticism
in the backcourt that has not been seen in Williamsburg in recent years.
Dayshon Smith, 6’2” 2013 PG Putnam Science Academy: Smith
was right up there with Rozier for player of the day. Smith was unstoppable
with the ball in his hands and had the crowd abuzz Friday evening. Along with
his forays into the paint, Smith also threw down an impressive one handed
alley-oop that got the crowd out of its seat. This would have been the dunk of
the day if it were not for Aaric Armstead of La Jolla Prep (see below).
Goodluck Okonoboh, 6’9’ 2014 C Wilbraham & Monson: Okonoboh
is easily compared to Nerlens Noel with his unique flat top and ability to
block shots and he certainly did his best Noel impression on the first day.
Okonoboh was not just blocking shots in the first half; he was almost playing
volleyball with them. After a few of these monstrous blocks, Okonoboh was soon
affecting shots even when they were not blocked. While he put on a dominating
defensive performance, Okonoboh still showed that he is raw on the offensive
end with several misses down low and a lack of a go to post move. Despite this,
he has shown improvement from the previous high school and AAU seasons.
Okonoboh hit a key basket in the final minute and then made the game winning lay-up.
Players to keep an eye on:
Luis David Montero, 6’5” 2015 SG Wilbraham & Monson:
Montero was extremely impressive for only being a sophomore. A very long and
lean, 6’5” Montero hit several three pointers and looked comfortable playing on
the wing and bringing the ball up the court. He also used his length to finish
in traffic. Montero picked up a technical foul while guarding Dayshon Smith and
will need to work on keeping his emotions in check as he goes forward.
Mustapha Heron, 6’5” 2016 SF Wilbraham & Monson: If you
didn’t know who Heron was you would probably think that he was a junior or
senior. Heron played a key part during his team’s come from behind victory and
even did a respectable job guarding Smith in the second half. Heron already has
the athletic ability and his confidence is sure to grow over the years.
Dunk of the Day:
Aaric Armstead, 6’5” 2013 SG La Jolla Prep: Formerly a
Chicago star at Hales Franciscan and an all-state selection in California as a
senior, Armstead is now at La Jolla Prep and threw down the dunk of the day:
Game to Watch:
New Hampton
vs. Hargrave: Indiana commit Noah Vonleh goes up against the Louisville duo of
Hargrave.
No comments:
Post a Comment