National Prep Showcase: Day 1 Recap

Each year the start of high school basketball is marked by the National Prep Showcase held at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. On Friday morning at 10:30am the 2013-14 season kicked off in front of a variety of college coaches featuring prep school powers from New England, the East Coast, and even Spain. 

Most Impressive Player:

Tremont Waters, 5’10”, PG, South Kent School (CT), 2017

Freshman Sensation

In a day filled watching prep school players that were more often than not in their 5th year of school leave it to a young freshman to make the biggest impression. The Prep Showcase preview from the New England Recruiting Report noted that Waters “is widely projected to be among the top freshmen in the entire country.” After one game of action it’s safe to say that sentence is fairly accurate. Waters came off the bench for South Kent and quickly showed poise beyond his years along with a deft ability to handle the ball. He knocked in a three-pointer from the wing and showed that he could compete against the older, stronger, and taller players as well. With his team facing a double digit deficit, Waters went off in the second half. He started his run with a nice stop and go hesitation move in the lane for a five foot floater and then followed that up with two free throws a possession or two later. After that, Waters got hot from beyond the arc and hit deep three’s from both the left and right wing and then added another three from the left wing as he got fouled. With the game neck and neck, Waters added in a driving lay-up and floater for good measure. Overall, the freshman finished with 26 points on 8-14 shooting and 5-10 from behind the arc. While just beginning high school he showed range on his jumper, ball-handling skills, a floater, and athleticism. One thing that stuck out about Waters was his over-sized feet given his 5’10” height. Already a terror on the court, Waters could be deadly if he continues to grow. In his first major tournament, it didn’t take long for Waters to introduce himself to a host of college coaches playing in his hometown of New Haven. 

The Foreigners:

Earlier in the week two surprise commitments came to Louisville and Pittsburgh via the Canarias Basketball Academy (CBA) in Las Palmas, Spain. While not much was known about the players who committed or the team they came from it certainly didn’t take long to realize they possessed a fair amount of height.

Matz Stockman, 7’2”, C, 2014, Louisville

Stockman is a 7’2”, 240 pound center from Norway that gave his commitment to the Louisville Cardinals earlier in the week. Going up against a tough, although shorter Massanutten Military Academy team, Stockman finished with 14 points on 6-6 shooting. He ran the floor well for a big guy and competed hard every play, sometimes getting under the skin of his opponent. Stockman worked to establish a strong post presence on every possession despite his frail frame. Upon catching the ball in the post he showed off several nice post moves which ended with a variety of left hand finishes. Stockman only played in four minute spurts throughout the game and finished with just one rebound in 20+ minutes. While he shot 100% from the field, he was not able to make a move to his right side and also had slow reactions at times. Given his size it will be interesting to see how Stockman develops over the years but it’s clear that he is already fundamentally sound and will provide a large body for Pitino and the Cardinals.

Shaquille Doorson, 6’11”, 270, C, Pittsburgh

Doorson already sports a college ready body and is much more advanced than his future Louisville rival but his skills are still a few years away. The Holland native ran the court and rebounded aggressively finishing with four rebounds in seven minutes. The size and strength are there but it will take him a bit longer than Stockman to contribute in the ACC.

Michal Cekovsky, 7’0”, 220, F/C

Cekovsky is the piece of the CBA towers that remains uncommitted, but he might be the one that can contribute the most at a college program early on. In 26 minutes he finished with 12 points on 5-6 shooting and 10 rebounds. He displayed a jump hook in the second half and then followed that up with a 15 foot jump shot. He missed his only three but also added on three steals. Expect all of the college coaches in attendance to inquire of the 7-footer from Slovakia.

Most Exciting Player:

Demontrae Jefferson, 5’7”, PG, Believe Prep Academy (SC), 2015

The Milwaukee native played a stellar and under control first half for his prep team and entertained the crowd as well. Jefferson scored 14 first half points which included a three from the wing along with several tough drives to the basket and fast break lay-ups. Sometimes Jefferson can get a bit out of control and jack up too many shots or turn the ball over too many times, but in a structured setting the good Jefferson came out. Not only was he the high scorer as his team jumped out to an early lead but he also distributed the ball to his teammates for easy shots. In the second half, Jefferson had the highlight of the day as he attacked the basket from the right side on the break turned his defender around with a fake and then gave the ball up to another Milwaukee native in David Burrell for the two-hand slam.

Top Shooter:

Robert Harris III, 6’6”, SG, Fishburne Military School (VA), 2014, Kansas State

Thwack, thwack, thwack. That was the sound of the net when Harris was raining three’s at the start of his evening game. The future Wildcat couldn’t miss and hit four shots from outside early on. After the initial barrage, Harris went quiet for awhile but eventually added in a deep jumper from 17 feet. On his shots, he had perfect rotation and a quick release which will serve him well against quicker defenders than those guarding him tonight. He ended the game with 23 points.

Best Effort(s) in a Losing Cause:

Despite a loss to South Kent and freshman Tremont Waters, three players from Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, FL stood out. Western Kentucky commitment D.J. Clayton was on fire from deep as he hit several pull-up three’s in the second half. He finished with 22 points on 4-5 shooting from outside the arc. 6’9” Keondre Dew put together a solid effort and finished with a double-double. He went 9-16 from the field for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile point guard Reggie Reid consistently split the defense for floaters and open looks for teammates. The trio was clicking in the first half, but couldn’t hold off the point barrage from Waters.

Strongest Player:

Rashard Kelly, 6’7”, F, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), 2014, Wichita State

The Shockers have themselves a player in Kelly. The 6’7” forward was a solid player over the summer for his DC Assault AAU team and he continued that play in one of the early games. With his strength advantage Kelly scored in the paint and off drives to the basket as his team cruised to a 92-73 victory. Kelly ended the game with 18 points and 9 rebounds.

College Coaches in Attendance:

Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), assistant coaches from Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Colorado, Penn State, Hofstra, Wagner, Drexel, Pacific, St. Peter’s, Miami (OH), George Washington, and many others. 

Famous Celebrities:

Darryl Strawberry was in attendance to watch his son Jordan play.