National Prep Showcase: Day 1

Each year the National Prep Showcase brings in the high school basketball season. A three day tournament held at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT brings many of the top prep powers together. College coaches gather in hope of finding an unknown prospect and talented players try to get that next offer. The 2014 kicked off with an overtime game won by Notre Dame Prep and continued with six more games throughout the day. 

Top Players:

Danjel Purifoy, 6’7”, SF, Hargrave Military Academy, 2015, Auburn

Purifoy was a man amongst boys in his first game of the Prep Showcase. Known for his physical strength and slashing abilities, Purifoy played to these attributes early on. With a powerful right hand dribble, Purifoy attacked the basket consistently. In the second half, he hit back to back deep three’s showing a new look to his game. Next year Purifoy will head to Auburn and there is no doubt that he will be an impact player from the get go. He finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds on 10-19 shooting and 4-7 from three.

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

Waters put his name on the map at this tournament last year with clutch shooting. This year, South Kent School belonged to the older and more confident Waters. Despite just being a diminutive sophomore, Waters controlled the ball and the game for South Kent. Not the quickest of guards, Waters uses hesitation dribbles and constant pace changes to get into the lane for lay-ups or assists. In the first half he hit a three but also had a propensity to force shots at times with his increased role. He finished 1-7 from behind the arc and was a bit careless at times getting called for a carry in the second half. For the game Waters finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 turnovers on 6-19 shooting.

Trey Grundy, 6’8”, PF, Hargrave, 2015, UNC Wilmington

A strong and powerful forward, the UNC Wilmington commit put together a strong game with 21 points and 8 rebounds on 9-13 shooting. Grundy finished down low and also attacked the basket off the dribble from the high post. He was often over-shadowed in AAU play and that trend continues on a talented Hargrave team, but on Friday Grundy was a dominant force around the basket.  

Omari Spellman, 6’8”, PF, MacDuffie, 2016

A Kennedy Meeks look alike, Spellman put up 21 points and 8 rebounds in a losing effort. Looking slimmer than when he was at the Global Challenge, Spellman beat his man off the dribble several times in the low post for baskets. While his three point shot was off, his soft touch was on display when his coach selected him to shoot any technical fouls that came up throughout the course of the game. Spellman still gets winded a little too easy and just like Meeks, will need to continue to work on his body.

Kealen Ives, 5’9”, PG, Putnam Science Academy, 2015, Rider

In all of the Friday games, Ives was the best coach on the floor. He quickly picked up the opponents half-court and out-of-bounds sets and instructed his teammates where to go. He also stepped up his scoring in the second half with several crucial late baskets to push his team to a victory. Ives hit several pull-up jump shots from 15 feet and also added in a three off the dribble finishing with 14 points, 5 assists, and 0 turnovers. 

Andrew Robinson, 6’6”, SG, Putnam Science Academy, 2015, Quinnipiac

Robinson was lighting up the arc in the second to last game. He hit three first half three’s against IMG Academy and then added two more in the second half. Robinson preferred letting it fly from the wings and had range several feet beyond the arc. In addition, Robinson showed a great vertical when spotting up for the deep outside shots. He also proved much more than a shooter with athleticism and a quick first step to get to the basket. 

Quadree Smith, 6’7”, PF, IMG Academy, 2015

Smith used to play for Paul VI in Fairfax, VA and was a steadily improving big man on a talented team. Despite being undersized for his position, Smith has always used his body well to create space and has soft hands and light feet around the basket. Smith came off the bench for IMG and was a difference maker finishing with a monster double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds.

Left Wanting More:

Steven Enoch, 6’8”, PF, St. Thomas Moore, 2015, UCONN

Talented big man Steven Enoch blew up in the spring and summer and didn’t take long committing to his hometown UConn Huskies once the offer came. In his early afternoon game, Enoch started the game with a pretty three from the right wing. Showing good body control and agility it looked like Enoch was set to dominate throughout the game. Unfortunately foul trouble and a shortness of breath hampered his ability. Not in tip top shape, Enoch was forced to come out for continuous breathers when he wasn’t in foul trouble. He certainly has the size and skill to dominate, but Enoch did not perform up to his high potential on Friday. He’ll have another shot as St. Thomas Moore has the first game of the morning on Saturday. 

Biggest Mismatch:

Northfield Mount Hermon vs. Lee Academy

The fifth of seven games was over just a few minutes in. Northfield Mount Hermon jumped to a quick 15-2 lead which was stretched to a 41-16 halftime lead. It didn’t matter that senior forward Josh Sharma (Stanford) was out with a fractured wrist as the four out one in offense flowed seamlessly. Northwestern bound Aaron Falzon rained three’s from well beyond the NBA arc and the two powerful guard in senior Jashanti Allen and senior Dequon Ervin penetrated at will. 6’10” Collin McManus (Penn) also got into the action with a fundamental left hand hook shot. 

Other Notes:

Leroy Butts, from the DC area has landed at Elev8te prep in Florida after stints at Bishop O’Connell (VA) and Riverdale Baptist (MD). In the first half, Butts hit a nice one footed fade-away over a smaller defender but was relatively quiet after that. Butts lives in the mid-range and while he caught several passes in the high post he didn’t affect the game as expected. 

Future Ole Miss guard JT Esobar isn’t afraid to let the outside shots fly. The 6’0” guard from Florida scored 18 points in a losing effort and was more than just an outside shooter as he crashed the boards on numerous possessions. 

Junior guard Christian Vital from South Kent finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and was the spark plug off the bench in a win. His defensive intensity also frustrated the opposing guards. 

Kamau Stokes from Fork Union Military Academy led the way on Day 1 with 33 points on 9-14 shooting.

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.