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| Wednesday, April 25 |
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| Tournament brings top prep players together By David Benezra and Mark Mayemura Special to ESPN.com | |||
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There is nothing like being in New England for the Fall. However, in our case, it was for the snowfall. But timing is everything and we were lucky that we missed a huge storm that dumped a ton of snow in New England and points east on Tuesday, while we arrived late evening on Wednesday, February 7, in Hartford.
Our destination? Worcester (that's pronounced "woo-stuh," not "woo-ster," and certainly not "war-cester,") in Massachusetts. More specifically, Worcester Academy, where the 2001 National Prep School Invitational, featuring most of the better prep teams in the east were playing a three day tournament from February 9-11.
Talented players, unsigned seniors, foreign players and promising underclassmen made us decide to brave the elements and attend this excellent tourney hosted by Mike Procopio. Despite a cancellation, 16 teams of varying levels and talent did make it to Worcester.
The most interesting team on view was Christian Faith Center out of North Carolina. Another emerging prep school power from North Carolina, featuring 5-11 sophomore Dewayne Green, a native of Saginaw, Mich., who put on a spectacular show, as he catapulted himself into the upper ranks of the nation's top sophomores. Green is a scoring point guard. He has a great first step and another gear he can go to off of that. He can handle and really shoot the ball. In other words, it will be hard to dislodge him from the Top 25 plateau we have put him at.
CFC had to actually play back to back games on Saturday, its third game in less than 24 hours, and Green was just as good the second time around as he was for the "early bird special" 8:30 a.m. opening game.
The top junior at the tournament was 6-10 Sani Ibrahim (The Winchendon School/Winchendon, MA). Ibrahim is one of the nation's top 5 juniors and is the most skilled big man in the class. Ibrahim was almost unconscious against always tough New Hampton (N.H.), as he hit just about everything he put up. Ibrahim hit baseline jumpers, drop step dunks, jump hooks in the paint, elbow jumpers, you name it. He was feeling it so much he even tried to bank in an 18' jump hook, that almost went. He really has a marvelous touch and there was nothing New Hampton could do about it.
The host school, Worcester Academy (Mass.) featured 5 very talented underclassmen, which is notable since they are usually not found in such numbers on the rosters of the "A" division New England prep schools.
Two are emerging juniors. 6-8 Daryl Pegram and 6-3 Wes Wardrop are California exports who seem to be thriving under the tutelage of head coach Mo Cassara, a rising star who seems destined to be a very successful college coach. Pegram, a native of San Bernardino, Calif., is a thin combo forward. He has really improved his shooting and when Worcester was trying to come back from an eight-point deficit late in their first game against New Hampton, Cassara called back to back plays that had Pegram shooting a three (he made the first, missed the second).
Wardrop, a native of Anaheim, Calif., is a true combo guard. Very comfortable handling the ball, he came in known as a shooter but had a good game against New Hampton and a great first half against Proctor Academy (N.H.) in which he penetrated their pressure defense for 17 first half points. Wardrop has really developed into an exceptional passer and was impressive feeding the post for easy Worcester buckets; additionally, Wardrop is an excellent defender and is used by Cassara as a stopper. Both attracted a lot of attention at this event.
That leaves the three sophomores. Sam Kaplan, 6-6, 220 pounds, can play inside and also step outside and shoot the ball. Point guard Stevie Hailey had a big tourney and showed his skill with the ball. Hailey's strong handle gives him the ability to get into the paint almost at will. At 6-7, leaper and big time athlete Nick Stafford has the most upside of all the underclassmen. He has a tremendously long wingspan and really has a nose for the offensive glass, in addition to being a great shot blocker. If Stafford grows about two more inches he will have his pick of schools.
Another team with a huge complement of underclassmen and a bright future is St. Andrew's (Barrington, Rhode Island). At times, they put three freshmen on the floor. 6-7 sophomore Demetrius Nichols will be the man for this up and coming team. Nichols is an athletic wing forward, more comfortable facing up than playing with his back to the basket and their outstanding coach, Mike Hart, doesn't cover his eyes when he lines one up from behind the arc.
There were several other talented underclassmen at this prestigious gathering of some of the top schools in prepdom. A rare matchup between two big men, 6-9 junior Torin Francis (Tabor Academy/Braintree, Mass.) and 6-9 junior Akin Akingbala (Brunswick Prep/Greenwich, Conn.). Francis has more hype, being ranked very high on most evaluator's lists. He has a good body and a nice shooting touch and is starting to play a little more aggressively. Akingbala's offensive game is not quite as developed, but he is more active and plays a more physical style than Francis.
Akingbala showed some good moves in the post, but it was on defense where he made his impact felt -- particularly against Francis. Akingbala threw at least five of Francis' shots and completely closed down the lane. Akingbala looks like he has the toughness and mobility to play the low post or power forward spot at the next level and his stock will go up rapidly. With a dearth of quality big men in the class, Francis will not suffer, but he clearly has to be much more aggressive and learn how to finish stronger to be an effective power forward at the high major level. Both will be recruited nationally.
Junior Jack Jenkins (Proctor Academy/Andover, N.H.) has a power forward body at 6-6, good mobility and is a load to handle in the low block. He was the top prospect on a very feisty Proctor team that gave Worcester all they could handle before going down in a close one.
Junior Rashad McCants (New Hampton, N.H.) was the name on everybody's lips coming into the tourney. McCants had been putting up big numbers all season. McCants, a native of North Carolina, certainly has a very athletic body, one that looks like it would excel in the boxing ring, flying over the hurdles, or crushing someone on a safety blitz. While not fluid, he can shoot the ball and plays taller than his height and is effective around the basket. McCants played well for the most part, although he was MIA against Winchendon in the Saturday night semifinal, which New Hampton lost. McCants is athletic enough to play anywhere but needs to work on his first step if he wants to be an effective scorer for a high major program.
Highly hyped Deng Gai, a 6-9 senior from Milford Academy (Milford, Conn.), gets mixed reviews. Gai does have long arms and a knack for shot blocking as well as being a quick leaper who opened Milford's first game by dunking on four of the team's first six possessions. However, he seemed very distant from his teammates, and seemed like a mercenary, as he just put it up every time he touched it. He has talent, but as a thin four man will need to play with an enforcer at the next level. Has a little bow-wow in him but will definitely be going the high major route with his upside. The unsigned Gai was one of the reason why over 100 colleges, including St. John's, Connecticut and Kentucky, were at this three-day event.
As for other unsigned seniors, rangy 6-6 senior Kareem Grant (St. Thomas More/Oakdale, Conn.) looked good shooting three's from the wing and definitely rates as a rising senior. He was the most intriguing senior still available at the tournament. Issa Konara (Bridgton Academy/North Bridgton, Maine) is a versatile player. At 6-7, he can post up, hit the mid-range jumper and put it on the floor. He could also defend three positions.
High flyer Demario Eddins (The Winchendon School/Winchendon, Mass.), didn't take an outside shot outside of a free throw, but was effective slashing to the basket, drawing fouls and dunking. Dustin Hellenga brings a lot of energy as a wing for Winchendon on both ends of the floor. Charus Moore (Worcester Academy/Worcester, Mass.) was very effective with one and two bounce dribble power drives and in the low post. At 6-7, with his long arms and toughness, Moore drew a lot of attention as a combo forward.
The unsigned senior who looked like the best bet to impact was 6-1 point guard Eric Ferguson (Milford Academy/Milford, Conn.). While Gai was getting all the hype but due to fouls and bruises was getting little time, Ferguson, a native of Hempstead, New York, was busy taking his team to the final.
Most dominating player at the tournament? Forward Brandon Robinson (Notre Dame Academy/Fitchburg, MA), who is committed to Auburn. Robinson, 6-8, is a dynamic athlete who has never met a play he couldn't dunk on. Not only that, he hit a couple of threes, gloved everything that came even remotely near him and boarded. He is a big time athletic talent who will definitely impact for Auburn.
Most valuable player at the tournament? Milford's Ferguson. A very well-built guard who penetrated at will, but always under control and could really find people, Ferguson showed a lot of poise and carried his team when Gai went down and out early in the semifinal against St. Thomas More.
Verbal commitment One of the nation's top juniors, 6-9 Amare Stoudamire, (West Orange HS/Winter Garden, FL), has verbally committed to John Calipari and the Memphis Tigers. Stoudamire is limited offensively at this time, but has a big body and knows how to use it in rebounding and finishing around the basket. As a transfer coming back from a prep school in North Carolina, he was denied eligibility this year by the Florida High School Athletic Association, and is sitting out the season, just working out on his own. He will be at the adidas/ABCD camp this summer and will be playing for Travis King's Fastbreak club during the spring and summer. David Benezra and Mark Mayemura cover the national college basketball recruiting scene, both high school and junior college recruiting, at their Recruiting USA (www.recruitingusa.com) website. Call (818)783-2244 for subscription information.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | |
ALSO SEE Recruiting: Skipping school at what price? | |
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