National Prep Showcase – Sunday Notes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The 2009 National Prep Showcase is in the books.  It concluded with six games on Sunday that included the only overtime game of the weekend and two buzzer-beaters, as well as a successful return to game action for one senior.

Stay tuned for one more column with general notes on the weekend.

Sunday Scoreboard

Newark (NJ) NIA School 103, Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy 99 (OT)

North Bridgton (ME) Bridgton Academy 71, Tilton (NH) School 70

Northfield (MA) Mount Hermon 69, Pittsfield (ME) Maine Central Institute 54

South Kent (CT) School 76, Montreal (Que.) Champlain St. Lambert 75

New Hampton (NH) Prep 81, Kiski (PA) School 48

Blairstown (NJ) Blair Academy 78, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s School 67

Honor Roll

Ibrahim Appiah, Champlain St. Lambert: 14 points, 15 rebounds

Yann Charles, Champlain St. Lambert: 27 points, 6 rebounds

Gerard Coleman, Tilton School: 25 points

Melvin Ejim, Brewster Academy: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocked shots

Hector Harold, Northfield Mount Hermon: 32 points on 10-18 shooting, 6-8 on three-pointers

Alexander Harris, Bridgton Academy: 24 points

Hakeem Harris, Blair Academy: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists

Rameel Johnson, NIA School: 30 points, 7 rebounds

Ashton Khan, Brewster Academy: 23 points on 10-15 shooting, 5 assists

Ricardo Ledo, St. Andrew’s School: 27 points, 6 rebounds

Ryan Lubreski, Blair Academy: 26 points on 7-10 shooting, 5-6 on three-pointers, 8 rebounds

J.J. Moore, South Kent School: 27 points on 10-17 shooting

NIA Completes Comeback, Works Overtime Successfully

Brewster Academy had a 10-point halftime lead over the NIA School in Sunday’s opener and was clearly the more talented team.  But gradually, the Eagles rallied in the second half and eventually forced overtime.  In the extra session, the Eagles grabbed the early momentum and held on for a 103-99 win.

The Eagles, made up of players from New Jersey and the New York City area, have their share of talent.  They had six players reach double figures in this one, led by scoring guard Rameel Johnson (6’2″ Sr. SG, Newark (NJ)) with 30 on 13-16 shooting.  Johnson found a way to get to the basket in both of their games this weekend.  Kelvin Amayo (6’4″ Sr. SG, Hillside (NJ)) and Isaiah Williams (6’8″ Sr. SF, Newark (NJ)) each added 14 points, with Amayo adding four assists.  Amayo already had some buzz, while Williams may have opened up some eyes with his play here and especially where he keyed a late rally in this game.  Shaquille Thomas (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Montclair (NJ)) had 11 points and six rebounds, and likely has the most upside of anyone on the team.  He’s long and a baby physically, athletic and has enough ball skills right now to suggest he could one day play small forward if he can keep improving.

Wiggins, Bridgton Steal One

For much of the second game of the day, Tilton looked to be in position to win.  Although the game went back and forth, Tilton led by four at the break, held Bridgton around the 40 percent mark from the field for the game and also shot over 53 percent from the field in the second half.  Gerard Coleman and Georges Niang (6’7″ So. PF, Methuen (MA)) had big days, with Niang going 9-12 from the field in his 22-point effort as they were able to get him the ball in scoring position often.  Then came the final seconds.

After Tilton missed a free throw, Seton Hall-bound Dashaun Wiggins (6’2″ Sr. SG, Bronx (NY)), who a short time earlier had a shot blocked by Goodluck Okonoboh (6’6″ Fr. PF, Boston (MA)), Tilton’s talented freshman post player, got the rebound and headed up the floor.  He got around halfcourt and hoisted up a shot before the buzzer that went right through the net for a 71-70 win.

Wiggins is known for being a scorer, and he finished the game with 17 points on 7-15 shooting.  Early on, he couldn’t get untracked, and he didn’t look like a major factor.  His backcourt mate, Alexander Harris (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, Richmond (CA)), had the big game with 24 points on 9-14 shooting.  Harris impressed on both days despite a bad shooting performance on Saturday, as he looked better than his stat line might imply.

Harold Gets Hot

When his shots are going, Hector Harold (6’7″ Sr. SF, Pasadena (CA)) is a different player.  Though he’s skilled and a plus athlete, the Pepperdine-bound wing hasn’t always been the best at doing things other than scoring when his shots aren’t falling.  On Sunday, his shot was going all day and that made all the difference.

Harold went for 32 points on 10-18 shooting, including a scorching 6-8 from long range.  He scored 16 in each half, and when he wasn’t scoring he was making a lot of plays at each end.  Harold added five rebounds and three steals and also helped hold down MCI forward Steve Roundree (6’7″ Sr. SF, Jacksonville (FL)), who had a big game just a night earlier but had just six points in this one.

With his big effort, Northfield Mount Hermon went 2-0 on the weekend and has started off well once again.

South Kent Narrowly Wins Another

In contrast to their win on Friday, South Kent started fast on Sunday before going into a funk.  The end result was the same, although it was a little closer this time around and it took a buzzer-beater off an inbound pass to win it.

Champlain St. Lambert grabbed the lead before the first half was out and appeared ready to break away in the second half.  They opened up a double-digit lead, but the Cardinals made their way back to get within one in the final seconds.  Inbounding from underneath the basket, they got the ball to a wide-open Nemanja Djurisic (6’8″ Sr. PF, Podgorica (Montenegro)), who put it in as time expired for the win.

While most will remember the game-winning basket by Djurisic, it was just the last part of a fine couple of games in New Haven.  He finished with 12 points and six rebounds to go along with three steals after he posted a double-double on Friday.

Welcome Back to the Court

It had been a while since the last time Hakeem Harris was on a basketball court in game action.  In fact, it had been over five months for Blair Academy’s senior point guard, as he missed the latter part of June and all of July after being injured in a frightening accident where the parked car he was sitting in was hit by a drunk driver going at a fast speed.  Fortunately, he had just a relatively minor injury, but there were no chances to be taken with it during July.

Harris is still bothered by a nagging knee injury he suffered later, as he has a form of tendonitis that will only get better with rest.  But he didn’t look like he was banged up in the final game of the event on Sunday night, as he posted a double-double in leading his team to victory over St. Andrew’s.

This season’s team will lean heavily on Harris’ senior leadership after the graduation of Austin Johnson and several other key players.  Harris was finding shooters like Ryan Lubreski and Joe Hart (6’4″ So. SG, Essex (England)) all night long when he wasn’t scoring.  Although seniors comprise two-thirds of the roster, there’s no question whose team this is.

An excellent student, Harris briefly committed to Columbia but had a quick change of heart.  He is now wide open in his recruitment, and as academics will be paramount, Patriot and Ivy schools seem the most likely possibilities.

Other Notes

• While he’s already been much-hyped and casual fans will instantly expect a lot because of the family connection, it was clear on Sunday that Tilton freshman Goodluck Okonoboh (6’6″ Fr. PF, Boston (MA)) has a ways to go. The cousin of Connecticut freshman Alex Oriakhi, he had eight rebounds, but got nothing going offensively and lost a few balls, which could lead one to ask about his hands.

• Brady Heslip (6’1″ Sr. PG, Burlington (Ont.)) shot the ball better in New Hampton’s win over the Kiski School on Sunday. He went 4-6, all from long range, en route to 12 points. Teammate Evan Smotrcyz (6’9″ Sr. SF, Reading (MA)) got off to a hot start and finished with 13 points on 5-6 shooting, making all three from long range.

• During the first half of the last game, St. Andrew’s guard Michael Carter-Williams (6’4″ Jr. SG, Hamilton (MA)) went down with what looked like a bad hip injury. He was clearly in a lot of pain and had to be helped behind the bench and eventually off the court.

• Carter-Williams’ teammate, Youri Dascy (6’7″ Sr. PF, Fall River (MA)), had perhaps the quietest 13 points on 6-7 shooting you’ll ever see. In all honesty, it was hard to tell he was even out there as he seemed like a non-factor.