2010 National Prep Showcase – Saturday Notes

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The second day of action at the National Prep Showcase was a full one with eight games on tap. It started with a pair of dandies and saw another great matchup later, but the biggest news of the day involved an off-court matter. We’ll get to that soon enough, but first we’ll look at some numbers.

Saturday Scoreboard

North Bridgton (ME) Bridgton Academy 73, Fork Union (VA) Military Academy 72

Lanham (MD) Princeton Day School 91, Oakdale (CT) St. Thomas More 87 (OT)

Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy 86, New Hampton (NH) Prep 75

Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy 80, Waynesboro (VA) Fishburne Military Academy 55

South Kent (CT) School 62, LaPorte (IN) La Lumiere School 44

Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep 87, Phoenix (AZ) Westwind Prep 81

Southboro (MA) St. Mark’s 91, Lee (ME) Academy 74

Saltsburg (PA) Kiski School 92, Winchendon (MA) School 83

Honor Roll

Robet Brown, Hargrave Military Academy: 25 points, 15 rebounds

Andre Drummond, St. Thomas More: 22 points on 11-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, 6 blocks

Kiwi Gardner, Westwind Prep: 26 points, 6 assists

John Green, Westwind Prep: 19 points, 10 rebounds

Stefan Jankovic, Kiski School: 25 points, 8 rebounds

Jordan Laguerre, New Hampton Prep: 23 points on 10-18 shooting, 6 rebounds

Todd Mayo, Notre Dame Prep: 26 points on 12-16 shooting, 7 rebounds

Alex Murphy, St. Mark’s: 18 points, 17 rebounds

Kareem Storey, Princeton Day School: 31 points, 7 rebounds

Kaleb Tarczewski, St. Mark’s: 25 points, 10 rebounds

Birch to Pittsburgh a Year Early

Just as his Notre Dame Prep team was tipping off against Westwind Prep, news broke that Khem Birch would re-classify into the class of 2011 and had signed with Pittsburgh, where he committed earlier in the fall. Needless to say, there was plenty of buzz about it as pretty much everyone in the building knew about it.

The Canadian big man is a big-time talent, and an early arrival to Pittsburgh won’t change that. He’ll bolster a solid recruiting class that aside from him is much like others the Panthers have had in that it isn’t loaded with big-time talent, but rather solid players who fit Jamie Dixon’s style and who he can coach into better players. If Dixon has that same effect on Birch, he’ll be in the NBA for a while after he is done with college.

Birch didn’t star in the game, as teammate Todd Mayo (6’3″ Sr. SG, Huntington (WV)) was the star in Notre Dame’s win over a tough Westwind Prep team. But he had his moments and doesn’t need to fill a stat sheet to impact a game.

Canty Carries Bridgton in Exciting Opener

The opening game of the day can be a snoozer in terms of the crowd turnout, especially when it’s at 9 a.m. But Fork Union and Bridgton Academy didn’t have one of those, although at first it looked like it might be as Fork Union seemed ready to blow Bridgton out. Things changed later, and much of it was due to Bridgton’s point guard.

Kareem Canty (6’0″ Jr. PG, Lexington (NY)) had a nice spring playing with his travel team, winning several tournaments. That helped rise his stock, but his play this weekend helped even more, especially after he came up big late in his team’s win over Fork Union Military Academy to open up Saturday. Canty scored 20 points, including 9-11 from the free throw line, but it was in the final minute that he earned his keep. He hit a big mid-range jumper while getting fouled to put his team up by two, then hit free throws in the final seconds that won the game for Bridgton.

The chatter has been that Canty’s recruitment is on the rise, but it shouldn’t get past the mid-major level. He’s not jet-quick and hasn’t shown himself to be the best playmaker, and while he has toughness going for him that alone won’t make up for the position deficiencies. Since he has now moved back into the class of 2012, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that he improves enough to truly be at a high-major level, but from what he’s shown up to now that seems like a stretch.

Point Guard is the Storey for Princeton Day

Chris Chaney can coach. That should be known by now, given his success, but because he often coached teams loaded with big-time talent, he might not get the credit he deserves. Now that he’s at Princeton Day School and with a less talented team, he might get just that. Considering he knocked off teams coached by Jere Quinn and his son this weekend, that might not be far behind. And he did in part on the back of his point guard.

Kareem Storey (6’0″ Sr. PG, Baltimore (MD)) impressed on Friday night, but not like he did on Saturday in Princeton Day’s win. He scored 31 points and grabbed seven rebounds from the point guard spot, and although he didn’t pile up the assists ran the show capably. Storey had already impressed by showing a great motor and good quickness, but he was one of the best players on Saturday as he led his team to a win.

Storey came up big late in the game as Princeton Day sent the game to overtime and then held on in the extra session. He made some strong finishes at the basket, including when he got fouled, and as if that wasn’t enough, he was a threat when not in the lane as he was 4-7 on three-pointers.

Storey is a nice mid-major prospect. He is more of a scorer than a playmaker, but that might be different on a team with more and better scoring options. His motor and competitiveness will go a long way in being a better player.

Hargrave Most Impressive

There wasn’t a more impressive team the first two days than Hargrave Military Academy. They brought a team full of athletes on the perimeter, and add that to Kevin Keatts’ coaching and you get two convincing victories this weekend with Sunday’s 86-75 win over New Hampton Prep.

The most impressive player on Saturday was Robert Brown (6’5″ Sr. SG, Clermont (FL)). An athletic wing with a solid body, Brown went for 25 points and 15 rebounds, and simply put, he was all over the court. Brown is a scorer, getting layups, stopping and popping from about foul line distance and getting stickbacks.

But he had plenty of help, whether it was North Carolina-bound shooter P.J. Hairston (6’6″ Sr. SG-SF, Greensboro (NC)), aggressive wing Dez Wells (6’5″ Sr. SF, Garner (NC)), underrated and steady floor leader Marquis Rankin (6’1″ Sr. PG, Charlotte (NC)) or Craig Ponder (6’1″ Sr. SG, Bluefield (WV)). Hairston added 17 but was just 2-7 from long range after a 5-9 showing on Friday. Wells is a well-built athlete who is simply too strong for other wings and will be a very good addition for Xavier. Rankin is headed to Virginia Tech and will give Seth Greenberg an athletic point guard who defends very well and runs the team. Ponder comes in off the bench and gives them a plus athlete with some shooting range, and he’ll be a nice addition for UNC Wilmington as Buzz Peterson tries to rebuild them.

South Kent Bounces Back

Kelvin Jefferson, like many coaches at all levels, has been talking about defense since before the season began. The South Kent mentor has tried to pound home the message about its importance. So after his team gave up 115 points on Friday, he wasn’t saying anything to his team that he had not already said.

Consider the message finally received.

Saturday, the Cardinals held La Lumiere School to 32.1 percent from the field, posting identical numbers in each half. They also forced 21 turnovers and capitalized on them enough to take home a 62-44 win. After six players scored in double figures in Friday’s loss to Hargrave Military Academy, only two did it this time – but that was plenty. Maurice Harkless (6’7″ Sr. SF, Jamaica (NY)) had 17, two coming on a dunk that got everyone buzzing, and Ricardo Ledo (6’6″ Jr. SG-SF, Providence (RI)) added 13.

With better defense, the Cardinals got a win. If the message was truly received, a few more wins are ahead given this team’s talent.

Big Men Carry St. Mark’s While Freshman Impresses

St. Mark’s has become known for their big men in recent years. The Lions have typically be a team with no shortage of size, and this season’s team is no different. Even with Jarred Reuter (6’8″ Fr. PF, Rochester (MA)) sitting due to a foot injury, the Lions had an imposing front line for Saturday’s contest with Lee Academy with Alex Murphy (6’9″ Jr. SF-PF, Wakefield (RI)) and Kaleb Tarczewski (7’0″ Jr. C, Claremont (NH)).

Murphy (18 points, 17 rebounds) and Tarczewski (25 points, 10 rebounds) did their part, as expected. Murphy got out in transition often, while Tarczewski was a force inside as usual when he got the ball. But the player who grabbed a lot of attention was one of their younger ones, Kevin Zabo (6’2″ Fr. PG, Ottawa (Ont.)).

Zabo didn’t put up big numbers; in fact, he didn’t even have an assist on the night. But he penetrated all night, getting in the lane to make things happen, and he didn’t look like he was new to the game by a long shot. He impressed at open gyms earlier in the fall, but that’s a different setting than game action. He’s played just one game in his high school career, but it wasn’t a bad way to start and get on a few people’s radars.

Overshadowed Forward Leads Kiski

If you watch the Kiski School, you can’t help but noticed a couple of players. Brothers Sim Bhullar (7’4″ Jr. C, Toronto (Ont.)) and Tanveer Bhullar (7’3″ So. C, Toronto (Ont.)) are both huge, hulking post presences for their team, and both have become fairly well-known in basketball circles. The unfortunate thing is that you also can’t help but notice that neither is very good, as they don’t have much endurance and are slow getting up and down the floor.

But watch this team play, and before long you’ll also notice another Canadian import, Stefan Jankovic (6’10″ Jr. PF, Missisauga (Ont.)), the best prospect on the team. Jankovic has a nice skill set as a face-up power forward, including good ball skills. He competes while he’s on the court, and used his length nicely on one play to steal a cross-court pass.

The Bhullars didn’t put up bad numbers, including Sim as he had 21 points and eight boards, but it was Jankovic who impressed the most as he had 25 points and eight rebounds and did it in a few ways. He also got some key baskets and free throws late as his team finished off a big rally after they were down for a good deal of the game.