WAYNE, N.J. – The transition from college basketball to the travel circuit always seems to unofficially begin with the Playaz Spring Fling, and that includes this year. The event now is broken up into three separate events in northern New Jersey, with this weekend featuring 14-under and 16-under teams.
The 14-under championship was not a very competitive game, as Team Scan ran out to an early lead and never looked back in an 81-50 rout of Virginia-based New Generation. They would lead by as many as 21 in the first half and later by 32 in the second half. Devonte Green (SG-SF, North Babylon (NY)) scored a game-high 20 points to lead five Team Scan players in double figures. Unique McLean (SG-SF, Brooklyn (NY)) was the tournament MVP, scoring 13 points in the final.
In the 16-under championship game, the host Playaz scored the first basket of the game. Team Takeover followed by scoring the next 11 points, and they led by double digits for much of the remainder of the half and led 50-34 at the break. The Playaz would cut the lead into single digits early in the second half, but Team Takeover had an answer and ran away with it, winning 89-67. Martinas Geben (6’8″ So. PF, Hagerstown (MD) St. Maria Goretti HS) capped a big weekend with 21 points to lead Team Takeover, while Greg Malinowski (6’3″ So. SG, Middleburg (VA) High) added 14 points. Tournament MVP Tre Campbell (6’1″ So. PG, Washington (DC) St. John’s HS) and Obinna Enechionya (6’8″ So. PF, St. James (MD) High) each added 12 points. Isiah Briscoe (6’2″ Fr. PG-SG, Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s) led the Playaz with a game-high 22 points in the losing effort.
Team Takeover won this event last year as a 15-under team, so they have had a nice run of success in this event of late.
Now, we take a look at some of the players who competed this weekend.
Bryce Aikens (SG, Randolph (NJ)) He’s a small guard, but may not be done growing and is athletic. Most of all, though, he can shoot, and showed it in the 14-under championship game as he scored 13 points on a variety of jumpers out to long range. One nice play was seeing him take one dribble and hit a shot off the bounce. He has yet to decide on a high school.
Phil Booth (6’3″ So. SG, Baltimore (MD) Mount St. Joseph HS) A solid glue guy, he handled the ball often and looks like he has a little bit of combo guard in him. He won’t wow you with anything, as he’s a plus athlete and doesn’t do any one thing exceedingly well, but he was very effective and did everything in the flow of the game and within the team concept.
Isiah Briscoe (6’2″ Fr. PG-SG, Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s) A very talented guard, he has a relatively mature body for his age and used it well to finish with contact all weekend. He’ll drive all day to the basket, although he showed a little touch from mid-range as well, and made a nice long bounce lead pass through the defense for a layup to demonstrate his passing ability. In short, he makes things happen on the court.
Noah Brown (6’2″ So. SG, Sparta (NJ) Pope John HS) A solid two-way player, he has a good body that can get better and is a plus athlete, although none of that will leap out at you. He drove and finished well, including with contact, handled the ball at times and did show some range on his jumper although that doesn’t look to be his forte. He also had a chase-down block on one play and showed a willingness to guard a good wing player.
Tre Campbell (6’1″ So. PG, Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS) The tournament MVP is a baby physically, but he’s very quick and competitive and sets the tone for his team. He made solid passes and scored in transition, at times beating the other team up the floor, and scored 17 points to help lead his team with the pool on the line.
Chase Daniels (6’7″ Jr. PF, New Haven (CT) Hillhouse HS) Although he has a little length, he wasn’t quite the factor he looks like he could be. At the offensive end, he didn’t show a lot of skills just yet, although he later hit a nice jump hook in a 14-point outing. He’ll be most remembered here for hitting a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer from midcourt early on Saturday.
Adonis Delarosa (6’10” So. C, Middle Village (NY) Christ the King HS) Wide-bodied post is a space-eater that has some potential. Not all of his weight is good weight, and he’s not the best at running the floor, so he’ll need to improve his conditioning. If he does that, the abilities he showed, like some post scoring ability and decent movement on the low block, will get better and he’ll be an even better prospect.
Obinna Enechionya (6’8″ So. PF, St. James (MD) High) Lanky post player got off to a nice start in a game on Saturday, but was never the same after two early fouls relegated him to the bench. He was very active and athletic, showing a touch on his jumper, and save for being too aggressive at times on defense he looks like he has good upside.
Rashard Figures (6’2″ So. SG, Hackensack (NJ) High) Shifty guard got off to a slow start in the semifinal on Sunday, but was much better in the second half and overtime as he helped his team into the championship game. He made some acrobatic layups and was quite effective driving, and kept the defense honest with a couple of three-pointers. Quick off his feet and with a thin upper body right now, he isn’t lacking upside.
Martinas Geben (6’8″ So. PF, Hagerstown (MD) St. Maria Goretti HS) A consistent presence for his team en route to the championship, he has a good frame and looks like a role player at first but did too much to really be classified as that. One of the best rebounders here at both ends, he got plenty of stickbacks while also shooting well out to long range off the catch. He capped off the big weekend with a stellar outing in the title game, which included a steal and breakaway dunk.
Devonte Green (SG-SF, North Babylon (NY)) If his play in the championship game is any indication, he’s certainly capable of putting up points, especially on shots from long range. The knock on him from this game is that at first glance, his feel for the game will need improvement. There’s some upside for him, and at this point he has not decided on a high school.
Zach Heeman (6’6″ So. PF, Mount Olive (NJ) High) Lefty post player doesn’t have the best body but had a good showing in a couple of games. He doesn’t have all good weight, but he moves and runs the floor better than you would expect and even got some transition chances. That said, he seemed to struggle against a more athletic post player, but he rebounded, looks fundamentally sound, can face the basket and seems to have good hands, so there’s a lot to like.
Ryan Izzo (So. SG-SF, Sparta (NJ) Pope John HS) Lefty wing was active and looked like a good complementary player on his team. He has a thin upper body, so he’ll have to get stronger, but he finished in traffic a couple of times and showed a little range on his jumper, scoring 14 points in a tough loss to start Saturday off.
Corbyn Jackson (6’6″ Jr. PF, Goochland (VA) High) Thick post player is a better athlete than he looks and used his body well to score inside. He scored on the post, including while getting fouled, often using his wide frame to get position. While he moves reasonably well, he could stand to improve there.
Tyrone Johnson (5’8″ So. PG, Brooklyn (NY) South Shore HS) A baby physically, he impressed with his passing but also looked like he can be a bit of a showman. Possessing a decent frame, he drove and finished with contact, but really made his mark passing, and on a team with a lot of others who could score that should be his job.
Terry Larrier (6’6″ So. SF-PF, Bronx (NY) Our Savior Lutheran) An active forward on the glass, he combined with Chris McCullough to help his team have a strong rebounding presence. He has some length and also showed a touch from mid-range at the offensive end.
Unique McLean (SG, Brooklyn (NY)) Very athletic guard can certainly get up off the ground, and he did that a few times as he got several breakaway dunks and an alley-oop off an inbounds pass. The 14-under MVP is left-handed and clearly more of a scorer than a shooter, but as athletic as he is right now he doesn’t need to take jumpers to score. He has yet to decide on a high school.
Chris McCullough (6’8″ So. PF, Bronx (NY) Salisbury School) One of the top prospects in the class of 2014, he didn’t seem into the game at times but was still effective, especially on the glass. He’s long and has long strides when running the floor, which he does very well, and he got stronger late in the game en route to 17 points and undoubtedly a double-digit rebound total. In addition, he’s a good, unselfish passer, and even when his motor didn’t seem to be running he was a presence on the boards.
Shavar Newkirk (5’11” So. PG, New York (NY) Cardinal Hayes HS) This floor leader was attacking often, leading to scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. In going for 19 points in a win on Saturday, he also knocked down a shot from long range and made a couple of nice passes. The one constant was that he was in attack mode with the ball.
Chris Robinson (6’2″ So. SG, Bronx (NY) Cardinal Hayes HS) Lanky guard showed some good offensive ability in a losing effort on Saturday, scoring 14 points. He drove aggressively and will use his left (off) hand both to dribble and try to finish, while showing a decent jump shot from mid-range.
Quadree Smith (6’6″ So. PF, Fairfax (VA) Paul VI Catholic HS) Undersized post player has a big body that is almost immovable off the low block. Although he ran the floor reasonably well, he could certainly stand to improve his conditioning, but he was also a good rebounder and made a couple of nice outlet passes. His offensive game certainly isn’t there yet, as evidenced in part by how he would unnecessarily put the ball on the floor under the basket.
Tom Sweeney (6’7″ So. PF, Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco HS) In helping his team to the championship game, he showed that he has some tools to be a nice face-up power forward. While his body has some maturing to do, especially the upper body, he got some offensive boards and stickbacks while showing a nice touch shooting from mid-range and long range. He scored 15 points in the semifinal game on a variety of jumpers, some at key junctures of the game.
Naim Thomas (5’11” So. PG, Poughkeepsie (NY) Stepinac HS) A solid passer at the point, he let others do the scoring while he was in his fair share of plays. Not the biggest factor in his team’s win, he nonetheless contributed without showing up much in the box score.
Marcus Townes (6’3″ Jr. SG, (NJ) Cardinal McCarrick HS) Well-built wing showed that he can handle and pass the ball, which helped since he played alongside a scoring point guard. He scored 16 points in the semifinal, often scoring on drives with an ability to finish near the basket.
Jesse Warech (So. SG, Montville (NJ) High) His body has a ways to go, but he shined with his shooting in a couple of Saturday games. He opened the day with four three-pointers en route to 14 points, and was still a factor in a loss against a better team later in the day.
Mike Williams (6’3″ So. SG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS) A scorer with a pretty good reputation, he did nothing to dispel that with a solid 22-point outing on Saturday. He used his body at times and also showed a touch from long range with three three-pointers along the way.
Other players who caught our attention:
Raiquan Clark (6’2″ So. SG, New Haven (CT) Hillhouse HS)
Temple Gibbs (Scotch Plains (NJ))
Jaquan Hollingshed (6’5″ So. PF, Brooklyn (NY) Franklin D. Roosevelt HS)
Allante Holston (6’6″ So. SF, Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS)
Eric Long (6’6″ So. SF-PF, Bronx (NY) Cheshire Academy)
Quincy McKnight (6’3″ So. SG, Trumbull (CT) St. Joseph’s HS)
Doudny St. Hillaire (6’3″ So. SG, Brooklyn (NY) South Shore HS)
Alex Thomas (6’7″ So. PF, Hawthorne (NJ) Christian School)
Devyn Wilson (5’11” So. PG, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS)
