HAMDEN, Conn. – Monday was a relatively quiet day on much of the east coast, but one event that took place was the Super 16 Showcase. Held on the campus of Quinnipiac University, the event featured teams playing two games without a playoff. Many teams were from New England, but a few from nearby New York and New Jersey also showed up. With that, here are notes on some of the players we saw here.
Tavon Allen (6’7″ Jr. SF, New Haven (CT) Hillhouse HS) Thin lefty wing is a baby physically with some good talent and athleticism. In going for 15 points in an early game, he scored on a runner, a dunk on a fast break, and showed the ability to finish with the right hand. But the last point deserves more mention because he also shot a jumper with his right hand, as he can legitimately shoot with either hand although he’s a natural lefty.
Ike Azotam (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF, Roxbury (MA) Marianapolis Prep) It’s been a good month for this young man, as he continued to play well here after shining at Hoop Group Elite. Here, he went for 20 and 12 in his two games, backing opposing defenders in for baskets and getting stickbacks as he continues to play more like he is capable of. Mid-major prospect.
Billy Baron (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG, Warwick (RI) Worcester Academy) He remained on a role with his play here as he put in two solid games. He went for 17 in the opener and 24 in the second game, and as usual showed a solid basketball I.Q. and good fundamentals. Mid-major/mid-major plus prospect.
Denzel Brito (6’2″ Sr. SG, Groton (MA) Lawrence Academy) Despite still playing on a bum ankle, he had a couple of double-digit scoring efforts, going for 15 points in two wins. He knows he needs to be more aggressive and is trying to do it, especially on plays where he worked to create a shot. Here, he shot the ball well from long range, knocking down three from there in the first game. Mid-major/mid-major plus prospect.
Matt Brown (6’2″ Sr. SG, Northfield (MA) Mount Hermon) Well-built guard continued his good play, going for 18 and 13 in his two games here. He continued to score in several ways, but mainly letting the game come to him – and that’s been a big key to his surge since the end of the prep season. Mid-major prospect.
Austin Carroll (6’3″ Sr. SG, Bedford (MA) Brewster Academy) His jumper is starting to get some consistency, and as a result he’s becoming a more dangerous offensive player. Evidence of it was his 17-point outing in which he knocked down five three-pointers. With a couple of key players on his team out of action with injuries, it’s coming at a good time.
Devon Collier (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Bronx (NY) St. Anthony’s) He was playing here on a bum right knee and didn’t seem to have an idea what he could do with it. While he went for 20 points in his team’s win in their first game, he didn’t stand out the way a top scorer normally might, and some of that has to be the injury. High-major minus prospect.
Joey DeLaRosa (6’9″ Jr. C, Bronx (NY) St. Raymond’s HS) His body has developed in the past year, but for the most part his game doesn’t seem to have made the same strides as he’s all too often been a non-factor. That’s why it was a pleasant surprise to see him go for 15 points in one game here, generally scoring close to the basket.
Carson Desrosiers (6’11” Sr. PF-C, Lawrence (MA) Central Catholic HS) In going for 13 points in each of two games, he showed what he often has: a variety of skilled ways to score and contribute. While his touch on fade-away jumpers was nice, that was the one move he had inside, as he never tried to go closer but instead faded away with his shots. High-major minus prospect.
Andre Drummond (6’10” So. PF-C, Middletown (CT) St. Thomas More) In the past year, he’s made quite an advancement from being a long, shot-blocking big man who was limited offensively. In going for 21 points against the talented Expressions team, he was active, ran the floor, showed a touch on jumpers and his body has matured a good deal as well.
Keegan Hyland (6’3″ Sr. SG, South Portland (ME) High) He started the day off with a big 30-point outing, draining six three-pointers along the way. But that was far from the only thing he did, as he went by his man and didn’t simply fire away, and continued to show that he’s more than just a shooter. Mid-major/mid-major plus prospect.
Jordan Laguerre (6’1″ Jr. PG-SG, Manchester (NH) New Hampton Prep) Although he scored well here, going for 16 in each of his two games, his shot selection at times wasn’t great. More of an undersized shooting guard than a point guard, he got a lot of his points on jumpers, and in his first game scored 14 of his 16 in the second half.
Alex Murphy (6’8″ So. SF-PF, Wakefield (RI) St. Mark’s School) As he has done since the beginning of the spring, he showed a world of potential here, opening the day with a 31-point effort and adding 22 later. He showed all kinds of ball skills in scoring by driving and finishing, including when getting fouled, putting back his own miss, hitting from long range and even once posting up a smaller player.
Shabazz Napier (6’0″ Jr. PG, Charlestown (MA) Lawrence Academy) If anyone wants a good example of how a player can get physically worn down from the constant action in July, he’s exhibit A as he was nursing some general soreness in between games. He wasn’t the same player here, as he didn’t score like he has been and wasn’t the same factor, although he did drive by defenders at times and found open teammates.
Ryan Romich (6’5″ Sr. SF, Groton (MA) Dunstable HS) It’s been a good month of July for this excellent student, and he continued it here with two more good games. Notably, he showed off his jumper here as shot well from mid-range en route to 21 points in the first game, then hit from long range in a losing effort later.
Canaan Severin (6’3″ Jr. SF, Marlborough (MA) High) In helping his team to two wins, he did what he’s known for: competing. He was a constant factor on the floor and made a difference while not reaching double figures in scoring in either game.
Joe Sharkey (6’3″ Jr. PG-SG, Norwood (MA) Northfield Mount Hermon) At times, he’s shown signs of eventually being a good oversized point guard, and we saw more of that here. He made several good passes including in transition, but a nice sign as well is that he was hitting from the outside as he made three from long range en route to an 11-point outing.
Chris Sherwood (6’4″ Jr. SG-SF, Sharon (MA) Brimmer & May School) It was great to see this athletic wing back on the court competing after a frightening play at the Breakout Camp last month was thankfully not as bad as first thought. Here, he continued to do what he’s done the last few months in using his athletic gifts to his advantage, as he constantly drove right by his man to get baskets en route to 24 points in two games in a complementary role.
Kaleb Tarczewski (6’10” So. C, Manchester (NH) St. Mark’s School) There were times when his potential was clear and times when it was clear that he has some work to do to get there. The notable areas for improvement from here are that he went up softly one time and got the ball swatted away, and ball toughness isn’t always there. To his credit, the first one was already addressed later, as he got the ball near the basket and flushed it down later.
