SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sunday was a full day of action at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. It opened with three matchups of prep schools, then closed with two matchups of local schools. A skills competition was held after that, but the focus here is on the game action as we look forward to a Monday that will feature four nationally televised games.
Sunday Scoreboard
Burlington (NJ) Life Center Academy 73, Southborough (MA) St. Mark’s 69
Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy 78, Oakdale (CT) St. Thomas More 58
Henderson (NV) Findlay College Prep 76, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s 57
DeWitt (NY) Jamesville-DeWitt HS 76, St. Louis (MO) Webster Groves HS 64
Newton (MA) North HS 58, Springfield (MA) Central HS 56
Roxbury (MA) New Mission School 61, Springfield (MA) Sabis Charter School 38
Honor Roll
Tyler Cavanaugh, Jamesville-DeWitt: 26 points on 10-16 shooting, 8 rebounds
Dajuan Coleman, Jamesville-DeWitt: 23 points on 8-11 shooting, 20 rebounds, 5 assists
Kachi Nzerem, New Mission: 23 points on 10-17 shooting, 9 rebounds
LaQuinton Ross, Life Center Academy: 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocked shots
Nikolas Stauskas, St. Mark’s: 24 points on 9-16 shooting, 5 rebounds
Winston Shepard, Findlay College Prep: 10 points, 15 rebounds
Kaleb Tarczewski, St. Mark’s: 11 points, 12 rebounds, 9 blocked shots
Dez Wells, Hargrave Military Academy: 20 points on 8-14 shooting
Nigel Williams-Goss, Findlay College Prep: 19 points on 8-11 shooting, 9 rebounds
Ross Shows His Potential
LaQuinton Ross (6’8″ Sr. SF, Burlington (NJ) Life Center Academy) has been on the radar a long time. It began when he was an eighth grader and played all the way up on a high school senior travel team, even making waves at the Houston Kingwood Classic. With his size alone – he was already 6’8″ at the time – he would get on the radar, but his play showed lots of potential as well.
But potential can work both ways, and sometimes a player doesn’t appear to reach it. Over the last four years, Ross has had the look of reaching that potential come and go. Many have waited for him to look like an elite player, and at times he has shown it, but not consistently.
On Sunday, the Ohio State-bound forward did just that – for a half, anyway. In Sunday’s opening game, a 73-69 win for his team over a talented St. Mark’s team, Ross was clearly the best player on the floor. He had 21 points on 7-11 shooting, including 4-5 on three-pointers, and was the reason his team had the lead as he doesn’t have as much talent around him as any of the top prospects on St. Mark’s. But in the second half, it was a different story, as he scored just five in part from getting just four shots.
The bright spot is that he made his mark on defense in the latter frame. He ably guarded St. Mark’s big man Kaleb Tarczewski, and despite giving up a few inches did a very good job. Tarczewski struggled to finish, going just 4-12, and Ross blocked a couple of those shots.
Perhaps the good defense at a time when he didn’t play well is a sign of him starting to reach his potential. At the very least, it’s another tease of just how good he can be.
Stauskas Quietly Shining at St. Mark’s
Alex Murphy (6’9″ Jr. SF, Wakefield (RI)) and Kaleb Tarczewski (7’0″ Jr. C, Claremont (NH)) are known commodities at St. Mark’s, and each has been recruited at the highest level all along. When Nikolas Stauskas (6’5″ Jr. SG-SF) came to the school, he had the goal of proving that he, too, was an elite player in the class of 2012. Thus far, he’s doing that, and has certainly impressed it upon another newcomer.
“He’s been playing great,” said freshman point guard Kevin Zabo. “He’s really underrated right now.”
Stauskas was the Lions’ best player at both open gyms the team held in the fall. Those haven’t proven to be isolated cases, as he’s continued to play well through the season. While Murphy struggled and Tarczewski struggled to finish shots on Sunday, Stauskas kept them in the game with 24 points. He’s a complete offensive player with a nice feel for the game, as he shoots it well, handles it and really knows how to play off teammates like Murphy and Tarczewski.
“When I came here, I tried to prove myself to be at that level,” Stauskas said. “I felt like I could be right up there with (Murphy and Tarzczewski).”
Stauskas said that Michigan, Wake Forest and Iowa State are his three favorites. He is hopeful of making a decision by the end of the summer or early in the fall next year. With the way he is playing, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more schools show interest in the hope of getting in on his recruitment.
Drummond a Quiet Double-Double, Upstaged by Hargrave Wing
Andre Drummond (6’11” Jr. C, Middletown (CT) St. Thomas More) is capable of dominating, but the real question is if he wants to. The big man has the body, post moves and overall skill to easily be the best player on the floor at any time. But that didn’t happen on Sunday afternoon despite a double-double, as the best player on the floor was on the other team as Hargrave Military Academy handled St. Thomas More.
Xavier-bound Dez Wells (6’5″ Sr. SG-SF) gets the nod as the best player on the floor in this one. The well-built athlete scored a game-high 20 points on 8-16 shooting and added four assists. Four of those points came on back-to-back dunks that brought the house down, and it’s symbolic of how he plays as he loves to attack the basket.
Drummond had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but one had the feeling he could have had more. In fact, the opposing big man, C.J. Barksdale (6’8″ Sr. PF) had a nice game for Hargrave with 16 points on 8-14 shooting. Drummond finished with authority a couple of times, including once when he drove and dunked, but it was all too infrequent.
Dynamic Post Duo Too Much to Handle
Jamesville-DeWitt had a pretty good size advantage inside with Dajuan Coleman (6’10” Jr. PF-C) and Tyler Cavanaugh (6’8″ Jr. PF) going up against a Webster Groves team with no player taller than 6’6″. While they didn’t constantly overpower Webster Groves inside, they were the two best players on the floor without question.
Coleman started well early, establishing his presence right away en route to 23 points and 20 rebounds. He wasn’t quite as big a factor in the second or third, although he didn’t disappear entirely. In the fourth, he dominated, scoring, rebounding and making a couple of long outlet passes that led to layups at the other end. He could still stand to get his body in better shape, but he moves well and was assertive inside. Its not just Webster Groves’ inside players; he’s too much for a lot of inside players to handle.
Cavanaugh did a little of everything at both ends. He was around the ball often, and actually led the way with a game-high 26 points on 10-16 shooting, including 2-4 on three-pointers. He needs to get stronger, but his versatility went a long way towards this win, especially since he was strong in stretches where Coleman wasn’t really a factor.
New Mission Simply Wins
Although one line will jump out at you in New Mission’s win over Sabis Charter – the 23 points and nine rebounds by Kachi Nzerem (6’5″ Sr. SF-PF) – the box score doesn’t really do justice to a lot of their team. They showed why they will be a tough team to beat in Massachusetts this year.
The starting lineup will go a long way. Besides Nzerem, there’s seasoned veteran Charles Gunter (6’2″ Sr. SG), who was the only other Titan in double figures with 12 points. There’s the best player on the team, Samir McDaniels (6’3″ Sr. SG), who filled the stat sheet with relatively small numbers but always contributes mightily to the cause with his intelligence on the court. Darius Davis (6’4″ Sr. PG-SG) ran the show and had 10 rebounds, constantly involved in the play, and has great size. He’s not a true point guard, but he’s serviceable. And big man Nathaniel Anderson (6’6″ So. PF) won’t put up big numbers but has the size and athleticism to impact the game while he develops, as evidenced by his four blocked shots on Sunday.
The size they bring gives them a big advantage to begin with, as it’s rare in Massachusetts to see a team that has five players 6’2″ or taller on the entire roster, let alone an entire starting lineup that big. That’s not all, as four reserves are at least as tall. They use that size well, especially defensively. On Sunday, they held Sabis Charter to 22.2 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers.
As much as the size helps them, there’s one thing they do well with it: win. The box score only says so much with the players, but the team numbers don’t lie.
Other Notes
- John Johnson (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, Burlington (NJ) Life Center Academy) looks like he’ll be another Pittsburgh Panther that doesn’t pass the look test but is effective. He’s not blessed with great physical gifts and won’t bowl you over with a particular skill or two, but he had 14 points (all in the second half) and three assists in his team’s win.
- Damion Lee (6’6″ Sr. SF, St. Thomas More) kept his team in the game in the first half before not being much of a factor in the second half. That said, numbers don’t do his game full justice as he played better than they might indicate. He’s getting better as the season goes along.
- Any Division II or III school that needs a point guard should look at St. Andrew’s floor leader Myles Brilhante (5’9″ Sr. PG). He’s showing more ability to score, while still taking great care of the ball and involving his teammates, scoring 10 points and handing out three assists with no turnovers.
- A nice prospect for Webster Groves is Rayshawn Simmons (6’4″ So. SG). Simmons has some upside as he’s not very physically mature, although he does have a slight frame. Although he didn’t shoot well, scoring his 21 points on 9-24 shooting, he hit from mid-range off the dribble and had some range on his jumper.
- Aaron Falzon (6’6″ Fr. SF, Newton (MA) North HS) led the way for the Tigers with 19 points on 8-12 shooting. He started strong with a pair of three-pointers, then was quiet for a lot of the game until he hit two straight shots to break a 50-50 tie in the fourth. He’s a good young prospect playing for a coach who has developed a few in his time, so he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.
