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NEBL Notebook: Wednesday, May 27

05/28/2015, 12:30am EDT

By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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The Northeast Basketball League continued into its third week, with three games of action on the courts at the Mayfair Rec Center (2990 Saint Vincent Avenue) on Tuesday night.

Here’s a notebook recapping the action:

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West Catholic 62, Truman 56

Lincoln 78, New Foundations 60

Archbishop Wood 66, Bishop Shanahan 45

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West Catholic’s talented backcourt driving Burrs
Jeohnni Moore is ready for the Catholic League this year.

The rising junior (pictured above) got his first taste of PCL play last season after transferring in from Delaware’s Layton Prep, returning to the city in which he spent the first 14 years of his life to take his game to the next level.

“It was hard a little bit at first,” he admitted, “and then I got used to it.”

The 5-foot-10 combo guard scored a total of 14 points in his first two league games, and then equalled that amount against Archbishop Carroll in the third. His fourth Catholic League outing was a 24-point burst against Bishop McDevitt, and he would go on to average 11.5 ppg as the Burrs’ third-leading scorer, behind seniors Brandon Cole and Jahmil Harris.

In 2015-16, Moore will certainly be counted on to help his team improve on its 7-15 (3-10 PCL) record from a year ago.

“He played pretty well for a sophomore, coming into the Catholic League and just realizing every night is a battle at the guard spot,” West Catholic head coach Jasmine ‘Jazz’ Williams said. “But he’s looking to lead us now and I think he’ll be pretty solid for his junior year.”

Moore is only the first in a number of weapons that Williams can utilize in the backcourt.

John Herndon, who transferred from Parkway West last summer after averaging 27.2 ppg during Public League ‘E’ Division play in 2013-14, didn’t get his paperwork last year and was ruled ineligible; that decision was reversed by the Public League in a hearing a few weeks back, and he’ll be able to play out his senior year.

“It gives us a legit scoring option, some senior leadership, a kid who can guard, who can play multiple positions offensively in the backcourt,” Williams said. “And more than anything...I’m happy for him personally to get a chance to get on the court and play some basketball.”

There’s also a pair of rising sophomore twins, Keyohn and Stephon Maddox, who will likely slot alongside Herndon and Moore in the Burrs’ starting backcourt. Both saw regular minutes off the bench as freshmen, experience that should hopefully pay off now that they’re ready to become more featured pieces with five seniors graduating off this year’s team.

“We’re young, but we’re talented,” Williams said. “We’ll take our bumps and bruises and we’ll just learn from it.”

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Quick Shots
--Archbishop Wood 2018 prospect Tyree Pickron is continuing to work on transitioning his game from a physical wing to a true shooting guard, and that continued with an 18-point effort for the Vikings in their win on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-3 rising sophomore knocked down four triples in addition to his usual strong work on the glass, and now the next step is for him to start creating off the bounce and attacking the rim in the half-court offense. Once he gets that down, his athleticism and aggressiveness on the boards will have plenty of mid-major coaches (and maybe even higher) paying close attention next AAU season.

--Bishop Shanahan 2017 F Justin Krasnick is a solid force inside at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, and he’s not afraid to throw his body around to free up space around the rim. He dropped 13 points in the loss to Archbishop Wood, doing a good job against Wood’s 6-7 Karrington Wallace, despite a noticeable disadvantage in both height and reach. Krasnick has good touch around the rim and is a very good passer as well, keeping his head up and looking for teammates out on the perimeter.

--West Catholic 2016 G John Herndon continued that scoring prowess he showed two years ago at Parkway West (see above), dropping 20 points in the Burrs’ win over Truman. A slashing scoring guard, Herndon thrives in transition but will attack the rim plenty in the halfcourt, using a quick first step to blow by his defender and get to the hoop. Moore and Stephon Maddox added 13 apiece, as the Burrs showed why they’ll be tough to guard this year with numerous players capable of getting their shot going.