City of Basketball Love

Varun Kumar (@vrkumar8)
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The Pitt Jam Fest took over the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in the Steel City this past weekend, bringing in some of the best non-sneaker affiliated programs from around the country for a three-day tournament with hundreds of teams in multiple divisions at the 15U, 16U and 17U age groups.

Here's a recruiting notebook featuring some of the best rising seniors and juniors at the event:

Jalen Gabbidon (2017/York Ballers)

This 6-foot-3 guard has undoubtedly developed into a star player for both Harrisburg Academy and York Ballers, while racking up Division I offers within in the last year.

Yet for Gabbidon, the success he’s had on the court--he averaged an astounding 37.2 ppg as a junior--has not distracted him from the focus he’s had in the classroom since he was young.

“Academics are my number one priority,” he said. “I’m at a very academically-oriented school and I’ve been there since I was little. My brother’s up at MIT. My family really values that kind of stuff.”

He’s looking to major in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field, mostly likely in computer science or engineering.

To date, his scholarship offers in basketball have mirrored his academic interests and ability. Five schools each from the Ivy League (Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell, Brown, Columbia) and Patriot League (Loyola (MD), Lafayette, Colgate, Lehigh, Navy) have offered, as have Mount St. Mary’s and UMBC.

As a talented combo guard with a knack for scoring the ball on all three levels, he has also received interest from schools in more prestigious basketball conferences. He mentioned schools from the Atlantic 10, West Coast Conference, C-USA and CAA, along with most other Patriot and Ivy schools as having been in contact recently.

To Gabbidon, the school he chooses doesn’t necessarily have to have the biggest name, but rather a school and coach that takes their players’ academic life very seriously.

“If they don't take [academics] seriously, then I don't want to go there," he said.

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Jalen Carey (2018/NJ Playaz)

One of the highest rated recruits to play in Pittsburgh this weekend was the Immaculate Conception (N.J.) point guard. He certainly did not disappoint, helping lead his 16U NJ Playaz team to a semifinal appearance in the 17U tournament.

“We made a couple big stops down the stretch,” he said after a hard-fought victory in the round of 32. “We started knocking down free throws and had a big bucket in the end with the and one. We’re just learning how to play with each other.”

He listed a total of ten offers, already sitting firmly in the high-major range, from Rutgers, Pitt, Seton Hall, Temple, Rhode Island, Delaware, VCU, Monmouth, DePaul and Farleigh Dickinson. UConn has also been in contact with NJ Playaz director Jimmy Salmon regarding Carey.

An Englewood, N.J. native, Carey has chosen to put recruiting on the backburner for the past few months, paying most of his attention toward both the high school and AAU seasons. However, that will likely change some this summer since he’s planning to take his first few unofficial visits after the AAU season.

Part of what has made him so highly-sought after is his great size for a point guard at 6-3, while displaying an excellent ability to drive and finish at the rim. He has also started to recognize that in order to use his height as an advantage going forward, he needs to hit the weight room.

“I just have to work on getting stronger. When playing up, I have to be able to take the physicality,” he said. “I’m always looking to improve my shot too.”

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Kyle McCloskey (2017/Jersey Shore Warriors)

Though football remains his top priority as he heads into the crucial summer months for recruiting, the Jersey Shore Warriors guard has not ruled out the possibility of being a two-sport athlete in college.

“The door is still open. I’ve talked to a few schools about playing both football and basketball,” he said. “I’ve been talked to by a couple of schools [about basketball], but a lot of them know that I plan to play football in college, so that causes people to back off a little bit.”

McCloskey mentioned three FCS schools- Penn, Lafayette and Bucknell- that have inquired about his interest in playing basketball at the collegiate level. He holds a football offer from all three, along with those from six other FCS schools in Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth and Holy Cross.

The Germantown Academy quarterback has received four FBS offers thus far, each from MAC members Buffalo, Ohio, Bowling Green and Toledo. He’s also received strong interest from Power 5 schools Boston College, Northwestern, Wake Forest, North Carolina and Duke, as well as nearby Temple and Rutgers.

The McCloskey family is of course no stranger to big time football. His father, Mike, played in the NFL for five seasons and was a standout on Penn State’s 1982 National Championship team.

As his bloodlines suggest, Kyle has developed into a good athlete, bringing his quarterback traits like good vision and quick feet onto the hardwood. As a basketball player, he has a natural feel for the game and shows skill in just about every facet of the game.

He’s looked increasingly confident in recent weeks, due in part to spending more time on the perimeter, which better suits his skillset and 6-4 frame.

“On this team I get to play guard more because we’re a bigger team,” he said after an opening round win on Friday. “For GA, I had to play a little bit bigger this year. My handle is improving and my ability to push it up the floor and my jump-shot has improved.”

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Francis Uzorh (2017/Middlesex Magic)

Still a bit of an unknown at this point, Uzorh is high-ceiling forward who moved to the United States from Nigeria just two years ago.

At the moment, the 6-6 Uzorh’s skillset is more along the lines of an undersized four than a perimeter player. He has a chiseled and well-developed frame that helps him as a high-energy rebounder.

Although not a true rim-protector, he has the natural athleticism to defend multiple positions on the floor. Despite being more limited offensively, he has shown the ability to hit a mid-range shot.

These traits, along with his strong work in the classroom, have helped Uzorh attract interest  from several Division I schools. Uzorh mentioned Brown, Yale, Columbia, Cornell, Lafayette, Denver and Loyola Marymount as schools that have been in contact, though none have extended an offer yet.

While he hopes to get his first offer at some point this summer, Uzorh hopes to improve one part of his game in particular.

“I want to work on my ball handling, to try to beat guys off the dribble and to try to change direction and speed,” he said. “That would make my game more versatile and more explosive.”

A native of Lagos, he has spent the last two years living with a host family in Indiana, while also attending Cushing Academy, a private boarding school in Massachusetts.

“I love the prep school here,” he said. “But it’s a big change. I used to go to a day school, and now it’s boarding school. I’ve had to adapt to it.”

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Geo Baker (2017/DC Blue Devils NH)

After a terrific weekend at Pittsburgh Jam Fest, it’s safe to say Geo Baker’s recruitment has hit high-major territory. Early on Monday, he picked up an offer from Kansas State, his first from a Power 5 school.

In addition to his latest offer from the Wildcats, he has received seventeen other offers, including ones from Duquesne, George Mason, Northeastern, Boston University, Chattanooga, Holy Cross and William & Mary, among others. Rutgers and UCF have contacted him as well.

As a lead-guard with playmaking ability, Baker dazzled with his ability to shoot threes off the dribble, a skill that is relatively rare among high school players. He was able to find open teammates in traffic and deliver crisp passes, leading the DC Blue Devils’s 17u team to a semifinals appearance.

The Proctor Academy (N.H.) star also surprised some with his versatility, defending some taller off-guards despite his lanky 6-foot-one frame.

He’s hoping to continue the hot-streak and pick up more offers, noting he was trying hard to improve his consistency and focus on the court.

“You can always improve your defense,” he said. “Sometimes I get a little lax there, I need to change that a lot.”

Though he’ll probably make a decision by the fall, he has no leaders or real timetable at the moment when it comes to recruiting.

“It’s completely open,” he said. “I’m just enjoying the process. I’m looking for a place where I best fit.”

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Quick Hits

Brandon McGlynn (2018/York Ballers)

Despite being under the weather this weekend, McGlynn’s stock continues to rise with interest coming in from fifteen schools, including UMBC, Navy, Cornell and Columbia.

McGlynn, the brother of ex-Towson and Rhode Island guard Four McGlynn, is very much on the smaller side, but is still effective as a shooter. He has been playing up with the 17u team, noting the changes he’s made to become an effective all-around player with older kids.

“I’ve been working on getting more aggressive on the ball defensively and getting other guys their shots on offense,” he said.

Justin Anderson (2018/Team Final)

One of the top players in the area in Class of 2018, Anderson has already started to receive interest from two local schools, along with a few others.

“The recruiting process has started off pretty well. I’ve been getting interest from Villanova, Virginia, Colgate, Xavier and Temple,” he said.

A terrific shooter, Anderson is trying to translate his strong sophomore campaign at ANC into results during AAU season and pick up offers come June.

“I developed more of a scorer’s mentality because on [ANC] I have to do a lot of scoring,” he said. “[At the same time] I can give it off to my teammates, so it helped me with ball-handling, passing and basketball IQ.”