skip navigation

Under Armour Association Notebook (April 22)

04/22/2017, 9:45pm EDT
By Eugene Rapay

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
~~

NEW YORK, N.Y. — The first live recruiting weekend of 2017 is well underway, with the first session of the Under Armour Association continuing at Manhattan's Basketball City on Saturday. 

AAU teams from all over the country competed in a full day of basketball. Here is a notebook from the event’s second night:

~~~

High-major prospect Reid, Sports U hungry for another UAA title

It’s only natural that 6-foot-9 big man Nazreon Reid (2018/Roselle Catholic, N.J.) has large expectations for his team.

The standout forward has been at the forefront of Sports U’s (N.J.) interior line for as long as he can remember. Recently, he’s been spearheading the front court in each of Sports U’s two UAA championships, doing so as a member of the 16U and 15U teams. Now, he and his teammates are trying to do it as a 17U squad, ideally making it three straight.

“I’ve been playing with my teammates since I was in sixth grade,” Reid said. “All we know is how to win. We’re sore losers. Once we lose, we try to not think about it, but it really affects how we do our things on the court.”

Sports U bounced back from an UAA opening day loss to Team Rio National (N.J.), with a 53-39 win over Texas Hard Work on Saturday.

Reid was phenomenal down low. He proved to be an excellent rebounder, corralling misses even with multiple opponents also competing for the ball. Defensively, he was a stalwart, limiting Texas Hard Work’s interior attack as an imposing force in the post. 

On offense, he admits his post work is still a work in progress, but his dunking is not. Reid threw the ball down viciously and was even on the receiving end of a couple alley-oop passes. He finished with a 12 point, 11 rebound, double-double performance against Texas Hard Work.

It helped having another highly touted prospect to work with in point guard Jahvon Quinnerly (2018/Hudson Catholic, N.J.). 

“Me and Jahvon have been playing forever,” Reid said. “When we’re on the court, we know each other. I know when he’s going to throw a lob, I know when he’s going to no-look pass. We just have chemistry. It’s a brotherhood—I know him, he knows me.”

Both Reid and Quinnerly have their fair share of high major Division I offers, and surely more will come knocking on their door with more solid performances during the live period. 

As for Reid, he currently holds offers from Kansas, Kentucky, St. John’s, Arizona, California, Louisville, Maryland, Missouri, N.C. State, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Iowa, and Villanova—with a handful other schools, he says, showing interest and reaching out.

In the meantime, he’s taking a casual approach towards his large list of suitors. 

“I’ll see where it goes, whatever can take me to the most successful path, really.”

~~~

William Allen’s Martin to select prep school

With the weather getting nicer and the end of the school year just around the corner, “senioritis” runs rampant through the minds of high school seniors all across the country.

For Tyrese Martin, however, he doesn’t get to experience any bit of it.

The 6-foot-5, 180 pound guard already completed his senior season at William Allen (Pa.), a year that saw the Canaries finish with an impressive 26-3 record but a disappointing first round exit in the PIAA 6A state playoffs.

Instead of relaxing, Martin is competing as a member of WeR1’s AAU team, playing with every bit of intensity that rivals a freshman who still has much to prove. He plans on taking a year of prep school before starting college.

"Just discussing it with my mom and seeing how I finished up last summer and this year, I feel like I deserve more, and that I can play higher than what I’ve been recruited,” Martin said.

Against G3 Grind (Ind.), Martin was locked in from the opening tip, getting off to a fast start. He was aggressive, attacking the basket and slicing through the opposing defense with ease. 

He demonstrated an ability to score from almost anywhere—finishing inside, pulling up from mid-range off the dribble, and by knocking down his shots from beyond the 3-point line.

This tenacity wasn’t only reserved for scoring, but also on the boards. Martin contributed a game-high 23 points and 11 rebounds in the 75-59 win over G3 Grind.

“A lot of prep schools came here to watch me this week,” said Martin, who is still unsure of where he will spend his prep year. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll probably make a decision this week."

Martin mentioned that he is deciding between Blair (N.J.), St. Thomas More (Conn.), Brewster (N.H.), and Putnam Science (Conn.), which is also where his fellow WeR1 teammate Eric Ayala goes to school.

“I just want to get stronger, develop my skills better,” he said. "If I can get away from my area, Pennsylvania--feel like I can be a really good player.”

When it comes to selecting a school, he plans on weighing each one carefully.

“The best opportunity I have there, and where I”ll be able to focus at, not a lot of distractions.”

~~~

Sarnor enjoying his new surroundings

It didn’t take long for Ahmadu Sarnor (2019/Team Rio, N.J.) to get acclimated to his new environment at the Ranney School (N.J.). 

"Schoolwise, it’s been great, been keeping my grades right,” Sarnor said. “Basketball is there too. Also, doing things with the Ranney community, my first year there—everyone’s been great to me. Everything’s been good, I like it there a lot."

Sure, he was moving to a state and a new school, after spending two years on Collegium Charter’s (Pa.) varsity squad, as an eighth grader and freshman. 

However, the move was made even sweeter and easier with the help of some longtime friends and Team Rio teammates that also attend Ranney—Bryan Antoine, Scottie Lewis, and Alex Klatsky.

"It’s a lot better,” said Sarnor, in regards to being able to play with his AAU teammates all year round. "I see these guys almost everyday. We train together, we hang out a ton, we work out--work on school stuff together. We all got a lot closer this year, it’s been good.”

While Antoine and Lewis—both consensus five-star prospects—have generated most of the buzz, Sarnor is carving out his own niche. As a matter of fact, he emerged to the forefront of the Ranney quartet in a 61-38 loss to the Florida Vipers, doing so with his defense and rebounding.

"I know what they can do, they know what I can do,” said Sarnor, about playing with Antoine and Lewis. "I play my part to try to make my teammates better and succeed. Coming off the bench, I try to bring a spark into the game with my defense, especially. Grabbing offensive rebounds, diving for loose balls, and getting out on the fast break."

In a game where both Antoine and Lewis struggled (combined 4-of-20), Sarnor’s tenaciousness on the defensive end of the court helped Team Rio rally back from an 18-4 first quarter deficit. Team Rio was eventually able to bring it down to within six, before the Vipers broke away for the last time. He had a team-high seven rebounds and a pair of assists.

Despite the efforts on defense, his one-point performance off 1-of-3 shooting left much more to be desired, but he knows that.

So far, the 6-foot-1 guard says he has offers from Seton Hall and Robert Morris, with St. John’s and Penn State showing interest.

“I need to be able to stretch the floor more with my shooting,” Sarnor said. “I mainly look to attack or create plays for my teammates. I feel like if I improve my shooting, I can improve my stock.”

~~~

Quick Hits

-- It only took three seconds for Darius Days (2018/The Rock School, Fla./Florida Vipers) to introduce himself and make an impression. The 6-foot-8 forward received a pass and pulled up from well beyond the arc and hit nothing but net in the 61-38 dismantling of Team Rio. As minutes ticked away from the clock, he proved to be a versatile, all-around threat. Days' energetic approach to shooting, rebounding, and defending for all 94 feet of the hardwood was frustrating for Team Rio, who did not have an answer for the stretch big man. He had 17 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and a pair of rejections in the low post. 

—There’s a new breed of wings and forwards emerging, and Khavon Moore (2018/Atlanta Xpress/Westside HS, Ga.) is one of them. The 6-8, 190 pound forward showed off his guard-like handles in a 71-64 loss to Team Felton (N.C.). For a majority of the game, he was taking the ball up the court and running the offense. Although, he was a bit reckless with the ball at times—three assists and six turnovers—Atlanta Xpress was confident with letting him go to work. Aside from that, his length served him well as a scorer and defender, he tallied 18 points, eight rebounds, and three steals against Team Felton.

—He’s trying to carve out his own name and identity, but Chris Arcidiacono (2018/Philly Pride/Neshaminy, Pa.) showed glimpses of his older brother Ryan. First, against the Houston Defenders, Arcidiacono nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cap off a team-high 14 point performance and give Philly Pride its first win of the day. Then, against Canada Elite, he helped facilitate an offense that saw four different double digit scorers. While Arcidiacono only had three points himself, he dished out nine assists and never turned the ball over.


HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Recruiting  Eugene Rapay