City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Austin Petolillo (@AustinPSports)
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MANHEIM, Pa. -- The first live period of 2017 wrapped up on Sunday, in this case with the Hoop Group’s Spring Jam Fest coming to its conclusion at Spooky Nook Sports.

Here’s a notebook from the final day of action:

Young leads Jersey Shore Warriors to 17U championship

At the end of the day, Ryan Young stood alone on the main court at Spooky Nook, clutching the MVP trophy for the top 17U bracket, the main attraction at the Spring Jam Fest.

It was a well-deserved moment for the 6-foot-9 big man out of Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), whose team certainly wouldn’t have made its run through the bracket without his impressive effort.

Last year, he got a taste of 17U action with the Warriors, but he was largely timid, still very much feeling his way around the level of competition and what it took to be a successful Division I big man. Young called that experience “imperative” to his strong play to start this season.

“You could see it in Andrew Funk as well, he’s one of the best players out here for sure, and I think it’s just a huge testament to what Tony did for us last year, playing up,” Young said. “I couldn’t be more grateful at that opportunity.”

Young poured in 11 points and easily grabbed as many rebounds in the championship game; he started off the second half with three straight offensive boards and tough put-backs, helping the Warriors put away Team Loaded (Va.) early in a 92-74 win.

Overall, he was relentless on the block, grabbing everything in sight with authority and powering his way for space underneath. He also showed off an improved handle, making a baseline drive from the 3-point arc for a layup, and had some nifty assists as well.

“I think I just started playing harder, running the floor a little better...extended my range out to the 3-point line and just rebounding a lot better,” he said. “I do a lot of running and training to get in shape, but it was also just becoming a little nastier on the floor, playing with more intensity.”

Funk, an Archbishop Wood junior guard with numerous Division I offers, finished with 23 points to lead the Warriors.

Young reeled in scholarships from Towson, Mt. St. Mary’s, Columbia and American after the win, adding to a quickly-growing pile that includes Lafayette, Stony Brook and New Hampshire, the latter two of which offered the previous day.

Schools from numerous leagues -- Ivy and Patriot, up to Atlantic 10 -- have started expressing interest in the best post player in the Lehigh Valley, who’s soaking all the attention up.

“It’s great, obviously. I appreciate it a ton,” he said. “And I’m just looking forward to getting more, hopefully.”

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Ohio prospect with famous name draws high-major coaches to Manheim

For someone whose father played thirteen seasons in the NBA as a three time all-star and the inaugural NBA Slam Dunk Champion and whose older brother is currently a key role player for the Los Angeles Lakers, you’d expect the talent to run through the family.

Revere High School’s Pete Nance is trying to follow in the footsteps of his father, Larry Nance Sr, and his older brother Larry Nance Jr, as successful basketball players.

Just like his father and his brother, Nance is listed at 6-10 but unlike Larry Sr and Larry Jr, Pete Nance is listed as a point guard while the other two are listed as power forwards.

“I would say I’m like a point-forward,” Nance said. “I think I can see the floor well while dribbling but I need to work on my shooting.”

Nance has received offers from Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson (Father’s alma mater) Florida, Wright State, Stony Brook and Charlotte but said that Northwestern, Ohio State and Michigan are "pretty much" his top three schools; he’s leaning towards visiting all three in May/June with a decision coming “by the fall.”

“I’m looking for a place where I would love to spend four years with great people and it would have to be a great fit for me,” he added.

For pretty much every junior across the country, this summer will be the last time that they play with their AAU teams, some of them have been with their teams for one year, some of them for ten years. Nance has played with the Akron Bobcats for a pretty long time.

“Since third grade,” Nance said. “I was with these guys for a long time, so it’s a lot of fun.”

With his college plans almost settled, Nance does not have to worry about whether or not colleges will recruit him or not like most players.

“It’s going pretty well,” Nance said. “Just playing with my friends, really, just trying to have a good time, I’m going to enjoy it while I have it, it’s going to be gone soon so just try to make the most of it and have fun.”

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Middletown’s Hughes hoping to take recruitment to next level

Ryan Hughes is already a primary target for several Division III programs.

Like many in his situation, he’s hoping that strong play this summer will land him a coveted Division I scholarship offer.

So far, he’s being pursued heavily by in-state D-III schools Mt. Aloysius, Misericordia, Lebanon Valley and Susquehanna, but there’s been some contact with D-Is Lafayette and Mt. St. Mary’s as well.

At 6-foot-3, Hughes does have the requisite size at the guard position, and he’s got a long wingspan as well, though he’s got a ways to go in terms of putting muscle onto his frame.

“They want to see my strength improve and my foot quickness, my explosiveness…[I’m] working on my ball-handling, my foot quickness and strength,” he said. “Right now, it’s alright, but it could definitely use some improvement.”

Hughes showcased a nice offensive game in helping his Central PA Elite squad into the 17U Spooky (“B” division) championship game, where they fell just short of the title; in a semifinal win over TNBA West Flash (Ohio), he scored 21 points, hitting four first-half 3-pointers and then getting to the rim in the second half, finishing with both hands.

As a junior, Hughes led Middletown (Pa.) into the PIAA 4A quarterfinals, the school’s first two state playoff wins since 1992. He averaged 17.9 ppg and 8.2 rpg for the Blue Raiders, who went 22-6.

Now he’s going to be counted on to lead an AAU group that consists of players throughout the Mid-Penn Conference, including Steel-High’s Jarvai Flowers and Milton Hershy’s Don’yae Baylor Carroll, plus Hershey’s Nicholas Hines and Sean Collier, as well as two of his Middletown teammates, Tre Leach and Chris Plummer.

“This is actually a new group this year, we played a little bit together towards the end of the summer last year,” Hughes said. “We knew about each other because we all play in the same league, so we all play against each other. I think we put together an all-star team around here, and it feels good.”

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Quick Hits

-- Several weeks ago, Timmy Edwards (2017/York Ballers) made up his mind about his college decision, committing to D-III DeSales. So what was the Trinity senior doing playing AAU basketball, if not to try and make himself more appealing to college coaches? Enjoying himself. “It’s really nothing else to do, it’s fun for me to just play,” he said. “That’s all of it. I love playing for Pat [McGlynn], he’s a great coach.”

A 6-4 wing, Edwards was a valuable member of a Trinity starting five that led the Shamrocks to 23 wins and the second round of the PIAA Class 3A tournament. At DeSales, he’ll be playing for one of the area’s most tenured coaches in Scott Coval, who just finished his 25th year with the Bulldogs, including four NCAA trips. “[Coval] wants me to be a ‘2’ or ‘3’ guard, he wants me to be able to shoot, get out in transition, run the break,” Edwards said. “He said I definitely have a chance to win a starting spot -- he said it’s up to me, though, I have to earn it.”

-- Last July, Lincoln Yeutter (2018/Bullis School, Md.) was winning a Hoop Group tournament on Court 1 at Spooky Nook, though it was playing up with Team Legacy (Md.), where his squad knocked off the Jersey Shore Warriors in the championship. So it was a little strange that eight months later, there he was, celebrating a Hoop Group championship while wearing a Warriors uniform. “It’s really crazy that I’m back here with the same team, winning another championship,” he said. “But the team plays a lot like Team Legacy that won here last year, we move the ball, we’re unselfish and we play basketball the right way.”

The 5-11 guard has quickly become a favored piece for head coach Tony Sagona, playing generally mistake-free ball and finding open space for easy buckets, scoring eight points in the championship win. So far he’s without a Division I offer, though hearing from Ivy/Patriot types; Yeutter said it was Dartmouth who had been in touch most often. To pick up some D-I offers, he’ll need to prove he can consistently play point and defend D-I point guards while hitting some more shots.

-- Strong weekend for NJ Shoreshots 2019 Daniel Sofield (Jackson Liberty, N.J.), who first caught our eye on Saturday and continued that with another strong game on Sunday against the Jersey Shore Warriors’ 16s. A 6-5 wing guard, Sofield is an intriguing prospect for his size on the perimeter, and though he’s still working on becoming a completely fluid athlete, he has a surprisingly quick first step and looks much better on the ball than one would expect watching him move off it. He came into the weekend with a Stony Brook offer and added NJIT and Columbia after he left it, thanks in part to a 37-point outing Saturday night. Colgate and Penn have also checked in on Sofield, but if he continues to work on his handle and shot, he could really skyrocket by this point next year.

-- A few more noteworthy players from Sunday: Drew Friberg (2018/State College, Pa./Jersey Shore Warriors) knocked down six 3-pointers in the 17U championship game, hitting from various spots on the perimeter as the 6-6 wing continues to gain confidence in the Warriors’ system... Thomas Shaughnessy (2018/Middlesex Magic) continued his stellar weekend even as the Magic lost in the 17U semis, pouring in 23 points in the quarterfinals... Anthony DiCaro (2019/Cherokee, N.J./Jersey Shore Warriors) was the Charlie Hustle award winner for the weekend, as the 6-3 guard made several impressive plays to save balls from going out of bounds, grabbing offensive rebounds and generally being everywhere on the court.

-- To say Cle’von Greene was on fire from deep in the second half of the 17U championship would be an understatement. Greene was like a fire that just had gasoline poured on it. After only scoring two points in the first half, the 2018 guard from Williamsburg Christian Academy scored 33 points in the second half, all on 3-pointers. “I just wanted to come back,” Greene said. “I don’t like losing so I wanted to do whatever it took to help the team come back.” The 6-2 guard has received four offers so far, most notably James Madison, but after making pretty much every shot he attempted, wide open and heavily contested, and making every college coach that was watching the game say “wow”, there will probably be a few other schools that will be calling Greene in the near future. As for what goes inside the mind of Cle’von Greene when he is on a hot streak like that, he says only one thing is going on up there: “Give me the ball.”

-- For a team that’s full of D-I prospects, it was the D-III prospect who shined for Metro Boston today. Carl Pierre is a 6-4 combo guard that will be doing a prep year at Westminster School in Connecticut after spending his high school career at Boston College High School. “My dream is to get a scholarship so I thought another year would give me the chance to put on weight and work on my game and I think that’s the option I needed,” Pierre said. Pierre started out hot, scoring 17 points in the first half and finished the game with 22, a game-high. Pierre currently has no offers from any school but a lot of interest from D-III schools and one D-II school, Bentley University in Waltham Massachusetts.