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Hoop Group Elite 2 Notebook: Day 2 PM (July 20)

07/20/2017, 11:15pm EDT
By Josh Verlin, Tyler Sandora & Isabella Sanchez

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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READING, Pa. -- The Hoop Group’s second Elite Camp in as many weeks drew over 700 players to Albright College, including dozens and dozens from the CoBL coverage zone.

Here’s a notebook from the afternoon action, featuring several local products and a few from slightly further away:

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Izaiah Brockington (above) has three offers since making the decision to reclassify and go to prep. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Brockington not rushing into anything this time around

Last year, Izaiah Brockington thought, was his last time through the summer circuit.

This time around, he’s sure it will be.

Brockington, who graduated from Archbishop Ryan this spring, committed to NJIT over Holy Cross and Coppin State last August, but made the decision just after his senior year to re-open his recruitment and take a prep year at Woodstock Academy (Conn.). At the time, he said he felt he’d rushed into his first decision, and wanted to think his decision through.

“Last year, there were people calling at random times in the night and sometimes it would be like, overwhelming sometimes or having to text back a bunch of different people at once,” he added. “Sometimes even playing and knowing people were watching would have an effect on how I played. Now it’s being more mature, staying true to myself, my game, and working on the things I need to work on.”

So it’s no surprise that, despite new offers from Robert Morris, Towson and now Hartford, Brockington isn’t thinking his recruitment is anywhere near over; he didn’t rule out the possibility of a spring decision.

“I’m not really in a rush to decide,” he said. “We’ll see what happens, who else comes in...I know what I’m looking for in a school, what I want to see in a system and their coaches and all of that. It’s just me, making this decision on where I want to play, not the biggest name, just where I fit.”

Brockington is also hearing from Hartford, Brown, Yale, Morehead State and Wyoming after playing this summer with WeR1 on the Under Armour Association circuit.

A 6-4 lefty, Brockington made his name as a slashing guard who could also knock down 3-pointers, but he’s really establishing himself lately as an explosive athlete who showed off his above-the-rim finishing abilities with some big-time slams on Thursday afternoon.

“Jump shot consistency is most of (what I’m working on) and just overall IQ,” he said. “IQ, but definitely [shooting] form.”

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Shipley’s Somerville reaping benefits of extra year

No matter what school he attended last season, Ray Somerville would certainly have improved quite a bit from last summer to this one. After all, the 6-foot-9 center was still very much growing into his body last year, and is still relatively new to the game, with his entire organized basketball history to that point consisting of two years of JV hoops.

But by going from his public school, Penncrest High School, over to the private Shipley School and repeating his sophomore year, Somerville is playing this summer in the Class of 2019 instead of 2018. And that’s made a huge difference for him on the recruiting trail.

He’s up to five Division I offers now after High Point extended a scholarship on Wednesday, joining La Salle, NJIT, Hartford and Stony Brook.

“I never expected for this to happen, for me to one day have the opportunity to go to school for free,” he said. “It’s great, hopefully there are more things to come and I know there are, I’ve got to continue working and take my game to the next level and work even harder.”

Somerville steadily improved over the course of his sophomore year at Shipley, which was able to rely on its talented backcourt of Kiyon Hardy and Sam Sessoms to do the majority of the scoring; that left the physical post player to run the floor, rebound his position and score around the bucket, something he’s doing at an increased rate.
Taking an extra year in high school isn’t the right move for everybody, but there’s no doubt in Somerville’s mind it was the correct one for him.

“I think later in my life I’m going to look back and realize how big this change could have been,” he added. “Right now I’d be a junior going into a senior and I don’t think I’d have any of the recruitment I’d have right now; maybe if I was lucky I’d have a D-II school.”

While at Hoop Group, Somerville is working on expanding his game away from the basket; he’s shown in games the last few months the ability to knock down the open 15-foot jumper, but on Thursday he was making a particular effort to attempt to put the ball on the floor and back his man down from that far away, even if it wasn’t particularly successful.

That’s still progress.

“Last year I was scared to even be holding the ball, this year I’m looking to get the ball and make my move,” he said. “Here, it’s different than in high school and AAU, I’m trying to use this as a lab to experiment what I can do with my game out here. Luckily it’s in front of college coaches so they can see I’m trying to see what I can do, I’m testing waters out here.” -- Josh Verlin

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Aussie wing makes day-long trip to experience camp

After one 16 hour flight, a three & a hour flight, and a two hour train ride, William Mayfield made it to Reading, Pa. all the way from New South Wales, Australia.

Mayfield heard about the Hoop Group’s camps through some friends, and by following the organization’s account on  Twitter.

The 6-4 guard is in the States for the first time, with his father, hoping to impress the college coaches.

Mayfield is excited to see a new level of competition here in the states.

“It’s so much different [than] back home,” he said. “Everyone can make their shots. Everyone can pass better it’s a lot faster and there’s no shot clock so you can do what you want.”

The Karabar Senior High student hopes to get a chance to play for an American college, preferably one with a good climate.

“I just want to go somewhere where it’s not cold,” he said. “I don’t like the cold.”

His high school does not have a basketball, team but he plays for his local league with the Vikings.

What Mayfield liked in America was the food -- particularly, Philly cheesesteaks. He also loves the people.

“The people here are much nicer,” he said. “Australians can get a bit annoying, but everyone here in America is lovely. ”  

One thing he would miss is the Australian rugby culture and the way the country rallies around the sport. Mayfield plays rugby as well as soccer when he’s back home.

He will be heading back after his two week trip but wants to come back soon.

“[Basketball is] much better here,” he said. “I like it.” -- Isabella Sanchez-Castaneda

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Well-traveled Harris doing prep year in Connecticut

After spending his freshman year at Father Judge in the Catholic League, Dion Harris switched over to Lower Merion in the Central League, before transferring to the Public League and attending the now-defunct Del-Val Charter for his senior year.

Four years, three leagues, three very different styles of play.

“It helps me get adjusted to things quick,” Harris said. “It helps me learn new systems and everything.”

Harris isn’t done his travels. Next year, he will relocate up north and plauy for coach Tony Bergeron at Woodstock Academy (Conn.) and reclassify to the class of 2018. Izaiah Brockington, a graduate of Archbishop Ryan and a friend of Harris’ for five years or so, will be joining him at Woodstock this fall.

“Tony Bergeron’s got a great post grad-program he’s about to start up,” Harris said. “He’s recruiting me and a bunch of other kids. Me and Izaiah are both from Philly going up there probably going to have a really good time.”

This summer, Harris played on the Under Armour Association with Sports U (N.J.), and teamed up with Nazreon Reid and Jahvon Quinerly, two nationally-ranked top-15 prospects.

“We won a lot of games and I got a lot of exposure,” he said. “It’s wonderful because playing with them is like being on an all-star team, and Naz, he takes care of me all the time.”

Harris’ recruitment has been picking up as of late, with Eastern Kentucky and LIU expressing interest.  

A 6-7 forward with a strong finishing ability at the rim, Harris enjoys playing defense, where he prides himself on being able to guard everything on the floor; something college coaches will love to see out of him. While he currently holds no offers, Harris is hoping a successful year at Woodstock will change that. -- Tyler Sandora

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Mezie Offurum (above) says he's been in contact with Penn, along with several A-10 programs. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Quick Hits
-- A powerful wing with an improving outside-in offensive game, Mezie Offurum is being pursued by a mix of schools; Virginia Tech and Maryland offered the Georgetown Prep wing last fall, but his more recent offers have been from Hofstra and Rhode Island. He cited Rhode Island, Old Dominion (a fall offer) and UMass as the three schools who’ve been in touch most often, but he also is in contact with a Big 5 school -- Penn, whose Wharton School intrigues him. “Since I’m trying to major in business, they have the No. 1 business program in the world, so that’s a strong attraction for me,” he said. “I’m still looking around and seeing what the best choice is for me.” Though Offurum is able to use his 6-6, 210-pound frame to his advantage in mismatch situations, he’s currently working on his handle and shot so that he can properly play the ‘3’ at the next level.

-- When Allen Bertrand was at Samuel Fels High School, he was largely an unknown both in the city and on the recruiting scene. Since he transferred to Roman Catholic for his junior year last offseason, schools like St. Joe’s, and La Salle offered last summer, but recently, Robert Morris, Delaware, and Mt. St. Mary’s have all been chasing after the 6-4 guard. A tough-nosed wing who’s always in attack mode, Bertrand competes at both ends of the floor and doesn’t take any plays off. When Bertrand gets to college, he hopes to find himself in a similar atmosphere as Roman Catholic, “an organized team that is built to win.”

-- Eastern Kentucky and Niagara have been standing out to Ahmadu Sarnor as two schools recruiting him the hardest. A rising junior at the Ranney School (N.J.), Sarnor grew up in Coatesville, and scored over 1,000 points playing varsity at Collegium Charter for both his eighth grade and freshman years. With Sarnor’s combination of quickness and athleticism, it’s no wonder why he’s known for his ability to put the ball in the hoop. At 6-1, Sarnor is still a little undersized, but he makes up for his lack of height with his ability to score the ball. Since moving to New Jersey from Coatesville, Sarnor is nothing but pleased with his decision.

“At first it was a little rough, but now everyone nice to me and we’re a family.,” he said. “They’ve welcomed me really nice. Now that I’m in Jersey I’ve got Scottie (Lewis), Bryan (Antoine), and Alex (Klatsky). They help me get a lot of exposure.”

-- Samba Diallo mentioned UMass as a school that has recruiting him hard as of late. A 6-7 wing at Pope John XXIII (N.J.), Diallo has also heard from Iona, VCU, and most recently, West Virginia. A combo-style playmaker, Diallo can handle the ball well for his size, and has an improving jumper. While his basketball IQ is still developing, Diallo has been steadily improving his game with the NY Jayhawks this summer on the Adidas Gauntlet. After his AAU season is over, Diallo plans on sitting down and assess his options and figure out a timetable of when to schedule visits. A native of Senegal, Diallo misses his family, who he hasn’t seen since two years ago when he moved to America to pursue a career in basketball. “I talk to them all the time,” he said. “After my senior year I might go there before I go to college.”


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