skip navigation

Scholastic PBP Standouts (Dec. 9)

12/11/2017, 1:00am EST
By Josh Verlin

Imere Harris (above) was one of many standouts at Saturday's two Scholastic Play-by-Play Classics events. (Photo: Mark Jordan/CoBL)

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
--

The Scholastic Play By Play Classics took over Archbishop Carroll High School on Saturday afternoon, featuring five games with teams from Philadelphia all the way up to New York.

Here’s our staff’s picks for standouts on the day:

~~~

Keyon Butler (2018/Archbishop Carroll)
The senior recorded a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and was a force inside. The 6-foot-4 forward was active on the defensive and offense glass all night. In the fourth quarter, he grabbed four defensive rebounds in the final four minutes, along with contesting a number of shots in the paint. Also, Butler was used in the pick-and-roll and got a number of his points by rolling to the basket. Butler showed great hustle and smarts which helped him be in the right places at the right times.

Andrew Funk (2018/Archbishop Wood)
Funk’s shots were falling early and often on Saturday morning. The Bucknell commit scored 19 points, and was the main source of offense for Wood, distributing the ball to teammates for open shots when he wasn’t sinking jumpers with his smooth stroke. Funk’s motor was non-stop, causing disruption on defense, and weaving his way through defenders for open looks at easy shots.

Deandre Gardner (2018/Bethlehem Catholic)
Gardner was able to hit a bunch a three pointers a very efficient clip. It’s tough to have a bad game when you go 5/9 from deep. Many of the 5-foot-9 guard’s buckets came in the first half, which seemed to demoralize an MLK team that trailed the entire game. Gardner finished with 19 points going 7/13 from the field.

Imere Harris (2019/West Catholic)
Harris got his game going early on Saturday afternoon, scoring 14 of his game-high 20 points before halftime. The 5-10 guard found himself standing alone on the 3-point line a few times, either capitalizing on the open look or driving the rim and scoring above the Pennsbury defense.

A.J. Hoggard (2020/Archbishop Carroll)
The shifty guard did it all for the Patriots win against Malvern Prep. He recorded 23 points, seven boards, and four assists in the win. On multiple occasions Hoggard grabbed the defensive rebound and went the full length of the court for an easy two points. He only committed three turnovers despite being guarded in a full court press the entire game. He finished virtually every time he was able to get to the rim, and added a few no look assists to his teammates after the defense collapsed on him in the lane.

Denelle Holly (2018/Martin Luther King)
After a slow first quarter where he failed to put up any digits on the scoreboard, the 6-2 guard responded by scoring all of the team’s seven points in the second quarter. Throughout the contest Holly displayed a really impressive ability to throw his body around and drive hard to the rim, plus the touch to finish it off. He finished with 19 points and earned an MVP award to top it off.

Samier Kinsler (2019/West Catholic)
Kinsler came into the game off of the bench, and immediately provided a spark. The 5-10 southpaw nailed a three in the first half, and found his way to the rim in the second half, finishing through contact or on the fastbreak. Kinsler finished with eight points on the day, but he played a big role on the defensive end for the young and inexperienced Burrs.

Kareem May (2020/South Shore, N.Y.)
A lightning-quick point guard with a tight handle, May was weaving in and out of the taller Wood defenders on Saturday. The 5-10 speedster finished with 10 points to complement some of his impressive passes to teammates in the paint. May used both hands to finish at the basket, and played a big role in his team's defensive effort.

Dymir Montague (2018/ Neumann-Goretti)
Montague was active on the glass and on the defensive end. He grabbed seven rebounds along with recording two steals. The Saints had a tough night offensively, but Montague was able to get to the rim time after time showing solid strength and footwork as he maneuvered through the defense. He also scored 16 of his team’s 21 points in the fourth quarter, while going 11-for-14 from the foul line the whole game.

Justin Paz (2019/Bethlehem Catholic)
It may not have been a particularly extravagant affair for the 5-10 junior, but Paz’s 10/12 performance from the charity stripe -- the bulk of which came in the second half -- squashed MLK’s hopes for a comeback. Paz threw in a host of steals and some impressive passes to go along with his 21 points and MVP award.

Tyree Pickron (2018/Archbishop Wood)
The Quinnipiac commit was on fire from deep on Saturday morning, scoring 21 points on five 3-pointers. Pickron often found himself breaking South Shore’s pressure and getting open looks from the corners and the wings, making the most of his open shots. The 6-3 guard also played well on defensive as the front man on the Wood full-court press.

Sam Sessoms (2018/Shipley)
There was nothing the senior couldn’t do on offense Saturday night. Whether it was driving to the basket, shooting off screens, or assisting his teammates, Sessoms did it all. He scored 37 of his teams 69 points, along with six assists in their win over Neumann-Goretti. Sessoms came up huge in the fourth quarter scoring 19 points in total, with 14 of them coming in the final three minutes. Sessoms was consistently pushing the ball up the floor which created a number of open shots for him, and his teammates.

Deuce Turner (2020/Malvern Prep)
The sophomore guard went 10-for-11 from the free throw line on his way to scoring 15 points Saturday night. Turner was being denied by Archbishop Carroll the entire game, but when Turner got his hands on the ball he was able to create. All of his free throw attempt came from being fouled while shooting. He made smart passes off the dribble, which lead to successful offensive possessions as the defense was playing physical the whole night to keep the 6-foot-1 guard from scoring.

Honorable Mention
Josh Arruda (2018/Pennsbury), Julius Phillips (2019/Archbishop Wood), Daeshon Sheppard (2021/Archbishop Wood), Femi Odukale (2019/South Shore), Isaiah Richards (2019/South Shore), Ryan Young (2018/Bethlehem Catholic), Yasir Durant (2019/Martin Luther King), Jerome Brewer (2021/West Catholic), Chad Weldon (2018/Pennsbury)


CoBL Merchandise

CoBL Merchandise is now for sale! Support the site, and look awesome while doing it. Click above to visit our store!

HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Catholic League (B)  Archbishop Carroll  Archbishop Wood   Neumann-Goretti  West Catholic  Shipley School  Malvern Prep  Martin Luther King