City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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CHESTER, Pa. -- The 2nd Annual Rondae Jefferson Classic, a four-game affair, pitted Pennsylvania against New Jersey for some state border bragging rights at the Clip Joint on Friday afternoon into the evening.

Here are our picks for standouts:

Joshua Hayward (2020/St. Thomas More, Del.)
Hayward was lights out from deep from the start, finishing with 17 points, including five makes from three. He went 4-for-4 from deep in the first quarter, prompting the Mastery North fans in the gym to yell out ‘Watch number zero!’’ on almost every possession for the final 32 minutes. Hayward knocked down shots from the catch and shoot and had a quick enough release to shoot off the dribble as well, like he did on a fall away three at the end of the first quarter to beat the buzzer.

Caleb Matthews (2018/Smyrna, Del.)
Matthews was the key cog in Smyrna’s run to a state championship last season, and the 6-foot-2 senior guard showed exactly why with a spectacular showing in the Eagles’ win over Archbishop Ryan in the third of four games. Finishing with a game-high 28 points, Matthews was 6-of-14 from the floor but nearly perfect from the line, hitting his first 16 free-throw attempts before missing his final one of the afternoon. He also had seven assists, many of which resulted in wide-open layups by his teammates as a result of Matthews’ penetrating through the defense and making tough passes look easy. He’s already got offers from Caldwell, St. Anselm, Adelphi and Wilmington, but is waiting on his first from a D-I school; Penn, NJIT and Drexel have been poking around.

Nnanna Njoku (2021/Sanford School, Del.)
At 6-foot-8 and a sculpted 220 pounds, Njoku already is an impressive physical specimen when he takes the court. Then he strokes a nice-looking 3-pointer on his first shot attempt, which is a bit of an eye-opener. Then you realize he’s a freshman. Njoku clearly is one of the most impressive high school rookies around, and he proved that with a 20-point, seven-rebound, five-block outing in the win over Chester that did indeed feature a smooth 3-pointer but otherwise saw him get most of his production around the rim. Already with the body and motor for a Division I big, the sky is the limit for Njoku as he has the next four years to continue to develop his skillset, and maybe even add a couple more inches on as well.

Jamir Reed (2019/Mastery North)
Reed dropped in 24 points in Mastery North’s win against St. Thomas More (Del.), while also grabbing nine rebounds. He rounded off his stat line with an assist, block and a steal. Reed, a 6-3 guard, said he’s grown about two inches since last season. He also added on some weight which showed in his finishing ability in the lane. Reed also has a sweet-looking stroke; he knocked down his first three attempts from deep and finished the game with four long balls. Even at 6-3, Reed was one of the taller plays in this guard-heavy contest. He did a terrific job of leading the Pumas quick guards out in transition once he secured the rebound.

Bryce Spriggs (2019/Friends’ Central)
Spriggs started off the game strong with eight points in the first quarter. He finished with 14 points and collected three rebounds, two steals and an assist. He probably would have had a much bigger day but rolled his ankle late in the first half. The 6-foot-1 guard has a solid build, which makes him tough to stop when he gets in the lane. He also hit two threes on Friday, making him very difficult to defend. Most impressive about his performance was how vocal he was setting up the Phoenix’s offense from the point guard spot in their win against Salesianum.

Hassan Perkins (2020/Sanford School, Del.)
A lightning-quick 5-9 guard, Perkins was all over the court in Sanford’s win over Chester. He finished with 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, including 4-of-4 in the overtime session alone. He was also the best on-ball defender the Warriors had, coming up with five steals against a tough Clippers backcourt, as well as dishing out three assists and grabbing two rebounds (both offensive). It was an impressive day for the entire Sanford backcourt, as all three starting guards -- Perkins, his cousin and classman Corey Perkins and senior Sean Williams, none of whom stand taller than 5-10 -- combined for 29 points, 13 assists and eight steals in the game.

Michael Smith (2018/Chester)
Smith, known as “Man-Man” by the Clipper faithful,  had a slow start on Friday night, making just one shot and scoring four points total in the first half of his team’s game against Sanford School. But he heated up quickly in the third quarter, scoring 11 of his 17 points in that frame, though the effort was for naught as Chester dropped one in overtime. But Smith showed why he’s the driving force behind this program, getting into the lane at will against the Sanford defense and often utilizing his baseline driving ability to get the ball moving and find teammates.

Darnell Vaughn (2019/Salesianum, Del.)
Vaughn led Salesianum with 13 points and also grabbed three rebounds. He didn’t extend his range at all to the 3-point line, but he was very efficient from the midrange. The 6-foot-4 wing was strong with his dribble and taking the ball to the hoop. Whie he did not rack up the assists, Vaughn was strong with his passes, especially when feeding the Brown brothers in the post. Vaughn did a very good job defending Spriggs in the second half, moving his feet to stay in front and holding his position physically despite giving up a few pounds.

Nalik Veasley (2019/Smyrna, Del.)
A 6-6 forward, Veasley was solid all game long in Smyrna’s win over Archbishop Ryan, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds. He got most of his production off smooth catch-and-finishes, many of which came from Matthews deliveries, but he was reliable on the catch, only fumbling one entry pass, and he was strong to the hoop, knowing how to position his body and which hand to finish with to make sure defenders couldn’t block his shot. He didn’t step out and shoot, but his form did look good on hitting his only two foul shot attempts. Barring a late growth spurt, he’ll be all over the small-college radar a year from now.

Honorable Mention: Amin Bryant (2019/Archbishop Ryan), Greg Bloodsworth (2018/Smyrna, Del.), Tahj Campbell (2019/Mastery North), Harold Daily (2018/Mastery North), Jyare Davis (2020/Sanford School, Del.), Josh Friday (2018/ Friends’ Central), Jahmeir Garnett (2018/Smyrna, Del.), Brian Randolph III (2018/Chester), Taleeq Robbins (2021/Archbishop Ryan), Jaquill Stone (2019/Archbishop Ryan), Michael Wallace (2018/Salesianum, Del.), Alvin West (2018/St. Thomas More, Del.), Sean Williams (2018/Sanford School, Del.)