City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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MANHEIM — This weekend is the two-day Hoop Group’s Summer Jam Fest, which serves as the championships for the Hoop Group Summer League (HGSL) at the 15U, 16U and 17U levels, while other non-HGSL programs play in other brackets during the ongoing live recruiting period.

Got out to Spooky Nook for six sets on Saturday; here’s who stood out in the five full games I watched:

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Jalil Bethea (2024 | Team Final 16U | Archbishop Wood)
Final’s 16U group, playing up in one of the 17U brackets this weekend, was without the services of Neumann-Goretti’s Robert Wright III (ankle) for the weekend as he rests up for Peach Jam, which gave Final’s other guards plenty of extra opportunity to shine. Not that Bethea really needed it, because he’s been consistently strong every time the CoBL staff’s seen him the last few months. The 6-foot-3 combo guard led Final with 20 points in a loss to Mason Elite, hitting four 3-pointers (a number that’s about average for him), with six rebounds and four assists. Bethea’s shooting ability is nothing new, and he’s getting much better with the ball in his hands, as the assist numbers show. 

Mason Elite's Vinnie Cugini (above) goes up for a reverse layup against Team Final. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Vinnie Cugini (2023 | Mason Elite 17U | Aquinas Academy)
Speaking of Mason Elite, this group from Pittsburgh was certainly impressive in knocking off Final’s 16s, who came in a year younger but with a significant size advantage as well as a few high-level Division I recruits. Cuigini was one of the major reasons why Mason came out with the 65-59 win; the 6-2, 185-pound combo guard had 22 points, including three 3-pointers, as well as a number of tough takes to the rim, showing off great touch on a floater, even through contact or over bigger defenders. Pitt-Johnstown’s offered already, and he’s hearing from a number of other D-I and D-IIs, while he works on his 3-point shooting and overall athleticism; he’s already a 2,000-point scorer at Aquinas, the program’s all-time leading scorer.

Dante DePante (2023 | Mason Elite 17U | Central Catholic)
Another impressive piece for Mason Elite in the win over Final was DePante, who finished right behind Cugini with 21 points in the win. The 6-3, 180-pound guard with offers from Radford and North Florida hit four 3-pointers on five attempts, showing a knockdown form that was easy and repeatable and effective; he also knocked down several one-dribble pull-ups, and got to the bucket once or twice, while grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. DePante showed he can play with or without the ball in his hands, and is athletic enough to play the ‘3’ as well, though he said he’s still working on getting “bigger, faster and stronger.” 

Caleb Embeya (2025 | NJ Roadrunners 17U | Patrick School, N.J.)
Playing up two years on the 17U circuit for the Roadrunners, Embeya didn’t look out of place, as there’s a lot to like about the young big man. A 6-9 forward with a solid, muscular frame, Embeya right now is at his best around the bucket, where he put in 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Roadrunners lost to Jersey Force, but you can see that he’s starting to stretch his game out from being a pure post. Embeya handled the ball a bit on the perimeter and took it inside a couple times, and he’s got the coordination to be able to continue to round out that aspect of his game. Certainly one to keep an eye on in the Garden State.

Connor Igoe (2025 | New Heights 15U | Poly Prep, N.Y.)
Speaking of lots to like, Igoe was certainly an eye-opener as New Heights survived York Ballers 43-42 in a 15U round of 16 game, getting a buzzer-beating put-back. Igoe didn’t hit the game-winner but was the biggest reason New Heights advanced, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and an assist in the victory. The 6-6, 195-pound wing is a true ‘3’ with a well-rounded skillset and advanced physicality for his age, plenty comfortable with the ball in his hands, though he also knocked down a couple of his three 3-pointers in catch-and-shoot situations, and showed off a smooth turnaround/fadeaway, as well as a few other advanced moves in the mid-range. There’s a high ceiling here, for sure.

Lateef Patrick (2023 | MCIB | Matignon HS, Mass.)
By far the most impressive individual showing I saw today was Patrick, who went off in a 72-61 win over LA Elite. The 6-2 guard from the Bay State, who apparently scored 41 points yesterday and had another 30+ game earlier on Saturday, went off for 39 on 14-of-24 shooting, including 8-of-14 from downtown. Patrick’s 3-point shot was his obvious weapon, but LA Elite was powerless to stop it; he was getting free off screens, hitting pull-up shots in transition, and even hit a few step-backs with a hand in his face. He also showed he can attack the rim and finish through contact, getting three and-one opportunities, though the only one he completed was a four-point play. No scholarship offers yet, but that was an eye-opening performance.

Ben Rill (2025 | York Ballers 15U | Westtown School)
Though Rill’s working on transitioning his game out to the perimeter — not a crazy leap given the 6-8 forward’s natural coordination and smooth athleticism — he’s still at his best at the moment as a screener/roller and finisher, something he did quite well against New Heights in that one-point loss. Rill finished with 18 points to lead all scorers, going 8-of-11 from inside the arc and missing his two 3-point attempts; he also grabbed six rebounds (three offensive) and blocked two shots, while drawing a pair of charges to boot. It’ll be interesting to see how different his game looks at this point next summer.

Luke Skaljac (2024 | TNBA Ohio 17U | Brecksville-Broadview Heights, Ohio)
TNBA Ohio’s in Sunday’s semifinals of the HGSL championships — as are local squad Primetime Elite — and Skaljac was a big reason why they won their first matchup of the day, 73-58 over Team Takeover. Don’t have stats for this one but Skaljac was involved in all aspects: he had at least three or four 3-pointers and a few great takes, but it was his passing that really stood out. Skaljac was making on-point passes without a moment’s hesitation, whether they were full-court passes or touch looks on the perimeter, helping the TNBA offense flow. Four D-Is have offered already, and it was easy to see why on Saturday; the 6-2 guard is long and athletic, versatile, hard-working and made shots. 

Honorable Mention
Ethan Benne (2023 | LA Elite | Penn Manor), Adam Bilinsky (2023 | Mason Elite | Norwin HS), Nick Coval (2024 | Team Final | Parkland), Camden Hurst (2023 | LA Elite | Lancaster Mennonite), Asim Jones (2022 | Jersey Force | Paterson Charter), Ben Natal (2025 | York Ballers | Central York), David Olaniyi (2022 | NJ Roadrunners | Newark Eastside) Rory Perkins (2023 | Team Takeover Orange | Landon School, Va.), Christian Pierre-Louis (2023 | Jersey Force | Roselle Catholic), Ryan Walsh (2023 | TNBA Ohio | Elyria HS, Ohio)