City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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MANHEIM, Pa. — The Hoop Group’s Summer Jam Fest brought a few hundred teams to Spooky Nook this weekend to compete in a variety of brackets, including the HGSL championships at the 15U, 16U and 17U level.

Here’s a notebook featuring content gathered on Saturday, July 9:

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Ben Rill (2025 | York Ballers | Westtown School)

When Rill came to board at Westtown from his hometown in York (Pa.), Moose head coach Seth Berger sold him on a four-year plan. As a freshman, the young forward would mostly ride the varsity bench; as a sophomore, he’d move into the rotation; as a junior, he’d start; as a senior, he’d lead. 

Rill’s gone through the first rotation in that mix, learning in practice this past season from the likes of Dereck Lively II (Duke), Quin Berger (St. Joe’s) and Jameel Brown (Penn State) about what it takes to be a high-level hooper both on and off the court. 

Getting a chance to form a relationship with Lively, the No. 1 recruit in the 2022 class and a presumed NBA Draft pick a year from now, was certainly a game-changer for Rill. 

“It was everything,” he said. “Texting on the phone, practicing, him helping me out [with] post moves, everything. We’re really good friends, so you know, it’s great to have a guy like that on your side.”

With that senior class gone, Rill takes another step forward in the Westtown system, and the now 6-foot-8 forward certainly looks closer to being able to play a role for the eight-time defending Friends’ Schools League champions. He led the York Ballers with 18 points in a one-point loss to New Heights (N.Y.) in a 15U HGSL quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon, showing off his fluid mobility with several tricky finishes around the rim, utilizing a spin-and-scoop maneuver on a couple occasions.

Rill also showed the next step in his development: stepping out to the perimeter. He didn’t hit either of the 3-pointers he tried, but knows the summer — especially at the 15U level, when coaches aren’t typically paying attention yet — is the time to try new things and expand his game. 

“Definitely [working on] my shooting, arc on the ball, trying to be a good shooter,” he said. “At Westtown, they’re going to try and develop me as a wing, so shooting’s going to be a big target for me to develop.”

At the next level, Rill said, he thinks he can be a big ‘3’ or a stretch ‘4,’ barring a significant growth spurt that takes him closer to seven feet. Assuming that isn’t in the cards, the next year will be significant for him in taking that step, so that by the time he’s a junior he’ll be ready to hit the next level in Berger’s plan.

“It’s really important,” he said. “I think I’ve got a lot to prove, I think I’ve developed really well over the summer so far and [I’m] hoping that I have a really good season with them.”

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Luke Skaljac (2024 | TNBA Ohio 17U | Brecksville-Broadview Hgts, Ohio)

After a strong sophomore season at Brecksville-Broadview Heights, earning first team all-conference honors and leading the Bees to their best regular season in program history (S/O @NEO_Spotlight for the info), Skaljac was hoping his phone might have some activity on June 15, when college coaches could first reach out to rising juniors. 

He got plenty.

Kent State offered right out of the gate, two days after Skaljac and Brecksville played in the Golden Flashes’ team camp; by the end of the week, Akron, Toledo and Ohio had joined them.

“It was awesome, yeah, it’s awesome,” he said. “I’d been talking to a few coaches since the start of the high school season, but I didn’t know that offers were going to come that soon.”

Unlike many Division I recruits around the country, Skaljac and the Bees were inactive during the June live periods, meaning this week is the first time in months he’s been able to get back out in front of coaches en masse. 

The four schools who’ve extended scholarships aren’t the only schools he’s heard from: Loyola (Ill.), UMass, Cornell, Western Michigan and “a few other MAC schools” had been in touch, Skaljac said, and the way he played on Saturday won’t hurt. 

Skaljac looked every bit a Division I guard in helping lead TNBA Ohio into Sunday’s 17U semifinals, plenty comfortable on the court despite playing up an age group. An athletic 6-2 guard, he’s a strong all-around player who was hitting 3’s, taking it to the rim, and defending at a high level, using his length to his advantage. 

His best asset, though, was his passing; Skaljac was constantly making smart reads in transition or in the half-court, almost never hesitating with the ball in his hands or headed his way, making touch passes time and time again to create open looks or hockey assists. 

“I feel like I’ve always just been able to see the floor well, I feel like it’s just something I had,” he said. “I’ve gotten better at it throughout the years, but just playing and getting better, that’s what happens.”

This summer, he said, he’s working on improving his off (right) hand, while also working on getting stronger.

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— Camden Hurst (2023 | LA Elite | Lancaster Mennonite) is still working his way back from a broken wrist that he played through during his junior season, which has him a little hesitant to shoot a few 3’s that he might normally take. But there’s plenty else to like about the 6-2 guard’s game; he’s an athletic combo who can really attack the rim or finish in the mid-range, and he showed with five assists in a loss to MCIB (Mass.) on Saturday that he can pass it on the move as well. Hurst finished with 12 points in that one, along with two rebounds, going 6-11 from the floor. He said so far he’s been hearing from local D-IIIs York and Lancaster Bible, as well as some contact with D-IIs East Stroudsburg and Mansfield plus D-III Wilkes. 

— Dante DePante (2023 | Mason Elite | Central Catholic) picked up his first Division I offer from last year, from North Florida, and picked up another one this spring, from Radford. He’s also been hearing, he said, from Robert Morris, Colgate and Navy, though right now he’s not too worried about showing off for the college coaches.

“I’m more focused on winning,” he said. “I feel like if we keep winning, then the coaches will start to notice and stuff. I’m focused on winning more than anything.”

DePante and Mason Elite did that on Saturday with a 65-59 win over Team Final’s 16U group, certainly an eye-opening one considering the group from Pittsburgh was going up against an EYBL squad with no fewer than six Division I recruits. The 6-3, 180-pound wing guard scored 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting (4-5 3PT), grabbing five rebounds and dishing out two assists. 

This summer, he said he’s working on getting bigger, faster and stronger, continuing to play an all-around game — and, of course, winning. This winter, he’ll be focused on helping Central Catholic improve on an 18-7 campaign, which ended with a loss in the WPIAL 6A semifinals and PIAA Class 6A first round.

— DePante isn’t the only Mason Elite standout with some recruiting action happening. Vinnie Cugini (2023 | Mason Elite | Aquinas Academy) has an offer from D-II Pitt-Johnstown, with interest from D-I Robert Morris, plus D-IIs Seton Hill, Gannon and Millersville. The 6-2, 180-pound guard scored 22 points in the win over Team Final, going 9-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-6 from downtown, something he said he’s working on. A 2,000-point scorer already at Aquinas, he’s working on his athleticism this summer.

— Adam Bilinsky (2023 | Mason Elite | Norwin HS) added 14 points in the win over Team Final, going 5-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range. The 6-3, 185-pound guard also has an offer from Pitt-Johnstown and interest from D-IIs West Liberty (W.Va.), Mercyhurst and Seton Hill, spending this summer working on his handle.