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CoBL/Nexxt Level Shootout Standouts

10/10/2015, 10:45pm EDT
By Josh Verlin, Stephen Pianovich & Thomas Primosch

Cam Gardner-Nicholson (above) had a strong afternoon in the paint on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin),
Thomas Primosch (@ThomasPrimosch) &
Stephen Pianovich
(@SPianovich)
--

VOORHEES, N.J.-- The second annual CoBL/Nexxt Level Shootout took over the two courts at Nexxt Level’s facility in the renovated Coliseum all day long on Saturday, with 20 teams from Pennsylvania and New Jersey going head-to-head through 10 sets of action.

Here are several standouts from the day’s action:

Randy Bell (2016/Timber Creek)
Perhaps the best team at Nexxt Level on Saturday was Timber Creek, who’s got eyes on a South Jersey Group 3 championship this year—and for plenty of good reasons. Bell, a 6-3 shooting guard, was the team’s leading scorer a year ago at over 16 ppg, and he brought his scorer’s touch with him for this one. Bell is an above-average shooter who loves to spot up from the arc, but he can put the ball on the ground and take it to the rim as well; he also thrives in transition off of Timber Creek’s pressure defense.

Caleb Bowser (2016/Timber Creek)
When Bell and his teammates found themselves open shots, it was largely due to the play of Bowser, an athletic 6-2 combo guard. Like Bell, Bowser is a wiry but strong guard who can play above the rim, but he’s much more than just an athlete. Over and over, Bowser displayed great passing ability and decision-making, with several nice skip passes to open teammates as well as getting defenses to collapse on him before finding a kick-out. He also was able to create his own shot with either hand, going left and right with equal ease.

Ryan Conde (2018/Ewing)
With the school’s all-time leading scorer, Trey Lowe, now a freshman at Temple, Ewing coach Shelley Dearden is going to need some of her younger guards to step up this season. Based on their two games on Saturday, she’ll certainly be able to get some solid production from Conde, a 6-2 sophomore point guard who looks ready to be one of the primary guards in the Blue Devils’ attack. Conde did a good job of picking his spots to attack or dish, and he’s got very good size for a lead guard; with continued maturation and work on his skill set, he could be on Division I radars in a year or two.

Mark Flagg (2017/Pennsbury)
The Falcons have high hopes for their junior big man, who’s going to be one of the teams’ featured players as a junior after coming off the bench last season behind current St. Bonaventure freshman Derrick Woods. He certainly played well in Pennsbury’s two games, a win over Washington Twp. and a close loss to Timber Creek, hitting several long-range shots in both games and showing off a developing post game. With a strong junior year and continued gaining in his confidence, Flagg has a chance to pull in some Division I offers next summer; if not, he’ll be one of the more coveted D-II prospects around.

Cameron Gardner-Nicholson (2016/Boys’ Latin)
One of the bigger bodies in the whole shootout was Boys’ Latin’s man in the middle, and the 6-7, 225-pound Gardner-Nicholson didn’t let that size go to waste. In a game against Cherry Hill East and their 6-9 big man Timmy Perry, it was Gardner-Nicholson who got the better of the matchup, with his physicality and rebounding abilities. Though he’s still got a lot to work on in his second year of varsity action, Gardner-Nicholson has the requisite size and athleticism to be a scholarship big man at a Division II school, and could turn into a diamond in the rough further down the road.

Joseph O’Brien (2017/Abington)
O’Brien had quite the busy day, playing two games in the morning for Abington High School and then suiting up to play two more games for the Philly Heat. The 6-7 junior has the body of a strong rebounder and, unsurprisingly, his best skill was rebounding. He did an excellent job of fighting for missed shots and boxing out opponents by using his massive body. His offensive game was simple but he showcased a workable post game and showed good patience around the rim when finishing.

Jimmy Panzini (2016/Pt. Pleasant Beach)
Panzini, an athletic 6-1 senior, showed the ability to knock down shots both off the dribble and in spot-up situations. He did most of the ball-handling for Pt. Pleasant and did a good job of distributing to his teammates for open looks. Once teams started closing out harder on him, Panzini was able to drive and score or dump the ball off to his teammates for easy layups. Panzini showed a good defensive motor and his energy on both ends of the ball was evident throughout the two games Pleasant Beach played. He already has one Division II offer (St. Michael’s) and quite a few other D-II and D-III interest.

Myles Thompson (2018/Camden)
One of the top individual matchups of the day was between two talented young forwards, as Thompson went head-to-head with Abington freshman Eric Dixon and certainly got the better of his younger counterpart. Thompson spent the day using his thick, muscular frame (6-4, 225) to bully opponents on the offensive end. He routinely bulldozed his way to the basket and often gathered up his own rebound when he missed. Thompson liked to start with the ball around the elbow and go to work from there. Defensively, Thompson did an excellent job rebounding and boxing out the players around him.

Jake Wilson (2018/Bonner-Prendie)
Wilson missed all of his freshman year with injury issues, but the 2018 forward has a ton of potential. At 6-8, Wilson--whose dad, Ron Wilson, played at Villanova--utilizes a wiry frame on defense and his long arms make life difficult for opponents. He did a great job making up for teammates’ mistakes and finished the game with at least three blocked shots. Offensively, Wilson is still extremely raw but he showed the ability to catch and finish through traffic. If Wilson can put on more weight and add to his developing offensive game, he could be a force to be reckoned with.


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