City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) &
Will Slover (@WillSlover31)
--

Here’s a notebook from the early portion of the second day of action at the Elevate Hoops Icebreaker on Thursday at Philadelphia University:

Tyree Pickron (2018/Archbishop Wood/WeR1)
The last time Division I coaches were allowed into AAU events, during two April live periods, Pickron had to watch from the sidelines.

A foot injury suffered just after the season cost the 6-3 wing all of April and most of May, but after shaking off the rust in his first few games back on the court, he’s been playing some of the best ball of his young career.

That continued on Thursday afternoon, when Pickron went 7-for-12 from 3-point range to drop 23 points in a win for his WeR1 16U squad over Legit Basketball (Ind.).

“It feels great, just playing,” he said. “Missing that whole time, just watching, it feels great to play.”

Pickron has been a knockdown shooter since his freshman season at Wood, when he emerged as a corner 3-point specialist for the Vikings. Since then, his range has expanded to the point where he’s as deadly from the wings as he is from the corner, with an increasingly quick trigger as his confidence grows.

But despite that ability, he’s still shaking off a reputation as an athletic slasher, thanks to playing as more of a wing/forward in middle school and a knack for crashing the glass and attacking the rim that he still carries with him from those days.

“I think I get it moreso because my dad always tells me I don’t shoot it, I want to drive more,” he said. “But now that I’m going to the next level, I’ve got to start shooting it because that’s what I’m going to do in college and with better players.”

St. Joe’s head coach Phil Martelli and assistant Mark Bass were both in attendance for his latest sharpshooting showing, there to check out Pickron and several of his teammates that already have SJU offers.

Pickron also said he’s expecting coaches from George Mason, George Washinton, Quinnipiac and others to watch him during the first live period. He’s one of the few area rising juniors with multiple Division I offers already in his pocket, with Stony Brook, Drexel and Delaware State all extending scholarship opportunities shortly after D-I coaches could first contact members of the class of 2018 back on June 15.

“It takes some weight off my back,” he said, “but I’m still working, just trying to show coaches that I can play.”

~~~

Justin Steers (2018/Friends’ Central/Philly Pride)
Whenever one of his teammates put up a shot, Steers’ eyes immediately went towards the rim.

And if that shot didn’t go in, the 6-foot-6 wing did whatever he could to get a hand on it—three tip dunks in one game alone were the result of Steers’ crashing the glass and making something happen.

Though his athleticism went somewhat under-the-radar at Tacony Charter, where he spent his first three years of high school at one of the Public League’s smaller programs. But now he’ll be getting much more exposure thanks to a transfer to Friends’ Central, which allows him to repeat his junior year and change from the 2017 to 2018 graduating class.

“Academic-wise, if I stayed (at Tacony), in my opinion I wouldn’t be ready for college academically,” he said. “Friends’ Central, I know they offer great academics, and they’re going to challenge me -- and the basketball part is there too.”

Indeed, while the City Avenue institution certainly doesn’t lack in the academic department, with nearly 175 years since its founding in 1845 to work on its scholastic reputation. But it’s also become known as a hoops hotbed as well, turning out players like Hakim Warrick (Syracuse), Devin Coleman (Clemson/Temple), DeAndre Hunter (Virginia) and more during the last 15 years.

Steers will form part of the program’s new identity, with two D-I players — Hunter and Chuck Champion (Loyola) — graduating from an 18-10 team that won a share of the Friends League regular-season title but fell short to Westtown in the league championships. But he was able to get some advice from the pair on his visit.

“I talked to them about the school,” Steers said. “When I went to shadow there, I had time in the gym after school, so they were just telling me to stay focused on the books first, because without the books you’re not going to play on game day, Tozer’s going to come down on you and he’s going to come down hard but you’ve got to overcome it.”

Steers will join rising sophomores Myles Robinson and Bryce Spriggs as well as senior Antwuan Walker as Phoenix players with varsity experience, and that’s a quartet that Tozer will have to lean on heavily this season.

“Just come at it like any opportunity, I’ve got to take advantage of it,” Steers said.

~~~

Quick Hits
-- The Jersey Shore Warriors were on fire to start off the day, knocking down 10 3-pointers en route to a 54-29 win over Southern Tier (N.Y.) that was called early due to the deficit. Emerging star guard Eli Brooks (2017/Spring Grove) led the way with 12 points and made his usual number of effort plays to save loose balls and extend possessions, while Archbishop Carroll 2017 SG Colin Daly (three 3s, 9 points), Trinity 2017 SG Austin Gilbertson (one 3, 9 points) and St. Joe’s commit Taylor Funk (two 3s, 8 points) also chipped in offensively. The Warriors look like they should have no problems advancing to Friday’s bracket play.

-- Huge game from the N.Y. Dragons’ Malik Mooving, who dropped an even 30 in a win over Philly Pride in the 1 PM set. A 5-9 point guard who can stop and go on a dime, Mooving tore up the Philly Pride defense, slashing his way for layups and knocking down four 3-pointers over the course of the game. One of the quickest players at the event, the 2016 Wings Academy (N.Y.) makes up for what he lacks in size with high-end top speed and the handles/confidence to match.

-- Lapri McRay-Pace, a 2016 graduate of Conwell-Egan, has confirmed that he will be using a prep year before making his college decision. McRay-Pace has narrowed down his list to Mount Zion (Md.) and Putnam Science Academy (Conn.) and will announce his decision when he returns from the Under Armour Championships in Atlanta next week. He showcased a more well-rounded offensive game than seen in the past, finishing with 15 points against the NY Dragons and scoring in a multitude of ways. Even though he will be using a prep year, McRay-Pace as still been hearing from the likes of Norfolk State (Va.) and Canisius, among other schools.