City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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VOORHEES, N.J. -- The third annual CoBL/Nexxt Level Sports Shootout took over the Nexxt Level Coliseum for the first of its two days on Saturday, with 20 team from Pennsylvania and New Jersey taking to the two courts to continue to work on getting ready for the 2016-17 season.

Here are the standouts from Saturday’s action, followed by some other assorted thoughts about the day:

Izaiah Brockington (2017/Archbishop Ryan)
The day’s only committed Division I senior continued what has been a strong offseason with two solid games at Nexxt Level, seeming to get stronger as the morning turned into the afternoon. His 17-point showing in a win over Camden Catholic to start the day came all in the second half, but he didn’t take that long to get going in Ryan’s second game of the day. The NJIT commit showed that he can be just as effective without the ball as he is with it, scoring several times on smart backdoor cuts for easy layups — and one time catching a Willingboro defender a step behind on a strong left-handed slam that brought the Raiders bench to its feet.

Greg Burke (2018/Willingboro, N.J.)
For some reason, it seems like the words “crafty” and “lefthanded” tend to go with one another, and Burke is another one of those lefties who just finds his way into the scoring column. A 6-foot-2 dreadlocked guard, Burke wouldn’t hesitate to pull up from beyond the 3-point arc with the ball at the top of the key, and it certainly seemed like his shot was falling more often than not. And when opposing defenders started to creep up on him, Burke went into attack mode, splitting defenders off the bounce and showing that versatile scoring ability once he got into the lane, hitting several pull-up jumpers, a floater or two and layups with both hands.

Richard Dean (2017/Bensalem, Pa.)
Dean, a slender 6-3 guard, brought his toolbox to Nexxt Level, and it was filled to the brim. In two games for the Owls, Dean did just about everything -- play point and run his team's offense, play off the ball and knock down shots, attack the rim in the open court, block shots, defend all five positions and serve as a vocal leader on the court. He's certainly an intriguing prospect because of his ability to play all three perimeter positions, though he's best suited at the '2' or '3' with his length and shot-making abilities; as he gets stronger and  continues to work on his handle, he could play point as well.

Caleb Fields (2018/Wildwood Catholic, N.J.)
The ultra-aggressive Fields practically scored at will during his team's two games against the Central Bucks and Bensalem. Fields put on an impressive outside shooting display as he solidified his reputation as a reliable shooter from the 3-point line. He was able to make several shots from the beyond the arc off the dribble and the catch-and-shoot. He has a natural scoring instinct and won't let his foot off the pedal if he gets into a groove. Every time he touches the ball he looks to make a play, but won't disrupt the offense by forcing things to happen. NJIT has already offered the 6-2 guard, who’s also hearing from Towson, Columbia, Colgate, Brown and Stony Brook.

Justin Gans (2017/Bonner-Prendergast, Pa.)
Multiple Friars had impressive afternoons as Bonner went 2-0 with wins over Camden and Paul VI, but Gans gets the slight nod for his two-way play. A 6-3 wing, Gans got progressively stronger over the course of his junior year, and now looks to be a mainstay in the rotation as the Friars push towards the top portion of the PCL. On this particular day, he had his outside shot working with at least three triples in each game, as well as some pull-up buckets and layups to boot. Certainly a college-level talent, Gans could see some scholarship schools poking around with a big season.

Tariq Ingraham (2019/Salesianum, Del.)
At around 6-foot-9 and a solid 230 pounds, Ingraham was already on Division I radars for his size and physicality, getting plenty of exposure playing with Team Rio on the Under Armour 16U circuit this past summer. After dominating the paint during his freshman year at Sallies, he gave a hint what’s in store for his future on Saturday, expanding his range to knock down a few mid-range jumpers in addition to his usual work within five feet of the basket. He might never be a stretch-forward, but Ingraham’s jumper was smooth, with nice rotation on the ball, and the shots he hit were finding nothing but net.

Jared Latane (2018/Haddon Heights, N.J.)
A muscular lead guard, Latane was in full-on attack mode all day on Saturday. When he wasn't launching a moon shot 3-pointer (quite a few of which splashed down), Latane had his eyes on the rim, with a terrific ability to break down his man off the dribble and get into the lane, where he could flick the ball up in a variety of ways to spin it off the glass and through the hoop, or throw up a floater if a big man loomed. On defense, though Latane is only 5-10, he makes up for it with a solid frame and quick hands, forcing a number of turnovers in transition to get his team easy buckets the other way.

Lucas Monroe (2019/Abington, Pa.)
Monroe turned in two very productive performances as he led Abington to hard-fought victories over Camden Catholic and Haddon Heights. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound combo guard was the unquestioned leader of his team, showing great poise and control throughout the day. Although he's just a sophomore, his ability to remain calm and composed while keeping up with the competitive spirit of his teammates and opponents was impressive. When his team needed a score, he was able to muscle his way to the basket and deliver timely finishes. When his teammates needed to get going, he unselfishly created opportunities for them to get involved. Monroe didn't shoot the ball as well as he normally does, but his jumper wasn't really needed. He still affected the game in so many other ways. Defensively, his length and lateral quickness bothered opposing lead guards. Overall, Monroe most certainly looked the part of a Division I prospect who’s looking to build on his case as one of the region’s best guards in the 2019 class.

Nate Robinson (2018/Central Bucks South, Pa.)
Not sure if Robinson qualifies as a natural point guard just yet, because he’s a plenty-capable scorer who did plenty of that on Saturday afternoon. But the 6-1, 165-pound guard didn’t hesitate to give up decent looks of his own if he had a teammate spotted up for 3 or posting up inside, and the Titans did a very good job of spreading the points around despite most of the offense flowing through the junior guard. Lean and athletic, Robinson has a solid handle and can get to the rim in the open court, but he also displayed the awareness to pull up and drain a few 3s in transition as well as knock a few rhythm shots down in the half-court offense. As he gets stronger, his game will only improve.

Jesse Saul (2017/Bishop Eustace, N.J.)
A scrappy, hard-working wing, Saul is the type of player college coaches love to populate their programs with. He’s versatile -- at 6-3 and 185 pounds, he’s a strong two-way player who can take his man off the bounce or post up, and he can defend all five positions against many high school opponents; in college, he’ll most likely be out on the perimeter, but can flash down to the post when needed, especially as he adds strength. But even more impressive is Saul’s play without the ball; he’s an active screener for teammates and loves to get open in screen-and-roll situations, and he also cuts to the basket at every opportunity to find himself in space.

Myles Thompson (2018/Camden, N.J.)
If there's one thing that Thompson can do extremely well, it's being able to consistently knock down mid-range jumpers. Thompson was simply unconscious shooting the ball from the elbows and high post (the two areas of the court where he likes to operate from offensively). In his team's first game against Bonner-Prendergrast, he hit five or six consecutive shots in the row from 12-15 feet during the second half. He hit most (if not all) of those jumpers from the face-up position or off the pick and pop. Other than his solid overall shooting display, he was able to use this thick, muscular body frame (6-5, 220 lbs.) to bully defenders on his way to the basket. If he didn't end up scoring on a drive, he would almost always grab his own miss while in traffic and either score or draw a foul. Thompson was a beast on the boards on both ends of the court and proved to be one of the more physically imposing players participating in today's games.

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Honorable Mention: Babatunde Ajike (2019/Camden Catholic, N.J.), Nazim Chavies (2020/Willingboro, N.J.), Tymir Cooper (2017/Bonner-Prendergast, Pa. ), Tyree Corbett (2019/West Catholic, Pa.), David Cross (2020/Bishop Eustace, N.J.), Joey DiAntonio (2017/Cherry Hill East, N.J.), Dominic Dunn (2018/Camden Catholic, N.J.), Mark Flagg (2017/Pennsbury), Robbie Heath (2018/Abington, Pa.), Denelle Holly (2017/Martin Luther King), Christian Lane (2017/Bonner-Prendergast, Pa.), Collin MacAdams (2018/Central Bucks West), Reece Miller (2018/Holy Spirit, N.J.) Michael Ottomano (2017/Lansdale Catholic, Pa.), Fred Taylor (2017/Archbishop Ryan, Pa.), Taj Thweatt (2020/Wildwood Catholic, N.J.), Robert Tindley (2017/Haddon Heights, N.J.), Peyton Vostenak (2018/Bishop Eustace, N.J.), Billy Warren (2017/Pennsbury, Pa.)

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Other Thoughts
--Got my introduction to quite a number of freshmen (and sophomores) from across the bridge who are certainly worth tracking over time: Bishop Eustace’s David Cross is a 5-10 point guard with a confident handle who didn’t seem phased at all attacking the basket against much older defenders, and had several nifty finishes. ...Wildwood Catholic’s Taj Thweatt (2020/F) has a lot of athleticism in his 6-5 frame, with good hands and an already-reliable hook shot to go along with a well-running motor. ...Willingboro’s Nazim Chavies (2020/G) is a muscular, attack-first guard with a quick first step. ...Camden Catholic’s Babatunde Ajike (2019/F) is a strong, athletic 6-5 forward who knows what he does best, attacking the glass without abandon, and he scored on several post moves as well as knocking down a mid-range jumper.

--The pieces are in place for West Catholic to grow over the first few years of Jason Hasson’s tenure, though the initial on-court product might be somewhat uneven at first. Starting a lineup that included four freshmen and sophomores, the Burrs’ rotation consisted almost entirely of underclassmen, most of whom are seeing their first significant minutes at the varsity level. Up front, Hasson has a very intriguing pair of freshman forwards, Duane Satchell (6-8) and Naadir Wood (6-6), both of whom have frames that suggest a couple more inches will be added on. Sophomore wing Tyree Corbett also has a very high upside, as do classmates Samier Kinsler and Ayotunde Sanusi. Look for West Catholic to pick up steam over the next 24 months.