Update on . . . Markese Tucker, Wayne Newsom, Dondre Whitmore, and Frantz Massenat

The Team New Jersey ABC U-16 AAU squad just had a big week offer-wise. Four of the team's main 10 players received a scholarship offer last week. Markese Tucker, a 6'5 forward in the class of 2010 at Trenton Catholic (NJ), got his first offer, and it was from one of the top teams in the NEC, Robert Morris. The Colonials also gave 6'7 forward Wayne Newsom '10 of Piscataway (NJ) his first scholarship offer. In addition, the team offered Dondre Whitmore '10, a 5'9 point guard from Trenton Catholic, as did Fordham, an A-10 school that has been aggressively recruiting New Jersey players. The ligtining-quick point guard has been previously offered by Rider, so his total stands at three right now. Another player who already has an offer from Rider is class of 2010 6'4 guard Frantz Massenat of Trenton Catholic. Recently, Massenat has picked up offered from both Fordham and Robert Morris, in addition to another A-10 school, LaSalle, so he has four offers as of now. I've spoken with Wayne and Frantz, and both of them are quite happy about the recent developments in their recruitment. I'll definitely keep you posted on how the recruiting process is coming along for these four quality players.

Scouting Report on Mike Spence

The Nia School (NJ) had two teams at the Hoop Group Showcase this weekend. Mike Spence, a 6'10 power forward who played with the school's Blue team, was easily the squad's best player in its game against Lakewood (NJ). In the first half, Spence dropped 10 points, and his team was in a commanding lead, that went up to as much as 18 in the second 16 minutes of play. Although Nia Blue did blow its lead, Spence still performed well. The big man was strong in the post and always took the ball up with using his strength, yet the most noticeable part of his game had nothing to do with his talent. Rather, it was his extreme intensity. Spence was vocal, and got hyped up whenever he'd score, especially when the game got tight. Some people may take this as a negative, but I definitely saw it as a psotive, as Spence was really into the game. At points, Spence did seem a big awkward on the court, but he more than made up for it with his play. Physically, the soon-to-be post grad player was lanky with long arms. He is a pure low-post player without much of an outside game. Spence isn't juts big, he is smart on the court. He post ups prior to getting the ball to get into good position, and he is aware, specifically of the three second rule. Rebounding-wise, the Nia big man was solid on the offensive glass. Defensively, Mike was, not surprisingly, a quality shot blocker, as he utilized his size and long arms well. Spence's 13 second half points gave him 23 in the game as a whole. The 6'10 post player does not seem to be particularly raw, so its likely that he may not improve all the much in his season at Nia. I'd say that Mike would nice at a low-major DI school, but only time will tell.

Ranking of the Top 30 Players at the Hoop Group Showcase

I'd like to provide you with a quick list of the top players at the Hoop Group Showcase based solely off their performance at the event. Many of the major superstars, such as Michael Gilchrist '11 of St. Patrick's (NJ), Tristan Thompson '10 of St. Benedict's (NJ), and Dominic Cheek '09 of St, Anthony's (NJ), were at the NBA Top 100 Camp. Nonetheless, there was still a lot of talent that did participate in the vent. Two studs from St. Patrick's lead my rankings.

Rank. Name, Height, Position, Class, High School (State)
1. Kyrie Irving, 6'1, guard, 2010, St. Patrick's (NJ)
2. Markus Kennedy, 6'8, power forward, 2010, St. Patrick's (NJ)
3. Isaiah Epps, 6'2, guard, 2010, Plainfield (NJ)
4. Tyrone Johnson, 6'3, guard, 2011, Plainfield (NJ)
5. Adrian Satchell, 6'7, forward, 2009, Windsor (CT)
6. Aaron Brown, 6'4, forward, 2010, St. Benedict's (NJ)
7. TJ Clemmings, 6'6, forward, 2010, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
8. Fuquan Edwin, 6'5, swingman, 2010, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
9. Chase Plummer, 6'5, forward, 2010, St. Patrick's (NJ)
10. Keith Lumpkin, 6'8, center, 2011, St. Peter's Prep (NJ)
11. Myles Mack, 5'9, guard, 2011, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
12. Tavon Sledge, 5'10, guard, 2011, St. Benedict's (NJ)
13. John Calcaro, 6'3, guard, 2009, New Rochelle (NY)
14. Antoine Mason, 6'3, guard, 2o10, New Rochelle (NY)
15. Tyreek Duran, 6'2, guard, 2010, Neumann-Goretti (PA)
16. Shaq Thomas, 6'7, swingman, 2010, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
17. Josh Daniell, 6'6, small forward, St. Patrick's (NJ)
18. Akeem Wilson, 6'6, forward, Susquehanna Township (PA)
19. Mike Spence, 6'10, power forward, The Nia School Blue (NJ)
20. Sterling Gibbs, 6'1, point guard, Seton Hall Prep (NJ)
21. Anthony Baskerville, 5'8, guard, Plainfield (NJ)
22. Matt O'Brien, 6'4, guard, Brick Memorial (NJ)
23. Doug Soutar, 6'3, guard, 2009, Windsor (CT)
24. Kevin Boyle, Jr., 5'7, guard, 2010, St. Patrick's (NJ)
25. Ryan Delaire, 6'6, forward, 2010, Windsor (CT)
26. Lance Brown, 6'3, guard, 2009, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
27. Jayon James, 6'6, small forward, 2010, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
28. Jarell Lane, 5'10, guard, 2011, St. Patrick's (NJ)
29. Justin Harris, 6'6, forward, 2o11, Paramus Catholic (NJ)
30. Jimmy Burke, 5'11, guard, 2009, Seton Hall Prep (NJ)

Note- rankings re based soley off this event alone, and only includes players that I either saw play and/or whose point totals I saw

Hoop Group Showcase Day Two- The Month of the Celtics

First the Boston Celtics, and now the St. Patrick's (NJ) Celtics. The men from Beantown wrapped up the NBA Championship just several days ago, while today the kids from Elizabeth took home the title at the Hoop Group Showcase. Maybe St. Patrick's Day should be moved to mid-June because it seems that the luck of the Irish is quite far-reaching around then. Today was, for the most part, about St. Pat's, though a few other teams did make some nice impressions.

In the first game I saw, St. Patrick's manhandled Seton Hall Prep (NJ) and won by 13, 54-41. The game was not nearly as close as the score would indicate. Seton Hall's class of 2011 stud Sterling Gibbs, a 6'1 guard, struggled mightily in the loss. He had just eight points, half of which came from the free throw line, where he shot 4/6. Jimmy Burke '09, a 5'11 guard, showed off his nice shooting touch, scoring nine points, all of which came one threes. Markus Kennedy and Kyrie Irving, both class of 2010 stars, led the way for the Celtics. Kennedy, a 6'8 power forward, scored 22 points, 16 of which were first half, when he team had 30 total, giving him over half their points through the first 16 minutes. The big man was 4/5 at the line. Irving, a 6'1 guard, hit his only two free throws and knocked down two treys, finishing with 14 points in the win. After the Celtics' win, I caught the end of the final game played by Linden (NJ). The Tigers, a quality public school squad, lost the game, and finished 0-3 on the weekend.

After the Linden game came a match-up that many people were excited for: St. Patrick's against St. Benedict's (NJ). Although most of the star players on each team were not playing (Michael Gilchrist '11, Paris Bennett '09, and Dexter Strickland '09 for St. Pat's and Lamar Patterson '09, Tamir Jackson '09, Tristan Thompson '10, and Myck Kabongo '11 for St. Ben's), the game was still a drawing card. The Gray Bees, though, were thoroughly over-matched by St. Patrick's, and took a crushing defeat, losing 61-35. Aaron Brown '10, a 6'4 forward, was the standout for St. Benedict's all tournament, and the semifinals game was no different, as he led the way with 12 points, knocking down two three-balls, and went 2/5 at the line. Tavon Sledge '11, a 5'10 guard, added seven points on 4/6 shooting at the stripe and a three pointer. The Gray Bees may well have been tired after their overtime victory over Neumann-Goretti (PA) earlier in the morning in the quarterfinals. Kyrie Irving was phenomenal again for the Celtics, scoring 18 points, hitting two threes, and making all four of his free throws. Markus Kennedy added 17 points and hit his lone shot at the stripe. Kevin Boyle, Jr. '10, a 5'9 guard, scored 12 points and was 2/3 from the free throw line.

The semifinals game between Windsor (CT) and Plainfield (NJ), two powerhouse public schools, for the right to play St. Pat's in the finals was the best game of the day, and maybe of the whole event. Windsor's players had to coach themselves, as Connecticut state rules prohibit a team's coach from being on the bench. Plainfield, a squad that features two superstars in 6'3 guard Tyrone Johnson '11 and 6'2 guard Isaiah Epps '10, as well as under-the-radar Anthony Baskerville, a 5'8 guard in the class of 2009, trailed 48-35 at the half. The game got interesting, as Epps and Johnson led the charge and the Jersey boys began to eat away at the lead. At the 3:45 mark, Plainfield had stormed all the way back and had taken the lead, 80-78. After the two teams exchanged buckets, Tyrus Weaver '10, a 5'11 guard, knocked down a three with 2:10 remaining to put his Windsor team ahead. Tyrone Johnson answered with two free throws allowing his side to re-gain the lead, 84-83 with two minutes on the clock. Johnson went to the line again with 0:53 showing on the clock, and he hit the first of two shots, stretching Plainfield's narrow lead out to two points. Windsor then took a timeout with 35 seconds left. After play resumed, Windsor wasted some clock, and then class of 2010 member, 6'6 forward Ryan Delaire got to the rim and even up the score with around 12 seconds left. Plainfield was unable to score at the other end, and a long-range shot from Windsor went way off, ending regulation with the sore knotted up at 85. Plainfield won the top to start the two minute overtime period, and Isaiah Epps quickly put the ball in the hole, before 10 seconds had even gone by. Kingsley Boothe '09, a 6'3 forward, answered for Windsor, tying the score with 1:38 left. Plainfield then hit another deuce, re-taking the lead with 1:19 left on the clock. Windsor then hit one of two at the stripe with 1:11 left, cutting the lead to 89-88. Anthony Baskerville got to the line with 51 ticks left and missed the front end of a one and one. The score stayed 89-88 until there was 20 seconds remaining, when Steven Samuels '09, a 6'5 forward, scored a bucket on a drive to the rack. Plainfield then missed a shot on its attempt to get to the hole, and the rebound bounced around, until 6'7 forward Adrian Satchell '09 grabbed hold of it and got fouled with five seconds left. The big man knocked down bot hshots, putting his squad ahead 92-89. Isaiah Epps then took the inbounds pass and drove past his man along the left side of the court and passed the rock to Anthony Baskerville. The junior's three-point attempt from the left corner, rimmed in and out, and Windsor grabbed the win by a final of 92-89. Leading the way for Plainfield was Isaiah Epps, who scored just four points in the first half, but finished with 28. He hit three threes and three free throws on his way to the team high points total. A close second in that race was Tyrone Johnson, who dropped in 27 points, including nine from the line. Baskerville, whose shot was off all game long, scored 12 points. For Windsor, Adrian Satchell poured in a whopping 34 points, scoring 18 of them in the first half. He hit two threes and two free throws. Doug Soutar, a 6'3 class of 2009 guard, added 23 points, including two three pointers and four free throws. Ryan Delaire dropped 13 in his own right, with five of them coming at the stripe. Tyrus Weaver's big three near the end of regulation accounted for his lone points in the contest, but they sure were huge in the high scoring affair.

The beatdown the St. Patrick's handed St. Benedict's doesn't even compare to the one they gave Windsor in the title game. Not only did the Celtics win by even more, they did so in much more convincing fashion. The squad jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead after 3:30 of play. Markus Kennedy injured his knee at about the 10 minute mark, iced it and had it looked at by the trainer, and was then good to go. With seven minutes left in the half, the game was still somewhat close, with Windsor trailing 19-6. Three minutes later, the difference was still 13 points, 22-9. Windsor did not hit double digits until 14:40 into the game, when they hit a deuce to give them 11. At the half, the scored favored St. Patrick's 27-13. Kyrie Irving led the way for the Celtics in the half with 11 points, including a three pointer and 4/5 shooting at the line. Ryan Delaire led Windsor in the half, scoring four points. Things started to get ugly in the second half. The St. Pat's lead was 33-15 with 12 minutes to go, then 41-17 with eight minutes left. The margin had grown to 30 points, 47-17, with about 5:30 left, and that's around when the team put in many of its rarely used/JV-only players, such as 5'10 guard Richard Dobin '1o who scored two points, and 5'7 class of 2009 guard Berdy Cadet who hit a three. At the two minute mark, the Celtics were ahead 54-17, and that was the game's final score. St. Patrick's held Windsor to just four points in the second half and kept the scoreless for the final eight minutes, the equivalent of a full quarter in regulation high school ball. For St. Patrick's, Chase Plummer '10, a 6'5 forward, scored 12 points, all in the second half, and was 2/4 at the line. Kyrie Irving finished the game with 17 points, scoring three deuces in the second half. Markus Kennedy had 11 points, and was 3/5 at the line. For Windsor, Adrian Satchell was the leading scorer, finishing with six points, including 2/2 shooting at the charity stripe. Ryan Delaire had four points, and missed his only two shots at the line. Attah Agymand '09, a 5'7 guard, scored two points, and Steve Samuels had three, hitting his only free throw.

The wonderful showing that St. Patrick's had today can be summed up by going over the box scores from their three double-digit victories. They scored 50+ in all three games, while holding opponents to no more than 41. In total, they outscored their opposition 169-93, a 76-point margin. Markus Kennedy (50 points) and Kyrie Irving (49 points) outscored Seton Hall Prep, St. Benedict's, and Windsor combined. The Celtics averaged 56.3 points per game, while their opposition averaged just 31, for a wide 24.3 average scoring differential. My tournament MVP award would go to Kyrie Irving. The 6'1 rising junior guard was unstoppable, seemingly scoring at will. He hit threes, got to the rack, made the majority of his free throws, and just dominated whoever he was matched up against. Irving, a transfer from Montclair Kimberly Academy (NJ) is the real deal.

Congratulations to St. Patrick's on their win in the 2008 Hoop Group Showcase.

Note- photo on the top left is of Markus Kennedy, photo on the bottom left is of St. Patrick's (NJ), and photo on the bottom right is of Windsor (CT)

Note- photo in the middle on the right is of Isaiah Epps, and is from http://playazbasketball.org/

Player Diary: Steve Rennard '10

So here’s a normal schedule in my life. School just ended a few weeks ago and I’ve been working hard with my high school and AAU teams. My AAU team (Team NJABC) has been very busy these past couple months. We’ve been in a number of big tournaments such as the the Playaz Spring Fling, a couple of Hoop Group Jam Fests, and the Rumble in the Bronx. Coming up we have the West Virginia Jam Fest, Hoop Group Reebok Summer Classic, and the Super Showcase in Florida. We decided to do the Super Showcase this year instead of the Main Event in Las Vegas, but both are very competitive. Last year we made it to the elite eight in the Main Event, but lost on a buzzer beater to Houston Hoops. I’m definitely looking forward to the traveling and playing the best teams from all over the country.

For my high school team (St. Joe’s Metuchen, NJ), starting this week we have league games in Elizabeth and Linden on Mondays and Wednesdays. The rest of the week we have individual skills training and weight lifting at St. Joe’s. We go through our lifting program for an hour and then have skills training with Coach Turco and Coach Dolan. We are also going to team camps at a few colleges and at Eastern.

St Joe's just signed up to do a speed and agility training program at the Basketball Shooting Academy (TBSA) in Edison. I usually get there an hour early to get some shots up before we start. Then afterwards I stay and run some games with the guys there.
Last weekend (June 15 – 17) I was at Princeton Elite Camp. I thought the new coach there (Coach Johnson) really knew what he was doing. He is trying to give the kids on his team more freedom to create, and I like his coaching style. We are definitely going to keep in touch. I am going to attend the Temple elite camp in Philadelphia in a few weeks. Supposedly the competition there should be tough so I’m looking forward to it. The Headliner tryout camp held in Rebounds just passed also. From that camp I got invited to the Breakout camp in Chicago.

One thing that I also enjoy doing when I’m not playing basketball is drawing for a new company that my friend and I started up. We sell mostly T-Shirts and hoodies, and it’s really starting to take off. I just designed a T-Shirt for two DJs and I am working on another one for a new Ice Coffee drink that is going to be hitting the stores soon called “Mojava”. Oh yea, you can check out some of the stuff on http://uniiqz.com/.

Well it’s been, and still going to be, a very busy summer. The summer after sophomore year is an important time to start thinking about college, and it’s been exciting so far. I have to keep working hard if I want to get to the level where I want to play. It’s been a good experience, and I’ll keep you updated as time goes on.

More Upcoming Interviews:

Today, the second and final day of the Hoop Group Showcase gave me the opportunity to speak with a few more quality players. I took some time talk to seven guys: Myles Davis '11, Markus Kennedy '10, Isaiah Epps, '10, Tyrone Johnson '11, David Bruce '09, Dean Kowalski '09, and Doug Soutar '09. Both Bruce and Kennedy have already been featured on Northstar Basketball. I will be posting these interviews, along with the 13 that I conducted yesterday, over the next few weeks. I'll get them up as quickly as my busy schedule will allow. Make sure you check back soon.

Hoop Group Showcase Day One- "Pandemonium in Piscataway"

It seems that Chris Carlin's call of "Pandemonium in Piscataway" does not only relate to Rutgers football. Today at the Hoop Group Showcase, there was pandemonium abound from start to finish. The madness began during the very first set of games in a match-up between The Nia School (NJ) Blue and Lakewood (NJ). The Eagles of TheNia School were coasting along, stretching their lead to 18 at one point, but Lakewood would not go away. Nia had no subs, and that may well have hurt them. Regardless of the reasoning, Lakewood stormed back to pick up a 70-69 win. Mike Spence, a senior for Nia, was one player who caught my eye during the game. I'll have a scouting report on the 6'10 senior up on the site sometime within the next few days.

At 12:30, the craziness continued on as a tournament heavyweight lost in its first game. The Linden Tigers (NJ) fell to the "other" St. Joseph's (Montevale, NJ) by 14 points. Linden's 6'10 big man--and star player--David Bruce struggled throughout. Also at 12:30, Monmouth (NJ) knocked off basketball powerhouse Bloomfield Tech (NJ) in a surprising upset. At 1:45, the first big game of the day turned into an interesting one. St. Benedict's (NJ) sans Tristan Thompson '10, Myck Kabongo '11, Lamar Patterson '09, and Tamir Jackson '10, narrowly beat PCTI (NJ). The Gray Bees led 36-22 at halftime, and seemed to be in full control of the game. PCTI, though, wouldn't die easy and made it into a game. The boys from the Passaic County evened up the score in the final 1:30 of play. Then, with less than a minute, PCTI elected to run the clock down, but not hold for the last shot, as a shot was put up with about 14 seconds to go. Tavon Sledge '11 of St. Benedict's drove the ball downcourt and missed a layup, but Aaron Brown '10 grabbed the rebound and put it back up and in with only two seconds to go, giving the Gray Bees the victory by a final score of 63-61. Brown was the superstar for his team, finishing with 24 points. The 6'4 forward was 6/9 at the charity stripe. Sledge, a 5'10 guard added 12 points and was 1/2 from the line. In an upset, Don Bosco (NJ) was defeated by Freehold Boro (NJ) during the 1:45 games. At 3:00, St. Peter's Prep (NJ) lost a tight one to Newburgh Free Academy (NY) in a contest that came down the wire.

In one of the day's two craziest games, St. Patrick's (NJ) and New Rochelle (NY) met at 4:10 in a game that was changed to the main court, allowing more people to see the Celtics showcase what they had. In the first half, it was all about Kevin Boyle's squad, as the Celtics took a commanding 43-13 lead into the half, despite 6'8 power forward Markus Kennedy '10 not playing for much of the half. Chase Plummer '10, a 6'5 forward , filled the void left by Kennedy, and scored 12 points. Kyrie Irving '10, a transfer from Montclair Kimberly Academy (NJ) scored 15 points in with first 16 minutes of play, as the 6'1 guard was easily the best player on the court. Superstars Michael Gilchrist '11 and Dexter Strickland '09 were not in attendance for St. Pat's, nor were Paris Bennett '09, Derrick Gordon '11, and Shaq Stokes '11. The Celtics' 30-point lead did not stay all that big for long, as New Rochelle (NY) hit shot after shot to cut the lead all the way down to seven, 54-47, with nine minutes left in the game. Leading the way for squad from the Empire State were John Calarco '09, a 6'3 guard, and Antoine Mason '10, also a 6'3 guard, both of who were deadly shooters from beyond the arc. With the clock showing 6:50, the lead was six, 59-52. About two minutes later, with only 4:40 to go, New Rochelle had fought all the way back to within one point, and trailed 62-61. The teams then began to exchange buckets and after two more minutes had gone by, St. Patrick's led 66-64. The Celtics then began to take over, leading 73-64 with a minute left. At this point, the game seemed all but over. With the clock reading 0:10, the Celtics were ahead 75-69, and a three-ball with a few ticks left cut the lead to three. Josh Daniell '10, a 6'6 forward, used some heads-up thinking and did not inbound the ball, sealing the win for his St. Patrick's squad. Daniell also had a big block and a key bucket in the final minutes.

At 7:45, the undefeated "national champion" St. Anthony's Friars (NJ) took the floor against The Nia School (NJ) White. Bob Hurley's squad did not have its three best players: Dominic Cheek '09, Ashton Pankey '10, and Devon Collier '10. The only member of the team's core players for next season that was there was Jamee Jackson '09, a 6'7 forward. The rest of the squad was quite inexperienced. It was evident how thin the team will be next season depth-wise, as Nia knocked them off in a close, low scoring affair.

On paper, the Paterson Catholic (NJ) and Susquehanna Township (PA) contest did not look like it would be a good game at all. For the first half, that was completely true, but not in the way one would expect. The Keystone State team was ahead 41-23 at the half, despite PC jumping out to a quick 8-0 lead. The team pushed its lead up to as much as 30 points during the second 16 minutes of play before Paterson Catholic started to fight back. The game stayed in the twenties for a while, yet as time progressed, PC slowly chipped away at the lead. Fuquan Edwin '10, Shaquille Thomas '10, Jayon James '10, and Myles Mack '11 were the main members in the comeback. Before you knew it, Susquehanna's lead was in single digits. It grew back up to 10+ in the final two minutes and it seemed that PC was as good as done, but they did not give up, chopping the lead all the way down to three. With four seconds left, Susquehanna hit one of two at the stripe, making it a four point game. Myles Mack shot far to early and from from way to far away, and the shot missed, giving Susquehanna Township a huge upset win.

The day's games at the Hoop Group Showcase were crazy, and tomorrow will hopefully be just as good. Both St. Patrick's and St. Benedict's will have tough games in the quarterfinals. The Celtics will meet Seton Hall Prep (NJ) and the Gray Bees will face Neumann-Goretti (PA). If both Jersey teams do win, though, they will meet in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, a spot in the title game is up for grabs as both of the favorites have been eliminated. Windsor (CT) and The NIA School White will meet in one quarterfinal game, while Susquehanna Township will face the winner of tonight's Plainfield (NJ)/Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) game in the round of eight. This tournament may well have a surprise champion, it's just as matter of who that champ will be.

Note- photo on the top left is of David Bruce and the photo on the top right is of Aaron Brown; both are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/

Note- photo in the mid-right is of Jamee Jackson and is from http://www.nj.com/

Note- photo on the bottom left is of Myles Mack and is from http://hstrial-spulliam.homestead.com/