Plenty of Talent at Hoophall Classic
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – We checked out games on Sunday at the 2007 Spalding Hoophall Classic, and they didn’t disappoint. In the six games, only one was a blowout, with one going to overtime and another ending on a buzzer-beater that capped off a frantic final minute.
Scoreboard
Cincinnati (OH) Harmony Community School 66, Winchendon (MA) School 43
Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military Academy 99, Northfield (MA) Mt. Hermon 82
Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS 85, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s School 81
Philadelphia (PA) St. John Neumann-Goretti 81, Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha Catholic HS 71 (OT)
Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s Prep 79, Towson (MD) Catholic HS 76
Fitchburg (MA) Notre Dame Prep 72, Lenoir (NC) Patterson School 71
Stacked Harmony Wins Easily Without Stud Forward
Harmony Community School didn’t have Florida-bound forward Alex Tyus, but that wasn’t a problem against a stacked Winchendon team that hasn’t played well when we’ve seen them. Harmony scored the first 15 points of the game and didn’t allow a point until just over nine minutes into the game en route to a dominating 66-43 win. The box score does this game no justice, as the only category where they had a clear edge was in their 20-25 showing at the free throw line while Winchendon had just 12 attempts.
Nebraska commit Josh “Cookie” Miller (5’8″ Sr. PG) led the way with 12 points and five assists, while Nick Murphy was the only other Hurricane in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds. Miller is a blur going to the basket and can make some great plays, but he also looked erratic and seems to like the no-look pass a bit much. Murphy (6’3″ Sr. SG) has a good body and is very active, but struggled shooting the ball and also missed a few close shots. Nonetheless, he’ll be a good pickup for some mid-major program. Also impressing for Harmony were Tennessee-bound big man Brian Williams (6’9″ Sr. C), a thick post player who shows decent mobility and some post moves, as well as active forward Cordell Pope (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF).
Lots of Talent Impresses in Hargrave’s Win
There was no shortage of talent on the floor in the second game, where Northfield Mt. Hermon rallied to get within striking distance before Hargrave Military Academy pulled away for a 99-82 win. A number of players had nice stat lines, as the score might indicate, but a couple of players really stood out.
For the victors, Virginia Tech signee Jeff Allen (6’8″ Sr. PF) had 18 points on 8-12 shooting and 10 rebounds, generally dominating the paint and also showing some ball skills. He consistently backed defenders in for easy baskets and also ran the floor very well. You’re not going to move him out of the paint; he’s just too big and strong.
Northfield Mt. Hermon got a nice game from one of the better unsigned guards in Gary Correia (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG). Correia went for 19 points on 7-10 shooting, including 5-6 from long range. Though not a pure point guard, he can run a team, but his shooting is clearly his best asset. All 19 of his points came in the second half.
Helping Allen out on the winner’s side was Virginia signee Mike Scott (6’8″ Sr. PF) with 18 points and Allen’s future Hokie teammate, Dorenzo Hudson (6’4″ Sr. SG), who had 17 points. Scott doesn’t have an imposing or tremendously athletic body, but he plays the game well. Hudson is a well-built wing who struggled shooting from long range in this game but will give the Hokies some offense from that spot.
Correia’s main help came from La Salle-bound Terrell Williams (6’7″ Sr. SF), who had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Williams is active and versatile and will fit with the type of players John Giannini has been recruiting since he took the job at La Salle. Notre Dame-bound Tyrone Nash (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF), a bouncy combo forward who’s deceptively athletic and really works inside, had 14 points.
Wright Takes Over, Out-Guns Sanders, St. Andrew’s
Early on, it looked like Boston College-bound Rakim Sanders (6’5″ Sr. SG) would have a huge game and St. Andrew’s could run away from St. John’s College. Sanders had 22 points in the first half on 9-15 shooting, and the Saints led by double digits for most of the first half. But that was before Georgetown-bound point guard Chris Wright got going and ultimately took the game over.
Wright, who finished with 39 points and five assists, helped the Cadets finish the first half on a 9-2 run, then took over in the second half en route to the victory. Wright sealed it with a fadeaway jumper with just over two minutes left. His primary help came from George Mason signee Vlad Moldoveanu (6’10” Sr. PF-C), a skilled big man who went for 18 points and five rebounds.
Sanders finished with 36 points to lead the Saints. Joe Accaoui (5’10” Sr. PG) had 21 points, but only five came in the second half.
Philly School Has the Scoop in Great Game
Arguably the best game of the day was a matchup of two stacked teams, St. John Neumann-Goretti against DeMatha Catholic. Both teams boast several future Division I players and the game was close throughout. A few future Big East players were most notable in this one, but none stood out more than two Syracuse-bound seniors for St. John Neumann.
In the extra session, Rick Jackson (6’8″ Sr. PF) took over at the defensive end with several key blocks to thwart numerous attempts. Though not known for his shot-blocking, Jackson denied every attempt that came near the basket en route to nine blocked shots for the game to go with 10 rebounds. His current and future Syracuse teammate, Antonio “Scoop” Jardine (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG), had numerous clutch baskets en route to a game-high 36 points.
A pair of underclassmen also impressed for the Saints. Active wing Jamal Wilson (6’5″ Jr. SF) had 20 points and six rebounds, while Tony Chenault (6’2″ Fr. SG) added 13 points and nine rebounds and generally impressed with how he contributed while not trying to do too much given his stellar veteran teammates.
Georgetown-bound Austin Freeman (6’5″ Sr. SG) led the Stags with 25 points, while Clemson signee Jerai Grant (6’10” Sr. PF-C) had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Another future Hoya, Chris Braswell (6’9″ Jr. PF), had 17 rebounds but struggled at the offensive end, scoring just eight points on 4-16 shooting. A step forward for Braswell is that he mixed it up inside a lot more, as he’s known more for his face-up game on offense and at times not the presence defensively that he could be. He also looks to be filling out some.
Graybees Hang on for Dear Life
St. Benedict’s looked like it might be headed for a blowout win against Towson Catholic in the first half, as they led by double digits for most of the half and took a 44-30 lead into the locker room. But the Owls, led by Virginia Tech signee Malcolm Delaney (6’3″ Sr. SG), wouldn’t go quietly. They rallied to keep it close for much of the second half and had a chance to send the game to overtime, but a three-pointer as time expired missed the basket.
Delaney was terrific after intermission, scoring 24 of his game-high 32 points with a wide variety of baskets. He can flat-out score and shoot, making seven of nine from long range and already having a reputation for his shooting from mid-range and beyond. He and Syracuse-bound Donte Greene (6’10” Sr. SF-PF), who had 23 points and 15 rebounds, did all they could to bring the Owls back.
St. Benedict’s was led by Villanova-bound Corey Stokes (6’5″ Sr. SG) with 24 points and Samardo Samuels (6’9″ Jr. PF) with 22. Both were 8-15 from the field. Zach Rosen (6’1″ Sr. PG) and Dwan McMillam (6’0″ Jr. PG) capably ran the show for the Graybees, combining for 12 assists with just four turnovers. McMillam also went 4-5 from the field for nine points.
Crusaders Win Wild Finish to the Day
Notre Dame Prep looked like it would break open the final game of the day against Patterson on a couple of occasions, but Patterson never went away. In the final minutes, the Crusaders had a 68-61 lead, but unforced turnovers helped Patterson come back again.
With 37.3 seconds left, Dwight Hardy (15 points) made a short jumper and got fouled, completing the three-point play for a 69-68 Patterson lead. The next trip down, Sedale Jones (6’4″ Sr. SG) made a baseline runner to put Notre Dame up 70-69 with 18 seconds left. An Anjuan Wilderness follow-up with 8.3 seconds left put Patterson back on top before the final drama.
The Crusaders got the ball up court quickly and had a close shot that missed. But Wisconsin-Milwaukee signee Deonte Roberts (6’2″ Sr. SG) got the loose ball and went up before time expired, and the shot went in to give the Crusaders a wild 72-71 victory over the Bulldogs.
Roberts finished with 11 points. Jamine Peterson (6’5″ Sr. SF) led the Crusaders with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Kansas State signee Michael Beasley (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF) had 12 points and seven rebounds. Peterson, like Roberts, is a live body who plays the game at a fast speed and is around the ball often. Beasley had his moments, but we’ll repeat what we’ve said about him before: he’s a tease with all the potential but hardly any consistency. Three of his future coaches were in attendance, including head coach Bob Huggins.
Tennessee signee Cameron Tatum (6’6″ Sr. SF) joined Hardy in leading Patterson with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Tatum should be a good fit at Tennessee, as he is active and played well in this game, showing a good overall skill level.
Other Players Who Caught Our Eye (and stat lines for some of them)
Jordan Crawford (6’4″ Sr. SG, Hargrave Military Academy): 15 points, 8 assists
Greg Echenique (6’9″ So. PF, St. Benedict’s Prep): 9 points, 11 rebounds
Leshon Edwards (6’5″ So. SF, Towson Catholic HS)
Brian Hanuschak (6’6″ Jr. SF-PF, St. Andrew’s School)
Mihai Petcu (6’7″ Sr. PF, St. John’s College HS): 10 points, six rebounds
Jeff Peterson (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, DeMatha Catholic HS): 11 points, 10 assists (committed to Princeton)
Rashad Savage (6’6″ Jr. PF, St. John Neumann-Goretti): 16 rebounds
