Hoop Mountain Prep Classic Notes From Sunday
THOMPSON, Conn. – The second annual Hoop Mountain Prep Classic was held this weekend at Marianapolis Prep. The host school scored two victories over the weekend in an event that had a distinctively New England feel. Schools who played there were mostly from New England, with schools from Canada and New York on hand and a Laurinburg Prep team that featured several New Englanders as well. There was a good turnout of Division I coaches on Sunday as well to see some of the talent on hand.
Sunday Scoreboard
Choate Rosemary Hall 61, Wilbraham & Monson 49
Noble & Greenough 72, Hebron Academy 34
Blair Academy 76, Vanier Prep 64
Laurinburg Prep vs. New York Boys Club (cancelled)
Marianapolis Prep 99, Notre Dame Prep 79
Brimmer & May 71, BB&N 54
Ryce Among Impressive Players in First Game
In Choate Rosemary Hall’s 61-49 win over Wilbraham & Monson to open Sunday, the most impressive prospect was Choate senior Mike Ryce. The 6’7″ forward is very athletic with a live body, and he makes a lot of plays by being active inside. He scored 13 points and had several blocked shots and rebounds, which isn’t a bad day at the office for a player who wasn’t with the team until about a week ago after playing football.
Teammate Luke Matarazzo (5’9″ So. PG) also impressed, showing some speed with the ball and a knack for finding the basket. He looks smaller than he is but has a relatively mature body for his age, and had the ball in his hands often en route to a game-high 23 points. He looks to be a scoring point guard and is getting interest from some elite academic schools.
One other player who has a chance at the Division I level is Kyle Kesses (6’5″ Sr. SG-SF), who scored 14 points. He shot the ball well and read several passes nicely at the defensive end for steals. At the offensive end, his shooting is his best asset, but he doesn’t seem afraid to go to the basket.
Halpern Leads Easy Rout
With Michigan head coach John Beilein present, having stayed in the area after his team lost at Harvard the night before, Tucker Halpern (6’8″ Jr. SF-PF) led Noble & Greenough to an easy win over Hebron Academy. He didn’t show anything new in this game, but he shot it well and moved without the ball.
Halpern had some help from a couple of classmates, McCallum Foote (6’5″ Jr. SF-PF) and Derek Beresford (5’9″ Jr. PG). Foote plays bigger and is very active, showing a nose for the ball and especially when it comes to rebounding, and he also seems to have a good feel for the game. If you could combine Halpern’s skills with Foote’s toughness and nose for the ball, you’d have a heck of a combo forward. Foote will need to either grow more or upgrade his perimeter skills if he is to be a Division I player, but he could be a nice player at a lower level. Beresford is stronger than he looks, hard-nosed and made some hustle plays, and he helped set a tone early as he was aggressive defensively.
Well-Balanced Blair Rides Threesome to Victory
Blair Academy has two seniors already signed at Division I schools, as well as a junior who will likely play at the high-major level. They rode the play of those three to a victory over Montreal-based Vanier Prep.
Stanford signee Jarrett Mann (6’2″ Sr. PG-SG) is looking better all the time as a combo guard. In this game, he was driving and scoring to the tune of 20 points to lead the way, while also handling and passing well. He was around the ball often and led a number of run-outs for his team.
Classmate Alex Vouyoukas (6’8″ Sr. PF), a Davidson signee, showed a nice finesse post game en route to 18 points. He has a thin upper body and doesn’t seem to have much toughness inside, but he showed the ability to finish with his left hand and a little touch away from the basket.
Austin Johnson (6’8″ Jr. SF-PF) had a nice spring and summer playing alongside Mann, and looks like he’s carrying his play over into the season. He didn’t face the basket much like he did in AAU, but was solid inside all game en route to 19 points. His toughness was evident, and he’s in better physical shape now.
Blair has a few other Division I prospects who didn’t stand out as much in this game. Tyler McNeely (6’6″ So. SF) has a good body but a limited role. Ryan Lubreski (6’1″ So. SG) is active and heady in his reserve role. Hakeem Harris (6’0″ So. PG) is well-built and looks like he has some physical tools, but didn’t play a big role in the win. Ameer Brown (6’2″ Jr. SG) has a good body and showed a little touch from long range.
Vanier Prep had a few prospects of its own, including a couple of underclassmen. Shooter Tim Lachance (6’1″ Sr. SG) hit some early shots from long range before not getting a lot of shots later. Classmate Anaciet Mulumba-Mbayi (6’7″ Sr. PF) has a mature body and is mobile inside, while his bookend Holando Meus (6’7″ Jr. PF) had the better game on this day and looks athletic. Thomas Pearson (6’7″ Jr. SF) is a little thin but showed a touch from mid-range. Hernst LaRoche (6’1″ Jr. SG), who scored 14 points, might be the most promising prospect of all, as he’s very athletic and still has some physical maturing to go. Vosberg Agenor (6’2″ So. SG) might be right there, but he has to play with better control as he develops. He already has some athleticism and looks like he has a good stroke.
Host School Wins Second Behind Newcomers
Marianapolis Prep used a big second half to overcome a halftime deficit, then take the game over en route to their win over Notre Dame Prep. While this was not the Notre Dame Prep that is ranked in the top 10 of the national prep school poll, it was still a good group of players.
Newcomers Mike Myers-Keitt (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF) and Corey Wright, Jr. (5’10” Jr. PG) led the way for the winners, with Wright taking over the game at times in the second half. He scored 17 of his 29 points after the break, including a stretch where he made one play after another to break open a close game. That made up for his first half struggles, where the lefty ran the show but had trouble making shots.
Myers-Keitt, who scored 19 points, continues to improve his overall game, especially away from the basket. His ball skills are still getting better, and it’s safe to call him a combo forward although he doesn’t have a clear position defensively. In AAU, he often played inside on a team loaded with wings, and generally fared well as an active post player. But he’s not strong enough yet to not get bulled around inside by bigger and stronger players.
Also helping the winners was Aaron Strothers (6’7″ Sr. PF), who is a nice role player on this team. The lanky forward runs the floor well and can rebound, and he’s a plus athlete for the power forward spot. His inside bookend, Reuben Cabrera (6’7″ Jr. PF), played well by working inside and not trying to do too much en route to 12 points and several rebounds. Shooter Niko Vukadinovic (6’0″ Sr. SG) has plenty of range on his shot and is a capable ball-handler, and he keeps on playing.
Second Half a Little Better for Casey
In the first half of his team’s win to close out the event, Brimmer & May star Kyle Casey (6’6″ Jr. SF) looked out of it. He didn’t seem to have much energy or a motor of any sort, and seemed almost invisible at times.
The second half was much better, as Casey made more things happen en route to finishing with 21 points. He boxed out well but didn’t seem to get many rebounds early, but was better in the second half. Athletic and skilled, Casey has plenty of upside as long as the motor keeps going like it was in our first viewing of him back in June.
Other Player Notes
- Andrew McCarthy (6’7″ Sr. SF-PF, BB&N) sat out Sunday’s game as his back is still bothering him. It’s the same injury that kept him out of a significant portion of last season. He tried to play AAU in the spring, but wasn’t the same player.
- Brian Johnson (6’3″ Jr. SG-SF, Brimmer & May) has re-classified and looked good in his team’s win. He shot the ball well from long range, and while he doesn’t have the best ball skills, he’s a good athlete with a strong and mature body.
- Derek Retos (5’9″ So. PG, Brimmer & May) is just a baby physically, and while he didn’t get many shots, he has a reputation for his ability to shoot and also looks like he has a good motor.
- Boston native Malik Smith (6’1″ Jr. SG) had a good 20-point outing, including four three-pointers, in his team’s loss on Sunday. He showed once again that if he ever gets his act together in the classroom, he has a chance to play at the Division I level and can be a good player at the right school.
- Smith’s best teammate on the night was Alex Dempsey (6’2″ Sr. SG), who went for 17 points and showed a nice touch shooting the ball. He has a good body and can play off the ball at a mid- or low-major school.
