PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The spring travel team season unofficially got going this weekend with a few events across the country. A notable one is the Playaz Spring Fling, normally held just outside New York City but this year being held largely at Rutgers. The event annually brings a number of teams from the northeast corridor with, as one might expect, a good concentration of teams from New York and New Jersey.
Here are notes on some of the players who stood out in one way or another.
Carson Desrosiers (6’11” Jr. PF-C, Lawrence (MA) Central Catholic HS) His play here wasn’t really a surprise, as he largely faced the basket and took jumpers, a few of which he hit, and didn’t get physical inside. Generally, he wasn’t a major factor, and when he did post up he made finesse plays. His body’s not there yet physically, but this is nothing new and he often had a shorter player guarding him.
Antoine Mason (6’3″ Jr. SG, New Rochelle (NY) High) Well-built wing was the best player on his Metro Hawks team, as he’s athletic, aggressive and fearless when going to the basket. He battled inside at times, getting a stickback and finishing well, and has range out to the three-point line.
Jayvaughn Pinkston (6’6″ Jr. SF-PF, Brooklyn (NY) Bishop Loughlin HS) Early in his high school career, he had a big-time reputation. But now, he looks a little like a player without a true position. He has a strong, mature body and is highly-skilled, but he was a little on the feast or famine side this weekend. He didn’t seem to have it early, but went for 14 points in his team’s last pool play game and looked much better.
Will Regan (6’9″ Jr. PF, Buffalo (NY) Nichols School) Tough post player moves well and was very active in our viewing of him. His body’s not there yet, but the intangibles looked good here.
Russell Smith (5’10” Sr. PG, Queens (NY) Archbishop Molloy HS) He might have had the most impressive individual effort we saw, as he went for 31 points with five three-pointers. His body’s not there yet, but he’s a solid finisher and showed nice range on his jumper, with one coming from very deep. Prep school likely beckons next year.
Evan Smotrcyz (6’8″ Jr. SF, Reading (MA) New Hampton Prep) The jury is still out on him, as he struggled in one game we saw at both ends. While he got called for a bad charging foul one time, it was fitting considering he just wasn’t very effective. He’s not very athletic and is at his best when not forcing the action.
Naadir Tharpe (5’11” So. PG, Worcester (MA) Brewster Academy) Here, he showed signs of starting to live up to some of the hype that has surrounded him since early in his high school days. He drove constantly to create for teammates, making a number of good passes in traffic although he also looked a little too unselfish at times and threw it to an opposing player a couple of times. A number of his passes were of the interior variety, and he did finish well a couple of times.
Derrick Williams (6’6″ Jr. PF, Jersey City (NJ) St. Anthony’s) On Friday night, he was the most impressive player we saw. The undersized power forward is well-built and really competed, finishing close shots and hitting a couple of mid-range jumpers. Showing his fundamentals, he even made a nice entry pass one time when facing the basket.
Players we didn’t see much of here but want to see more of:
C.J. Aiken (6’9″ Jr. PF, Wyndmoor (PA) La Salle HS)
Derrick Gordon (6’3″ So. SG, Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick’s HS)
Cameron Gunter (6’8″ Jr. PF, Ridley (PA) High)
Anthony Ireland (5’10” Sr. PG, Waterbury (CT) Crosby HS)
Dyrek Jones (6’7″ Sr. PF, Brooklyn (NY) Bedford Academy)
Matt Lopez (6’9″ Jr. PF-C, Washington Township (NJ) High)
Matt McMullen (6’4″ So. SG, Lincroft (NJ) Christian Brothers Academy)
Dominykas Milka (6’8″ Jr. PF, Queens (NY) Christ The King HS)
J.J. Moore (6’5″ Jr. SF, Brentwood (NY) High)
David Samuel (6’7″ Jr. PF, Bronx (NY) Blessed Sacrament HS)
Jermaine Sanders (6’4″ So. SG-SF, New York (NY) Rice HS)
