NEW HAMPTON, N.H. – The Lakes Region of central New Hampshire is one more part of New England with a few prep schools tucked away. One of the easiest to reach among them is New Hampton Prep, located a short drive off Interstate 93. Post-grads usually make up a significant portion of the roster, and this season is no different.
Although the Huskies don’t have a number of big bodies, their tallest players will all be key contributors. Michigan commit Evan Smotrcyz (6’8″ Sr. SF, Reading (MA)) didn’t shoot the ball well at Friday’s workout, but we don’t need to be sold on his ability to do it after an excellent spring and summer. He made a nice improvement last year after coming to the school and is primed to close out his career on a good note.
Dartaye Ruffin (6’8″ Sr. PF, Stoughton (MA)) remains committed to Drexel and looks more and more like a solid pickup for the Dragons. His game has developed steadily over the last couple of years, as he’s now solid facing up and looks better all the time with his post moves. He has a mature body and runs the floor well, finishing a fast break one time where he ran the floor.
Kyle Cain (6’7″ Sr. PF, Chicago (IL)) is a left-handed forward who had a good showing on Friday. His best play came away from the basket at the offensive end, with plays like an up fake for a driving layup and finishing an alley-oop with contact, and he knocked down a long jumper. He can run the floor and did so a couple of times.
An active wing who will contribute is Thomas Bropleh (6’5″ Sr. SF, Denver (CO)), one of two players on the team from Colorado. Athletic and with a solid body, he showed some ball skills and has a better stroke than his misses would indicate, but his best asset is intangible. There was no questioning his effort, as he was around the ball often at both ends of the floor. He didn’t show a great feel for the game as a few shots were ill-advised, but that can improve.
Tim McKinney (6’4″ Sr. SG-SF, Duxbury (MA)) is back from a knee injury that made last season a lost one, and seems rejuvenated now that he can play again. He sat out Friday’s workout as he was late because of a late class, but he spent a lot of the summer working out with former Boston College star Bill Curley and is eager to get back on the court in game action.
Also figuring into the equation on the wing are Navy commit Jacob Liebert (6’4″ Sr. SF, Monte Vista (CA)), Australian Jesse Hilleary (6’4″ Sr. SG) and Eric Dean (6’3″ Sr. SG, Gilford (NH)).
The backcourt has a couple of solid options to run the show, including Boston College commit Brady Heslip (6’2″ Sr. PG, Burlington (Ontario)). He won’t wow you with physical gifts, but he has a good frame and good size for the position and shot the ball very well from long range before a minor injury led to him sitting for some final minutes.
Beau Gamble (6’0″ Sr. PG, Boulder (CO)) is the other player from Colorado on the team, and he impressed on Friday as he displayed a great motor. He has some speed with the ball and always competes, and while he won’t rack up the points his three-point shot must be respected and he can get some transition baskets.
The player to watch in the backcourt is Jordan Laguerre (6’1″ Jr. SG, Manchester (NH)). After a spring and summer that saw his recruitment jump, he impressed at this workout, indicating he intends to pick up right where he left off. The strong lefty at times has not always taken shots in the flow of the offense, but he did exactly that on Friday and the results spoke for themselves as he scored on drives, from long range and even by posting up another guard. He didn’t settle for any jumpers on the day.
Steve Topercer (6’0″ Jr. PG, Phoenix (AZ)), Brady O’Neil (6’2″ Sr. SG-SF, Laconia (NH)) and Carter Trent (5’10” Sr. PG, Little Rock (AR)) will also be in the mix in the backcourt.
The Huskies have a solid, if unspectacular, group among their best players, and adding Laguerre will only help as he injects a big offensive talent into the backcourt. The backcourt looks good and the frontcourt might be better than many would think at first glance. There’s enough talent here for them to win their share of games, including some they probably shouldn’t.
