SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s beginning to feel like an annual event, but it’s what happens when there’s talent somewhere. Every year, St. Mark’s draws a crowd of coaches to its workouts, which isn’t uncommon at schools like it except that the school typically doesn’t allow many such days to happen. The past couple of years, the school has held just one open gym during the early fall live period and it drew a number of coaches. This time around, it will hold two, one of which was on Sunday. More than 20 college coaches were in attendance, including about a half dozen head coaches.
The big senior leader is Georgetown commit Nate Lubick (6’8″ Sr. PF, Southborough (MA)). Over his high school career, he has gradually transformed his game into that of a very complete player, and now his main identity is as a warrior who does what it takes to win games. He didn’t quite look like himself on Sunday, but he was tough inside and battled a teammate three inches taller on defense, finished with contact and did a fine job of letting the game come to him.
Joining Lubick among the seniors is Melsahn Basabe (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Glen Cove (NY)), whose recruitment picked up during the off-season. When he first arrived at the school two years ago, he looked like an intriguing prospect who needed a good deal of work. Well, he has put the work in, and his ball skills are now much better and he’s solid when he works inside. Here, he handled the ball a good deal, drove a few times and knocked down a couple of jumpers. A solid mid-major/mid-major plus prospect, he’s hoping to close out his career with a perfect run of three straight titles.
Alex Murphy (6’8″ So. SF, Wakefield (RI)) has only begun to show what he is capable of, especially since he’s still a baby physically. At times in the spring and summer, he was terrific, and his recruitment quickly picked up. On Sunday, his back was bothering him, but he showed signs of what he’s capable of with a couple of drives for scores and some ball-handling. In particular, he showed that he can face up and did well to find a gap to drive through to get to the basket.
The newcomer to keep an eye on is Kaleb Tarczewski (6’11” So. C, Claremont (NH)), who has the opposite problem that a lot of young big men have at this age. Whereas many are finesse players but soft inside, Tarczewski is aggressive and not afraid to battle and deal with contact, but doesn’t yet have much of a feel for how to score. That was evident by how a few times, Lubick cornered him on the post and he didn’t know what to do with the ball at first. Once he gains more of a feel for the game, he’ll start touching his potential, and going up against a warrior in Lubick constantly will only help.
The point guard will be another newcomer, Jaymie Spears (5’8″ So. PG, Georgetown (MA)). A good football player, Spears wasn’t himself on Sunday with a high ankle sprain but gutted it out. He’s a baby physically with a slight frame, but he’s tough and has a great motor and passed better as the workout went along.
Two role players who will contribute are Eric Green (6’5″ So. SF, Oakland (CA)) and Eli Lubick (6’3″ So. SG-SF, Southborough (MA)). Green looks unassuming as he’s a baby physically and might not have the most imposing game face, but he’s athletic and should help this team off the bench. The younger Lubick is fairly mature physically but has improved over the spring and summer and should get more minutes this season.
St. Mark’s might have some growing pains on the perimeter at first with a younger point guard, but there’s enough talent to make up for that and Spears has played with Murphy and Tarczewski on a summer travel team. In a couple of weeks, more college coaches will come to the school a little west of Boston, and this season a third straight title could be within reach.
