NEW HAVEN, Conn. The National Prep Showcase is now in the books. We’ll have one last notes column later, but for now, we look back at Sunday’s game action.
Sunday Scoreboard
Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy 89, Lanham (MD) Princeton Day School 67
Pittsfield (ME) Maine Central Institute 82, Northfield (MA) Mount Hermon 71
Saltsburg (PA) Kiski School 67, LaPorte (IN) La Lumiere School 54
Newark (NJ) NIA Prep 90, New Hampton (NH) Prep 80
Tilton (NH) School 97, Wilbraham (MA) Wilbraham & Monson Academy 64
Blairstown (NJ) Blair Academy 57, Barrington (RI) St. Andrew’s 53
Honor Roll
Michael Carter-Williams, St. Andrew’s: 30 points, 8 rebounds
Stefan Jankovic, Kiski School: 23 points on 8-14 shooting, 11 rebounds
Markus Kennedy, Brewster Academy: 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
Rafael Maia, Maine Central Institute: 21 points, 9 rebounds
Georges Niang, Tilton: 33 points on 14-24 shooting, 11 rebounds
Andrej Pajovic, Wilbraham & Monson: 27 points, 5-9 on three-pointers
Jakarr Sampson, Brewster Academy: 16 points on 7-11 shooting, 11 rebounds, 6 blocks
Wayne Selden, Tilton: 26 points on 10-16 shooting (6-9 on three-pointers)
Shaquille Thomas, NIA Prep: 18 points, 7 rebounds
Kennedy Comes Along Inside
Markus Kennedy (6’9″ Sr. PF, Yeardon (PA)) is a journeyman without being a professional. The post-graduate big man is in his fifth school in as many years and has been under the radar all the while. He’s long been committed to Villanova, so his recruitment hasn’t been a mystery since he came up to New England last year. But if this weekend is any indication, he appears to be on the verge of coming out from under the radar.
Kennedy had a double-double on Sunday a day after going for 18 points and seven rebounds. The big man looks to be in better shape, and while he’s always been a post presence he was really getting after it in these two games. And while he’s always run the floor better than you would think given his body, he’s sure to get better if he continues to improve his conditioning.
Kiski School Picks up Two Wins
Daryn Freedman brought his team from Pittsburgh and did something few might have expected based off last year’s showing: left town with two wins. After knocking off Winchendon the night before, his team took care of La Lumiere on Sunday behind another stellar effort from Stefan Jankovic (6’10” Jr. PF, Missisauga (Ont.)).
Jankovic, who Freedman said was a very immature player when he first arrived on campus, posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds. His aggressive play magnified his skill set, and he has a ways to go physically so there’s certainly some upside.
Jankovic anchored an offense that shot over 48 percent from the field, while they were fine defensively as well in holding La Lumiere to 33.3 percent. They also never allowed Indiana commit Hanner Perea (6’9″ Jr. PF, Istmina (Columbia)) to get going, which certainly helped.
NIA Prep Does the Same
It wasn’t a bad couple of days for NIA Prep as well, as they picked up two wins against NEPSAC Class AAA schools including Sunday’s 90-80 decision over New Hampton Prep. Some of the same players who led them to Friday’s win over Maine Central Institute came through again.
Point guard David Joseph (6’0″ Sr. PG, Queens (NY)) went for 19 points on 5-6 shooting, while Shaquille Thomas (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Montclair (NJ)) had another nice outing with 18 points and seven rebounds, showing a nice transition to the small forward spot along the way. Deon Maddox (6’6″ Sr. SF, Frederick (MD)) also contributed 13 points and seven rebounds and used his athleticism to be a factor.
The new key contributor was Kelvin Amayo (6’5″ Sr. SG, Hillside (NJ)), who has the talent but hasn’t put it together consistently. Amayo went for 19 points on 7-12 shooting against New Hampton after scoring 10 on Friday night. With his size, if he gains some consistency he could be a solid Division I prospect.
Big Day From Deep for Selden
Wayne Selden (6’3″ Fr. PG-SG, Roxbury (MA)) has plenty of talent. The biggest question with him is whether he will play with a competitive motor on a nightly basis, as that makes all the difference with him. When he comes to play, he looks like someone with a world of potential, and that happened on Sunday as his team blew out Wilbraham & Monson.
Selden went 6-9 from long range en route to 26 points. While this was a rare time where he showcased shooting, he has plenty of other abilities that make it less than surprising that he might have a game like this. He’s athletic, has a solid body and has the tools to be a combo guard.
With his play here, Selden opened some eyes as he is already something of a known quantity in Boston circles. If he consistently brings the competitive motor, he won’t need to do it more because plenty of people will be watching.
An Even Bigger Night For Niang
Selden’s teammate, Georges Niang (6’7″ Jr. PF, Methuen (MA)), is a fine example of a player who maximizes himself by way of a long-lost intangible. Simply put, he knows what he is: he’s a power forward with post skills and the ability to rebound all day. He doesn’t try to take guys off the dribble or shoot three-pointers all day; he works inside-out and has a nose for the ball at both ends of the floor, which allows him to also be a garbage man at the offensive end.
Niang has also made the improvement steady, although he’s made a noticeable leap in the last year. Early on, he didn’t get a lot of minutes on a veteran Tilton squad and had his moments playing on the powerful BABC travel team. But this past spring, consistency became a big part of his game and he was an indispensable part of the team’s success. “Efficient” is often mentioned to describe him. Now he’ll be an integral part of Tilton after playing more last season, and he certainly showed it on Sunday.
Niang was his usual self, having a nose for the ball and making the most of his touches. He scored 33 points, which is the highest individual scoring game of the weekend, and did it on 14-24 shooting. For good measure, he didn’t just do it in one way; he did it by finishing the break, getting stickbacks, on post moves and even from mid-range facing the basket. The skill package is solid, his conditioning has steadily improved and most of all, he plays within himself as well as anyone.
College coaches have certainly taken notice of his improvement, as Niang currently boasts nine scholarship offers. All are mid-majors, which looks to be the right level: Delaware, Florida Atlantic, Hofstra, Miami (Ohio), New Hampshire, UNC-Greensboro, Northeastern, Siena and Stony Brook. Chances are, more will be coming before long based on Sunday’s game as the current culmination of a stretch of nice improvement.
Blair Academy Closes It in Style Again
The final game of the weekend was a repeat of last season as Blair Academy took on St. Andrew’s. Like last year, it was a good game, although this one was more of a thriller as it came down to the end. Blair got a basket by Mark Bevacqua (6’6″ Sr. PF, Nicholson (PA)) to take a 55-53 lead, then got a buzzer-beating basket off a steal for the final 57-53 margin.
Blair Academy is a little younger this season and also in some transition after some key personnel losses. Not helping them on Sunday is that Siena commit Lionel Gomis (6’9″ Sr. PF, Dakar (Senegal)) was never a factor in part because of early foul trouble. That left the perimeter players to pick up the slack, and two who did just that were Marques Jones (PG) and Joe Hart (SG). Jones had 17 points and showed a good motor running the team, while Hart had 15 points including going 3-5 from long range.
St. Andrew’s was carried by Michael Carter-Williams (6’4″ Sr. SG, Hamilton (MA)). The Syracuse-bound guard had 30 points, but the numbers alone don’t tell you how he played like a big-time player in this one. To get a real sense, think about the shots he was making. A quick slash down the middle for a layup on one trip. A little later, a driving layup while getting fouled. Later, a short jumper on the low post against a smaller defender. A mid-range jumper off the dribble going to his left.
In other words, he was on. His play isn’t why they lost a tough one.
