BOSTON – The Hoopville Spring Finale saw over 50 teams compete in six age groups. The high school divisions brought out some competitive games, and while just two programs won championships, it was a good weekend for some other teams and programs as well. We take a look back at some of what happened outside of the championship games.
Tournament Notes
The older Expressions teams breezed to two victories on Friday night, taking out Montreal United in the 17-Under/Open and running away from the young Boston Panthers in the 16-Under. The older Expressions used a big shooting night, knocking down 13 three-pointers to overcome a slow start. The younger Expressions got good games from red-hot Jared Terrell (6’3″ So. SG, Weymouth (MA) High) with 18 points and Malik Abu (6’6″ So. PF, Marblehead (MA) High) with 15. Jeremy Miller (6’9″ Fr. PF-C, Milton (MA) High) played up and scored a dozen, and continues to look like a new player of late as he’s playing more competitively inside. That’s a good sign not only because July is right around the corner, but also because he’ll be headed to Northfield Mount Hermon in the fall.
Terrell would have another big game in pool play, but as the tournament went on he seemed to stop attacking and start settling for jump shots. While he’s not a bad shooter, he wasn’t shooting well here and was much more effective when he attacked the basket.
Terrell’s teammate Alec Brennan (6’8″ Fr. PF, Weston (MA) Milton Academy) shot the ball well from mid-range this weekend. Brennan’s school teammate Ike Ngwudo (6’6″ So. SF-PF, Milton (MA) Academy), has had some growing pains this spring but had some bright moments this weekend. After having some difficulty as he transitions to the wing, some shots started falling this weekend, and that can only help his confidence.
Bomb Squad got off to a slow start on Friday, but once Curtis Howe’s team got their pressure defense going they came alive and were on their way to a convincing 55-40 win over Mass Evolution. They got a balanced attack and out-scored Mass Evolution 35-21 in the second frame to turn a close game into a comfortable victory. They would go on to win their pool before losing in the semifinals despite a valiant effort against the eventual 17-Under/Open champions.
A bright spot for Mass Evolution in the losing effort on Friday night was the play of Steve Colangelo. The lefty guard isn’t the most athletic player, but he scored a game-high 16 points with a few good jump shots and competed the entire game.
The Lawrence Boys & Girls Club brought down two teams, and while their 16-Under entry got blown out by the Expressions Elite 16-Under, a couple of players who played up looked promising. Roberto Speign (Fr. SG-SF, Lawrence (MA) High) drove capably to get some baskets, while teammate Kevin Fabian (Fr. SG, Lawrence (MA) High) was their only double-digit scorer with 11 as he showed a good touch shooting the ball.
In the Friday nightcap that many checked out, the Boston Spartans took on BABC in the 15-Under. The upstart Spartans were very much in the game the entire first half, leading on a few occasions But in the second half, BABC was able to open the game up and ultimately blew the game open. The winners were led by Bonzie Colson (6’5″ Fr. SF-PF, New Bedford (MA) St. Andrew’s School), who has emerged as this team’s best player. He scored 29 points and was the one player the Spartans had no answer for.
Another key for BABC’s freshmen has been sparkplug point guard Jonathan Joseph (5’9″ Fr. PG, Brockton (MA) Southeastern Regional Voc. Tech.), who had 17 points in Friday’s win. Joseph makes this team go and helps set the stage for Colson and supporters like Damion Smith (6’2″ Fr. SG, Boston (MA) West Roxbury HS), who had 19 points on Friday. A year ago, Smith looked more like a very undersized forward, but he’s playing more like a guard now and while he has a ways to go, he looks to be in a better place as a prospect.
Second 2 None had a fine weekend in reaching the 17-Under/Open championship game. They got a big weekend from guards Shanier Cottman (5’8″ Jr. PG, Chester (PA) Science and Discovery HS) and Kareem Robinson (5’8″ Jr. PG, Chester (PA) High), while post players Daquon Mayfield (Jr. PF, Chester (PA) Science and Discovery HS) and Shane Randall (6’5″ Jr. PF, Radnor (PA) Archbishop Carroll) are both long and intriguing prospects who have some work to do from a basketball standpoint.
A local program that had two teams advance is the New England Balla’s. Now in their second year, Tom Nelson’s program is picking up where they left off last year, when their 17-Under team made the state Final Four, and both of their teams advanced to the semifinals this weekend in the 15-Under and 17-Under/Open. The younger team’s big prospect to watch is Elijah “E.J.” Rogers (5’10” Fr. PG, Brookline (MA) High), a quick point guard with a slight frame who wasn’t afraid to go inside with the trees. He scored 26 in the semifinal loss to BABC. One of his supporters who is under the radar is Trevor Dow (6’7″ Fr. PF, Needham (MA) High), a thin post player with some good fundamentals. Dow can score inside and also too a charge, and one reason he’ll be worth watching is that he recently had a four-inch growth spurt.
The older Balla’s feature several players heading to prep school next year. Chief among them is Kachi Nzerem (6’5″ Sr. PF, Roxbury (MA) New Mission School), who is headed to Marianapolis Prep. Nzerem is showing an expanded game away from the basket, including one game where he made four three-pointers en route to 21 points. Jason Hall-Sergenton (6’3″ Sr. SG, West Roxbury (MA) High) had 18 in the same game and is headed to Cheshire Academy, while school teammate Roger Paul (6’1″ Sr. SG, West Roxbury (MA) High) is still a baby physically and could blossom in his post-graduate year.
Another local program that did well was the Greater Boston Lions, who brought three teams and produced two championship game entries. Their ninth grade team had to win a semifinal game to reach the championship in the 15-Under, and they did so convincingly. Fredens Dejene (Fr. PF, Cambridge (MA) Rindge & Latin School) and Joshanel Jochin (Fr. SF-PF, Somerville (MA) High) were the main standouts for them over the weekend.
The New England Playaz brought their 16-Under team and made it to the semifinals. John Powell (6’7″ So. SF-PF, Ashland (MA) Brimmer & May School) has shown some continued development, including some suggesting he could be a wing down the road. He scored 26 points on Saturday night to help them win their pool. Jarred Reuter (6’8″ Fr. PF, Rochester (MA) St. Mark’s School) is now back in action and showed why he was missed this season when an injury kept him from playing during the school season.
The Rhode Island Hawks gave BABC all they could handle in the 16-Under semifinals, led by Charles Correa (5’9″ So. PG, Pawtucket (RI) St. Raphael’s HS). Correa had a nice weekend and scored 20 in the losing effort on Sunday.
A new team that competed this weekend is the Boston Panthers. Walles Stokes is directing this new program composed largely of Boston public school kids, and he’s not doing so with all tenth graders – he has three who just completed the ninth grade and a seventh grader. They got humbled on Friday evening against Expressions Elite, then lost a tough double overtime game on Saturday. On Sunday, they pulled out a win against the Boston Warriors to salvage the weekend.
