SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sunday was a day with mostly prep games at the Spalding Hoophall Classic. The only game that stood apart from it was the middle game between two powerhouses. That game was followed by a matchup featuring two big stars that never quite materialized, and ended with a battle between two local prep schools that went to the team with less talent but more experience.
Sunday Scoreboard
Tilton (NH) School 71, Saxtons River (VT) Vermont Academy 67
Wolfeboro (NH) Brewster Academy 88, South Kent (CT) School 55
Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s 63, Rockville (MD) Montrose Christian 51
Huntington (WV) Prep 56, New Hampton (NH) School 47
Worcester (MA) Academy 69, Wilbraham (MA) and Monson Academy 62
Selden carries Tilton past Vermont
The first half of the opening game was tight throughout. Tilton and Vermont Academy went back and forth, with Tilton having a 28-27 lead at the break. That’s when Kansas commit Wayne Selden (6’4″ Sr. SG, Roxbury (MA)) came alive and played like someone going to Kansas.
Selden did it all in the second half, whether it was scoring on drives with layups and other tough shots, getting a stickback, and mixing in a shot from long range as Tilton built the lead up to 15. He took a charge later on, then helped seal the game with a nice baseline drive for a reverse layup. Selden finished with 24 points and seven rebounds.
This year, Tilton doesn’t have the same kind of talent or experience they have had in recent years, so it’s been up to Selden to take charge while the others grow. Sure, they have a good young prospect in Terance Mann (6’4″ So. SF, Lowell (MA)), whom Selden says is “like my little brother” and had 11 points on Sunday, a sparkplug point guard in Jonathan Joseph (5’7″ So. PG, Brockton (MA)), as well as a nice role player inside in Cam Durley (6’6″ So. PF, Saudi Arabia). They also have a rising prospect in Chester Victor (6’1″ Sr. SG), who scored a game-high 26 points on 11-19 shooting, including four three-pointers. But there’s no question this is Selden’s team and they aren’t what they had been in recent years.
“We’ve got more heart and we’re more of a fighting team,” said Selden. “We’ve had to work for everything we get. Nothing’s been handed to us.”
Early in his career, Selden had all the ability but a bit of an inconsistent motor. He solved that problem before long as a high schooler, and as he gets ready to go to Kansas he continues to make effort a non-concern and is now playing like a big-time player should.
McCullough’s potential is there
Chris McCullough (6’8″ Jr. SF-PF, Bronx (NY) Brewster Academy) has been on the radar for a while. There’s no question the Syracuse commit is among the top prospects in the class of 2014. The big question increasingly is what position he plays at the next level and perhaps beyond, and it’s one that is surely going to be debated.
McCullough is very athletic, especially for the power forward spot. He’s athletic enough to play the wing, especially running the floor the way he does. In scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-12 shooting on Sunday, he showed it often, including on a highlight-film dunk in the first half as Brewster built up a big lead they would never relinquish. Put him on the post and he can jump over post defenders or quickly go by or around them.
While McCullough is a capable rebounder, his motor is somewhat inconsistent, which means he might not be the rebounder he could be at the next level. Still, he has some skill work to do to play the small forward spot at the next level. His ball skills need work, as evidenced by some of the times he tried to dribble the ball. One another fast break dunk, he didn’t have the best handle on the ball. He can hit jumpers but hasn’t done so consistently, but ball skills are more important.
McCullough still has a good deal of development time ahead. If he’s going to one day be a small forward instead of a combo or an active power forward, there’s no issue with athleticism. It’s all about skill development from here on out.
Vonleh’s foul trouble changes anticipated matchup
The big matchup of the day was New Hampton taking on Huntington Prep, with two of the nation’s elite prospects in the class of 2013 – although both were members of the class of 2014 just a few months ago. The nation’s top prospect, Andrew Wiggins (6’8″ Sr. SF, Concord (Ont.)) and Noah Vonleh (6’8″ Sr. SF-PF, Georgetown (MA)) were the stars to watch for Huntington Prep and New Hampton, respectively. Wiggins had a big game, while Vonleh’s foul trouble changed it.
Vonleh picked up two fouls in less than four minutes. He played well with two fouls for much of the second, but picked up his third with just 4.8 seconds left in the half. Then he picked up his fourth foul when he tried to seal with the arm on the low post less than three minutes into the third quarter. The night ended in the last minute when he fouled Wiggins. Vonleh played just 16 minutes and had nine points on 3-9 shooting to go with five rebounds.
Wiggins, meanwhile, scored 19 points on 5-11 shooting and had 10 rebounds. He played like the top prospect in the country, making things happen even when he wasn’t scoring. His10 boards led a 45-32 rebounding edge for Huntington Prep.
Amazingly, with all of New Hampton’s struggles including those of Vonleh, the Huskies were still in the game right up until the last minute. A lot of that was from the play of Travis Jorgenson (6’0″ Sr. PG, Columbia (MO)) and Tory Miller (6’8″ Jr. PF, Lee’s Summit (MO)), another who battled foul trouble. Jorgenson had 13 points and four assists, while Miller had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Miller, in particular, came up big while Vonleh was either on the bench with or limited by foul trouble.
Featured role makes a big difference for Okonoboh
Goodluck Okonoboh (6’9″ Jr. PF, Boston (MA)) has been in some shadows his entire high school career. It was first thought that he might be in the shadow of his cousin, Missouri senior Alex Oriakhi, but that hasn’t been the case. Instead, it’s been teammates – both with BABC and at the Tilton School – who overshadowed him. He was the consummate role player who you didn’t notice unless you really paid attention, while bigger names like Nerlens Noel, Georges Niang and even Wayne Selden got a lot of the pub and led the way.
Now that’s changing thanks to being in a featured role at his new school.
Okonoboh is in his first year at Wilbraham & Monson Academy and has re-classified into the class of 2014. He’s now the go-to guy and the anchor inside defensively, and now his contributions are more readily noticed. In addition, he seems energized by it all as he seems to have a better and more consistent motor than before. Whereas in the past he just seemed to exist on the court, now he looks like he’s very much into the game.
With this new role, Okonoboh’s skills really show up. He can face up as well as post up, has good ball skills for the power forward spot and is unselfish enough to not force up bad shots. Defensively, he’s more aggressive trying to block shots, and while he may not be a shot-blocker at the next level, he’s changing games right now. On Sunday, he filled the stat with 11 points on 5-7 shooting, 10 rebounds and three steals. He blocked one shot and was in on a few others.
Okonoboh also has to be a leader for this young team. There is plenty of talent around him, as has been the case in the past, but now he needs to be a leader and help the team win and the younger players work toward their potential. If the change to his game thus far is any indication, he looks ready for that challenge.
Other Notes
- Richard Williams (6’5″ Sr. SF, Brooklyn (NY)) led Vermont Academy with 19 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double. The very athletic wing has a good body and could thrive in an up-tempo system at the next level. He doesn’t look like he would be as good playing at a slower pace, so there would be an adjustment on a team that doesn’t play fast.
- Brewster Academy’s two-headed monster at the point of Martez Harrison (5’11” Sr. PG, Kansas City (MO)) and Kevin Zabo (6’1″ Jr. PG, Gatineau (Que.)) is pretty good, and it showed on Sunday. Harrison filled the stat sheet with 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Zabo scored 16 points and showed a jumper that keeps getting better.
- South Kent was without Shane Rector (6’1″ Sr. PG, Bronx (NY)) on Sunday due to a leg injury. That was a blow going up against a team that likes to press, as Rector is by far their best ball-handler and can get other guys shots.
- In a losing effort, two Montrose Christian players posted double-doubles: Ishmail Wainwright (6’6″ Sr. SF) with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Mark Williams (6’8″ Sr. PF) with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Wainwright has the bigger reputation, with a good body that doesn’t have all good weight and ball skills for the wing. Williams is a plus athlete for the post.
- Richmond native Jonathan Williams (5’10” Jr. PG) did a nice job of scoring in the flow of the offense for St. Benedict’s, scoring 10 points on 4-5 shooting.
- Isaiah Briscoe (6’3″ So. SG) struggled on Sunday as he was 2-12 from the field. He has a relatively mature body for his age but is plenty talented, and this looks like simply an off game.
- Briscoe’s teammate, Syracuse commit Tyler Ennis (6’3″ Sr. PG, Brampton (Ont.)), also struggled uncharacteristically on the afternoon. He scored 16 points but was just 5-14 from the field and had three turnovers with one assist. Ennis has a terrific feel for the game and is still underrated despite having a good national reputation. This wasn’t his finest hour, but his team did win and that’s most important.
- Despite his team’s loss, Fairfield signee Lincoln Davis (Sr. SG) shined on Sunday as it’s clear he continues to get better. His jumper continues to improve and he can still grab attention with his athleticism.
- Dominic Woodson (6’10” Sr. PF-C) has a big body for Huntington Prep and looks like a prospect. His eight rebounds in 12 minutes certainly lend credence to that.
- Mustapha Heron (6’3″ Fr. PG-SG, West Haven (CT)) looks like he can one day be a big point guard, or at least a combo. He’s certainly getting the opportunity to develop there as Chris Sparks has handed him the keys to the offense and is letting him grow through mistakes.
- The nice thing about Kerem Kanter (6’8″ Sr. PF) is that unlike a lot of players with his size and body, he actually parks himself in the post to go to work most of the game. He’s skilled inside and has good hands, and while he’s a little too left-handed he has time to change that, plus he’s very effective as it is and showed it on Sunday as he scored 12 points on 6-7 shooting. Adam Finkelstein of the New England Recruiting Report reported on Sunday that Kanter has recently moved into the class of 2013 after being listed with the class of 2014.
- Butler signee Rene Castro (6’2″ Sr. SG, Milton (MA)) is Worcester Academy’s unquestioned leader, and he scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting on Sunday. He got good support from Central Connecticut signee Matt Mobley (6’2″ Sr. SG, Worcester (MA)), who scored 17 points and handed out four assists in front of his future head coach, and Darryl Reynolds (6’9″ Sr. PF, Philadelphia (PA)), a solid post player who can run the floor and had 10 points and eight rebounds.
