It was a busy weekend of basketball in Massachusetts, and Saturday saw action in two main events a long way from each other. First, we checked in on the Hall of Fame Spring Classic in Amherst, then headed to the Massachusetts AAU Final Four in Foxboro.
One team that won a pair of games early in Amherst was the BC Eagles, who have a couple of notable wing prospects. Calvin Crawford (6’8″ Sr. SF, Montgomery (NY) Valley Central HS) appears to have the higher ceiling, and he looked better here than in limited viewing last month as he had transition finishes and stickbacks. Teammate Travis Cook (6’4″ Jr. SF, Middletown (NY) High) is a baby physically with some length, which he used to poke the ball away a couple of times. While slight, he’s athletic and is worth keeping an eye on.
Mass Rivals also won two early games, paced by the likes of Kyle Padmore (6’2″ So. SG, Milton (MA) High), Karlens Joas (6’3″ So. SF, Malden (MA) Catholic HS) and Rohan Shukla (6’3″ So. SG, West Roxbury (MA) Roxbury Latin School). Padmore is an athletic guard whose body has a ways to go and has some ball skills. He got by and around his man, got a stickback another time and also drew a loose ball foul with a good box-out another time. Padmore will transfer to Beaver Country Day School next year and re-classify into the class of 2016. Joas has a good frame and some length, and showed a hint of the potential he has if he can further develop his ball skills. Shukla is a plus athlete who showed a touch shooting the ball from long range and made some good passes in transition.
Connecticut Basketball Club barely broke a sweat in their first game. Big man Paschal Chukwu (7’0″ Jr. C, Westport (CT) Fairfield Prep) was solid in limited minutes, playing assertively inside. His body is developing and he used his length to alter a number of shots, and he showed some good ability to post up inside. Eric Rankin (6’3″ Jr. PG-SG, Stratford (CT) High) was also impressive, as he drove often and aggressively and has a ways to go physically. He’s quick and handled the ball well, so he may be a late bloomer.
One other player worth noting was Ted Murphy (6’7″ Jr. PF, Greenwich (CT) Brunswick HS), who has a good frame and mature body. He ran the floor and was a presence inside, and while he’s not going to score a lot of points or excite you with athleticism, he battled and is also an excellent student.
After a few games, it was time to head east to Mass Premier Courts for late games in the Massachusetts AAU Final Four. It started with the 11th grade semifinals, then the 10th and 11th grade championship games followed it.
The 10th grade championship was business as usual in the outcome but not quite in how it happened. BABC beat Metro Boston 62-44 for yet another state title, but the champs started out shaky as Metro Boston ran out to an 8-2 lead and BABC players didn’t look like they wanted to be out there. They responded by scoring the next 12 points, led 33-24 at the half, and while they never fully broke the game open in the second half you never had the sense that under-manned Metro Boston had a comeback run in them.
The one BABC player who competed from start to finish was Terance Mann (6’5″ So. SF, Lowell (MA) Tilton School). While others seemed tentative early on, Mann tried to make plays to get them untracked, forcing the action more than normal as he often lets the game come to him. Very athletic and with a body that still has a ways to go, his skill set doesn’t have any one thing that stands out but a lot of things that he can do.
Bobby Martin Jr. (6’6″ So. SF-PF, Waltham (MA) Noble & Greenough School) had his moments but left you feeling like he has better basketball in him. Blessed with a good frame and skill set, he has all the tools but can be a little too laid back on the court to fully harness them. There was one play where he backed his man down and scored easily under the basket, and you get the feeling he should have done that all night long – but he did not.
Tyree Robinson (6’3″ So. SG-SF, Fall River (MA) Notre Dame Prep) is a very demonstrative player after he makes a play, and he led the team with 15 points and eight rebounds in the title game. How his game translates to the next level right now is uncertain, as his size dictates he play shooting guard but his game is more like that of a small forward.
Bruce Brown (6’2″ So. SG, Boston (MA) Wakefield HS) didn’t play his best game, as he got to the basket but wasn’t the factor he can be and has been. Next year, he will attend Vermont Academy and re-classify into the class of 2016. Celio Araujo (5’10” So. PG, Boston (MA) Genesis Academy) gave them solid, unspectacular leadership at the point guard spot.
Metro Boston isn’t without a couple of prospects to keep an eye on. Jason Jones (6’6″ So. SF-PF, Dorchester (MA) Brighton HS) is athletic and has a good frame along with a body that’s not ready yet. James Foye (6’1″ Fr. SG, Hamilton (MA) Hamilton-Wenham HS) has a long way to go physically but can shoot from long range. Next year he will continue to develop at Phillips Exeter Academy. Hilal Dahleh (6’1″ So. SG, Cambridge (MA) Belmont Hill School) also showed some promise along the way.
Next up was the 11th grade final, another that saw one team start fast as Middlesex Magic scored the game’s first 10 points and led 16-2 before the Boston Warriors ever got untracked, and they still led 37-21 at the half. But the Warriors came right back in the second, gradually whittling down the lead before tying it at 57 and later taking the lead with just over two minutes to go. Middlesex Magic made the plays late to hold on for a 66-65 win, their second dramatic win of the evening.
Middlesex Magic has an array of guards to go with a couple of forwards who have the most upside. Isaiah Robinson (6’4″ Jr. SF, Salisbury (CT) School) is a plus athlete who used his relatively mature body to finish, and while he showed some shooting ability he has some work to do with the skill set as he doesn’t have great ball skills or the best game off the bounce. Obianuli Obiora (6’8″ Jr. PF, Hyde Park (MA) Brookline HS) is their best prospect, as he has a good frame but needs to get stronger. A plus athlete, he’s quick off his feet, active on the glass, bouncy inside when he takes contact and showed a hint of post moves to score. He also went up too strong a couple of times, something he can improve upon with more experience.
Not to be outdone, the Warriors have a few prospects to watch of their own. Asante Sandiford (Jr. SG-SF, Boston (MA) City On a Hill School) is very athletic and was in a lot of plays at both ends. Shaquan Murray (6’1″ Jr. SG, Boston (MA) New Mission School) is similar to Sandiford and can score on drives. Christian Morneweck (Jr. SF-PF, Burlington (MA) High) has a good frame and plays well off his more athletic teammates, though not lacking in athleticism himself. He was able to use his left (off) hand to finish, drove through contact and finished another time and has range out to the three-point line on his jumper.
Middlesex Magic’s win in the title game is, among other things, a story in overcoming adversity. This group isn’t as talented and doesn’t have the chemistry that last year’s team had right away. As mentioned earlier, they also lost the lead after jumping out to a big edge. In addition, at one point in the final Mike Crotty, Jr. chewed out promising shooter Alex Hilger (6’2″ Jr. SG, Natick (MA) High) after Hilger’s response to something. But rather than go in the tank, Hilger showed a great deal of mental toughness as he responded late in the game when it mattered most, as he was in just about every big play they made.
Middlesex Magic had not won a state championship before last year. Now Crotty’s program has won the last two in this age group, first with perhaps the best team he has put together last year and now with one that had a little more work to do at the beginning of the spring than last year’s group. The end result is the same, and along with the high quality of the young men in the program, it is also proof that he is carrying on what his late father started with even more success.
