The Top Teams:
1. Brewster Academy (13-3): When they're playing their best there is no one better in New England, and maybe the country. Jason Smith's squad features seven players who are not just division 1 talent, but high D1. Led by the trio of Will Barton (Memphis), CJ Fair (Syracuse), and Naadir Tharpe (undecided junior), Brewster is at it's most dangerous, and impressive, when they are in the open court. Austin Carroll (Rutgers) is one of the best shooters in the conference and nearly automatic from the corners, while big man Mo Walker (undecided senior) is not just mammouth inside, but shows a nice touch and can pass. Often overlooked Melvin Ejim (Iowa State) was a one time PC target who is terrific defensively. When Barton focuses on defense (held JJ Moore to 3 points and Gerard Coleman to 12) they are a lockdown pair. Richard Peters is a 6'10 Oklahoma commit who hasn't seen much court time when I've been in attendance.
The biggest question mark for Brewster might be focus as a late season loss to Bridgton might serve as a bit of a wake up call to a team that was running over opponents. When they are locked in they are capable of running teams off of the floor.
Leading scorers: Will Barton (20.8), CJ Fair (14.1), Mo Walker (12.5), Melvin Ejim (11.0), Austin Carroll (10.2), Naadir Tharpe (9.6)
PC Recruits: Providence is heavily involved in the recruitment of Tharpe, who is forced to keep a star studded team happy and does a terrific job in doing so. Mo Walker is another one to keep an eye on as PC continues the search for big men prospects.
2. Winchendon School (12-5): While Mike Byrnes crew has high D1 talent in big man Markus Kennedy (Villanova) and sophomore Khem Birch (top 25 nationally), this is a team led by gritty and talented players who you won't see in a Big East arena, but you'll probably see one day in the NCAA tournament.
Waterbury, Connecticut native Anthony Ireland (Loyola Marymount) is one of the trickiest dribblers and toughest shot makers in the NEPSAC. Another potential great matchup in the finals would be Ireland versus his AAU teammate Tharpe. Devon Saddler (Delaware) is a rugged defender who is good off of the dribble, while Akeem Williams is a stout shooter.
Size rounds out the rest of Winchendon's lineup with the long Angel Nunez (undecided) coming off of the bench along with big men Marvin Dominique (Hofstra), Adam Kemp (Marist), and widebody James Stukes (undecided).
On Wednesday night, Winchendon will be looking to avenge a loss from last weekend against New Hampton, who they had defeated twice earlier in the season.
PC Recruits: Birch is one of the highest rated players the Friars are following right now and the sophomore is very interested in turn. He fills a gaping need on this team right now and is as quick off of his feet as any in this tournament. Nunez has visited Providence, but it is unclear at this point what the interest level is there.
3. Northfield Mount Hermon (8-4): Led by the quickly emerging Majok Majok, NMH heads into this tournament as the 3 seed. While Majok's stock is on the rise, he is flanked by two Harvard recruits in Matt Brown and Canadian Laurent Rivard. Word is Majok is considering Harvard, which would turn a good class into a monster team in the Ivies.
Aaron Crosby is an effective junior guard, averaging around 6 assists per game, while 6'7 small forward Hector Harold might be the best wing on the team. He's heading to Pepperdine next season and can really score.
Junior Vince Van Nes is a 6'11 work in progress.
Taking on Maine Central Institute in the first round, which is a nice draw as MCI doesn't look as tough as New Hampton who #2 Winchendon plays on Wednesday afternoon. Winchendon or New Hampton would be a difficult draw in the semis.
Top Scorers: Rivard (17.0), Majok (15.4), Harold (13.3)
PC Targets: Van Nes has a ways to go, as his 2.1 ppg would attest.
4. St Thomas More (7-4): Looking for a team with multiple PC targets? STM might be your squad. Led by longtime coach Jere Quinn, St. Thomas Moore is always dangerous and this year should be no exception. Combo guard Byron Allen is seeing interest from Providence, Boston College and others, while small forward Trashon Burrell is an under the radar wing who PC is apparently monitoring.
A difficult draw awaits in South Kent.
PC Recruits: Drummond, Allen, and Burrell.
5. South Kent (6-7): A difficult team to figure out. They are good enough to beat Brewster and Winchendon on back to back games, but finished below .500 in the conference and got run against Brewster in the New Hampton Invitational last weekend. They got run, of course, after scoring an impressive 105 points in a win over New Hampton the night before. The same New Hampton team that controlled the game the next day against Winchendon. This is why you don't try to predict these games and why this tournament is so great every year.
JJ Moore (Pittsburgh) is the headliner and when he and Louisville commit Russ Smith have it going this team is explosive (122 points in a win over Brewster). Moore is as athletic as they come with a nice stroke beyond the arc, while Smith is a talented combo guard capable of putting up big numbers.
The problem for South Kent is the talent drops off after the top two. Danny Lawhorn, a one time BC recruit, is a notch below Tharpe, Ireland, and Jordan Laguerre at this point. Chris Johnson and Nemanja Bjurisic are gritty post players.
With St. Thomas More in round 1 and Brewster awaiting in the semis, making it back to the NEPSAC finals this year will be a tall task. A team no one wants to face though with Smith and Moore lingering.
PC targets: Lawhorn is a kid who has gotten attention from PC, but I believe he's not the player that some other PC targets are right now
6. Maine Central Institute (6-8): MCI is a middle of the road NEPSAC team that lacks the star power of many of their opponents. I've written about Levan Shengelia previously, the URI commit is a 6'9, 265 lb bruiser who mixes it up as much as anyone in Class A. Laimbeer-like ability to get under opponents' skin, but has ability to boot. He's always running the floor hard, is better off of the bounce than you'd guess, and flashes range out to the 3 point line. Any kid with a motor at his size can play for me.
Tyshawn Bell was great at the National Prep Invitational, shooting 6-6 from 3 and barely touching the net on any of them. He's a long kid at 6'7 and one that would actually fill a need at Providence. South Florida is said to be heavily involved with Bell.
Majok versus Shengelia will get physical in round 1.
The loss of Brady Heslip, a 6'2 shooter who enrolled early at Boston College, stung, but this team still has plenty of firepower left over to make some noise in this tournament. Evan Smotrycz is the big name, a Michigan commit who Providence was hot for a year ago. Evan is a big time shot maker at 6'9 with a world of skills. Better player than Carson Desrosiers from what I saw last summer. He'll have to be huge in this tournament for New Hampton to make a run.
He's surrounded with a physical trio: Dartaye Ruffin (Drexel), Kyle Cain (Rhode Island), and Jordan Laguerre (undecided junior). Ruffin is the definition of a rugged, back to the basket player, who has seen interest from high D1 schools, but remained true to Drexel. Cain is a typical URI scrapper, a 6'7 paint lurker who not only grabs anything around him, but finishes. Laguerre is a combo guard that PC fans have slept on a bit, but shouldn't. Jordan takes the ball to the basket well, flashes great body control, and can shoot. Not a true play-making point guard, but bigger and more physical than a Tharpe or Shabazz Napier. He's a good one.
Disappointed to see Winchendon and New Hampton paired in round 1, as they are two of my favorites and one will be gone by Wednesday. Not an easy draw for #2 Winchendon who lost, somewhat convincingly, to this same team one week ago.
PC Recruits: Laguerre.
Brighton and Worcester Academy will play in the play-in game on Sunday.
Potential Big Games/Matchups/Storylines in the Quarterfinals:
Winchedon and New Hampton in round 1 sets up to be the best game. Winchendon won the first two games in overtime and New Hampton won the final meeting. Physical big men Kennedy and Ruffin go toe to toe, while Smotrycz looks to get the better of Ferguson for the second time in two weeks.
If Bridgton advances, Brewster will look to avenge a late season loss. Bridgton may be lacking on talent this year, but no one is happy to see a Whit Leisure coached team in a tournament. Brighton has won four of the last five championships, with Brewster winning it in 2008.
How do Allen and Burrell match up against Smith and Moore in the St. Thomas More/South Kent tilt? What role does Drummond play in negating South Kent's interior offense?
