Live from Beverly, MA III: NEPSAC Championships

An afternoon that opened with MVP performances from a Providence commit and a Friar target were topped by a Class A championship game that more than lived up to the hype. 

In a season that Providence fans knew would be a rebuilding one, the silver lining has always been the efforts of Keno Davis and his staff on the recruiting trail.  It was impossible to watch the blazing speed of PC commit Gerard Coleman sandwiched between tremendous efforts by two Providence point guard targets in Shabazz Napier and Naadir Tharpe and not let the mind wander.  Pairing Coleman with either one of these point guards would not only be a statement for this coaching staff, but would give Providence the elite backcourt duo that they haven't had in a decade.

Class A Championship - Brewster holds on to defeat Winchendon in thriller

For a week I hyped this one as a dream matchup, but smothering early defense by Brewster combined with the superior efforts of Naadir Tharpe allowed Brewster to race out to an early 24-13 lead, a lead they would maintain until halftime (38-26).

 Tharpe was phenomenal in the opening 17 minutes, scoring 12 points on slick drives, leaners, and a pull up 3 off of a beautiful hesitation dribble that pushed Brewster's lead to 15 with three minutes left in the half.

 Winchendon continued to trail by double figures midway through the second half (52-40), but a huge run highlighted by a Khem Birch block leading to a break-away layup pulled Winchendon to within two with 7:20 to play.  The final seven minutes were as good as I've seen this season, with everything the line.

Two Tharpe free throws put Brewster up 58-53 with 6:00 to play, but the gritty Anthony Ireland canned a huge 3 pointer to pull Winchendon to within two.

Two Devon Saddler free throws tied the score and set the stage for Brewster backup point guard Ashton Kahn to carry a star-studden team home.

Here is my game log of the final 5:15:

• 5:14 - Kahn scores 9 seconds after Saddler tied it.  And-1 which pushes the Brewster lead back to 3, 61-58.
• 4:19 - Eric Ferguson nails a 19 footer in the face of Barton.  Kid is tough.  61-60 Brewster.
• 3:56 - Saddler with an open court dunk coming off of a Birch deflection.  Winchendon now leads 62-61.  What a comeback.
• 3:39 - Will Barton hits two free throws to put Brewster back up, 63-62.
• 3:21 - Birch dunks off of a great entry pass from Ferguson.  64-63 Winch.
• 3:03 - Kahn once again.  Kid is stepping up big.  65-64 Brewster.
• 2:45 - Gorgeous spin move by Ferguson for two.  Love this kid.  65-64 Winchendon.
• 2:29 - Nearly impossible fadeaway by Barton along the baseline.  What a scorer this kid is.  Back and forth they go.  Brewster up 1.
• 2:07 - Ferguson grabs an offensive rebound and hits 1-2 free throws.  Missed foul shots hurting Winchendon.  Tie game.
• 1:40 - Can't say I expected this.  Kahn once again with a big play, getting in the paint and kicking out to a wide open Barton for 3.  70-67 Brewster.  Back breaker?
• :45 - a swooping layup by Ferguson to cut it to 1.
• :16.8- Amazing.  Kahn once again off of the dribble.  Role player leading a team of stars in the biggest game of the year.  Would he be playing if Ejim didn't foul out?  Unreal effort. 72-69 Brewster.
• 0:00 - Barton plays Ferguson perfectly on a 3, Ferg caught in the air and desperately throws the ball way.  Brewster wins, kids charge the court.

PC recruit notes:

 What a huge night for both Naadir Tharpe and Khem Birch. 

Birch: Khem blocked big Mo Walker and Will Barton on back to back shots at the rim, setting the tone early. He caught Walker on a loud block again early in the second half and swatted a shot to trigger a key fast break during the comeback on his way to what must have been five or six blocked shots.  His activity and confidence increased as the game wore on.  The intensity level was high in this one and he played better as the plays became bigger.  Like the rest of Winchendon, Khem was very emotional after the game.  Love kids who winning means this much to.  The smiles after the 2004 tournament loss to Pacific in the waning moments bothers me six years later. 

Offensively, he made a hook shot, a tip dunk, and a few other dunks and layups, most notably a dunk on CJ Fair that he finished, was fouled on, and ended up on his back.  Oohs and aahs followed.

Tharpe: I've said it before, but the knocks on his jump shot are completely unfounded.  The kid knocks down 3s with regularity, but the strengths of his game continue to be his leadership, play-making ability, dribble penetration, and passing.  Couldn't have been more impressed with Tharpe this week and took note when he told Barton and other teammates where they belonged on the court.  Kid can lead.

I wrote in December that signing Naadir would be cause for celebration and stand by that.  Would be dominant with Gerard Coleman.

Game notes:

• On a team of stars, Ashton Kahn made the biggest plays late.  Nice to see for a kid who doesn't get the pub of his teammates.
• Barton was the Class A MVP and deservedly so.  His attitude can border on cocky at times, but he makes a lot of big shots.
• Big men Markus Kennedy (Villanova) and Mo Walker really beat each other up tonight, setting the tone for a physical game overall.
• If Winchendon had won, Anthony Ireland would have been MVP.  He can't be more than 5'9, but makes as many big plays as anyone I saw this weekend.  Tough, tough kid with great handle and good scoring ability.
• Barton and Ferguson went at it and each played very well.
• First quiet night I've seen from CJ Fair this season.
• Love Devon Saddler's spirit.
• Brewster has so many scoring options.  Would love to see them take on Hargrave next week in the National Championship.

Class B Championship - Future Friar the MVP

After falling behind 15-7 out of the gate, Tilton methodically worked their way back in the first half and led 33-24 at the half.  Marionapolis made a few surges to cut the Tilton lead to 5, but this game never felt in question as the Rams held them at bay to win 69-61.

PC recruit notes:

Coleman wins the Class B title for the second time in two years and takes home the MVP in 2010 after a 20 point finale (15 in the first half).  This game was not vintage Gerard though, as Marianapolis played a zone, negating his slashing drives to the basket.  He struggled to get his outside shot going, scoring a majority of his points in transition.

The transition buckets were impressed though.  On two seperate occassions Coleman flew into the open court with one or two Marianapolis defenders back, only they weren't back far enough to compensate for Coleman's speed.  He simply blew past defenders who were actually in good position, forcing Marianapolis head man Dave Vitale to call a timeout.  A guy sitting in the row in front of me quipped, "What's he going to tell them?  Be faster?"

What Coleman flashed today was an ability to find people.  He often broke down the defense and found teammate at the rim.  A solid effort from Gerard overall, but not as spectacular as he has been.  He didn't have to be today.

The only other PC recruit in this one might not be a PC recruit just yet.  Ryan Canty was a force under the basket, using his size advantage to finish at the rim and dominate the boards.  Ryan played with a lot more confidence today than when I saw him earlier in the season and with his size and surprising athletic ability will be one to monitor going forward.  Looked much improved, albeit against a smaller team.  Canty did attack the glass well against a big Winchendon team in January.  Played with a bit of swagger today and looked to enjoy being the target of Marianapolis fans.

Class C Championship - Shabazz leads undefeated LA

So much for my bright idea of putting St. Mark's in the National Championship. 

After seeing St. Mark's defeat Winchendon at the National Prep Invitational behind an extraordinary effort by Alex Murphy I did the simple math and figured an emerging Murphy and a neutral site gave St. Mark's an edge over a Lawrence Academy team they barely lost to in December.  I failed to factor in Shabazz Napier.

LA's guards were swarming defensively, while undersized interior players Sarkie Ampim and Clay Horne won the battle inside against Nate Lubick, Melsahn Basabe, and an ineffective Kaleb Tarczewski.

St. Mark's actually led 22-20 in a sleepy first half, but LA opened the 2nd on an 18-2 run, capped by a pretty wrap around pass by Napier giving Lawrence a 38-24 lead halfway through the 2nd half.

Napier flashed his play-making ability in this one, getting into the middle against the St. Mark's zone and repeatedly finding teammates for easy looks.  The crowd buzzed when he threw an over the shoulder pass late and rose up on a no look pass.  Typically known for his outside shooting, I had Shabazz down for only two 3 pointers, most notably a back-breaker with just under two minutes left, giving Lawrence an 11 point lead.
What impressed most was how many things he did tonight.  I had him down for four steals in the first half, he spun and scored in the paint, crossed over nicely, and really looked to set teammates up.

Naadir Tharpe or Shabazz Napier?  The answer is either.  There really is so little differentiating the two right now and Friartown should be THRILLED to land either.

Additional Notes:

•  A disappointing game for Murphy on the heels of his great performance at the National Prep Invitational.  He wasn't alone, Lubick, Basabe, and the rest of the team were out of sync, thanks in large part to the aggression of LA's defense.
• 7'0 Tarczewski has a ways to go before he is an impact player at this level.  He has some skills, but got pushed around a bit today.
• LA's Marcus Grant has been solid all year.
• The refs didn't do LA any favors.
• Lawrence ends the year 28-0.