By: Chick Gillespie
Day 2 started with a National Prep School Silver Division game between Rocktop Academy (PA) and Fork Union Military Academy (VA) and after a back and forth 1st half Rocktop took control to come away with a 95-81 win behind 6'1' '21 Bernie Blunt Jr. who finished with 36pts 5 treys 5reb 4asts in the contest while going 13-13 from the stripe. Blunt has tremendous range on his smooth release jump shot and uses his super quickness to get open looks almost anywhere he wants on the floor and he is an adept passer who can set up his teammates for good looks as well. His handle is tight as he constantly avoids traps and double teams and his defensive game is improving game to game. He got plenty of help from 6'3' '21 Torrin Andrews who provided 13pts 8reb 7asts in a supporting role. Fork Union got a solid effort from 6'4' Post Grad Marcus Banks in the setback as he put up 22pts 3 treys 5reb 2asts. He has a sturdy frame that can absorb contact combined with a silky smooth release on his jumper and he sees the court well delivering some sweet dishes to his teammates some of which weren't converted.
Game #2 was another National Post Grad contest but it was in the Gold Division and Hargrave Military Academy (VA) took down Scotland Campus (PA) 90-74 in an entertaining matchup that featured a pair of Post Grad guards that took the mantle of leader and went out to do just that in willing their teams to victory. 6'0' '21 Wichita, KS native Jackie Johnson got the win with a solid performance of 22pts 2 treys 6reb 3asts as he played downhill a lot and made it work with positive plays as a shooter and distributor. When he works up a head of steam he's like a tank rolling along a battlefield daring you to stop him and except for a couple turnovers he was in control of his squad throughout the game. He has drawn interest from East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and North Texas to name a few and he impressed me enough to see why. Scotland Campus has a deep and talented roster but the bread is buttered by 6'1' Post Grad Davon Lee from Harrisburg, PA as this young man is wired to score. With Scotland sometimes changing out all 5 guys on the court like a hockey team changes lines Lee has to make the most of his playing time and on this day he dropped 16pts 5asts 4reb. He is a deadly three point shooter most days but when his dribble drive game is working he'll take advantage of that and make you pay. He's an underrated defender and a decent rebounder for his size and is definitely underrecruited.
The next tilt I focused on was the DME Academy (FL) vs. Link Year Prep (MO) game in a National Prep Gold Semi and it came down to the wire as Link Year got two huge baskets from 6'8' O'Mar Stanley (10pts 7reb) in the final minute to eke out a 65-63 win to move into the championship game Sunday night. Link Year used balanced scoring to get the win as 6'4' Coban Porter had 12pts 2 treys 2asts, 6'8' Florida International commit CJ Kelley had 12pts 6reb, 6'1' Ga'Khari Lacount was a stat stuffer with 9pts 8reb 5asts 3stls and last but not least 6'8' Teafale Lenard a human pogo stick added 10pts 5stls 4reb and was the most impressive player in the game. His quickness in jumping the passing lane was a thing of beauty as was his explosion off the deck, hence the pogo stick reference, and he never backed off a play seeing it through good or bad. He got to the basket with athleticism and of course those hops and he even had a nice pull up jumper from the elbow that completely froze his defender. DME got a solid effort from 6'3' Zane Nelson who did his best to keep them in the contest with 21pts 2 treys 5reb 2stls as they were having a cold shooting night from the floor. Nelson did a nice job mixing up his offense getting to the cup with good body control and finishing through contact then augmenting that with smooth pull up jumpers from the midrange out to the arc. 6'9' Touko Tainamo had a tough shooting day but he plays with toughness and heart and battled to the end with 11pts 14reb in DME's loss.
Next up was a Hoop State Division Semi between Liberty Heights and Moravian Prep and this tilt turned into a back yard brawl as they went at each other hard with Liberty Heights coming out on top 51-45. Getting nice performances from 6'3' '22 Elijah Jamison with 11pts 5reb and several heady plays along with 7'0' Jonas Aidoo (Marquette) who added 10pts 8reb it was the unassuming 6'9' Isaac Farah who stole the show with 13pts 2 treys 9reb 2asts including 4 boards in the final 1:10 of the game. I noticed him in the previous night's contest vs. W-S Christian as he had 14pts 7reb 2asts but with Aidoo making the most noise I put Farah on the back burner and it paid off tonight. He has a nose for the ball and goes after anything within reach and he plays good positional defense as he forced guys out of their comfort zones all evening. This young man certainly proved capable of playing at the D-II level and maybe some of those schools will jump into the mix for him soon. Moravian Prep was on fire last night but somebody must have watered down their shooting arms in this game as 6'3' '22 Jackson Holt seemed to have the only hot hand with 14pts 4 treys but for the second straight night 5'11' '25 Eli Ellis impressed with his moxie and instinctual play garnering 13pts 2 treys 4reb 4stls 2asts while careening around the court looking to make an impact in this tight physical contest.
The Hoop State Division Semi's continued with the final game of the evening and in an exciting contest Combine Academy came away with a 64-56 victory over Bull City Prep. Early on for Combine 6'4' AJ Smith was the go to guy getting 10 of his 12pts in the first quarter with 2 three balls. When the defense adjusted the Goats spread the ball around to head into HT up one. Coming out in the second half 6'2' Catawba commit Kris Robinson decided to get involved in the offense and it reminded me of the first time I ever saw him as a Freshman and he had like 6 treys in a game and I kept thinking if he could get one now it might propel Combine to close out the quarter with some momentum and sure enough Robinson hit his only three of the game and the Goats rallied to pull away in the win. Robinson had a strong second half and finished with 13pts 8reb but it was his hustle and toughness that carried the Goats in this one as 6'2' '23 Robert Dillingham was off with only 12pts 2 stls in the contest. Bull City Prep played hard until the end getting nice outings from 6'3' '22 Liron Thomas who was not quite the scoring machine as last night but still effective with 13pts 2 treys 5reb 2asts, 6'8' DonDre Watson gave effort in the paint with 11pts 7reb but 6'3' Derrick Butler was efficient throughout going for 17pts 7reb while playing tough in your face defense through much of the contest. He has a sturdy frame and a good nose for the ball and a decent motor that kept humming in this game despite the loss.