Brian Flinn:
Future150 National Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
Pittsburgh, PA (Future150) -- The first day of the Hoopgroup JamFest was one where a couple of big names had big games as well as some under the radar guys performing well. Despite there being just four sets of games, there was plenty of action as well. Here are a few players that stood out on day one:
Nate Britt, 2013 PG, D.C. Assault: If the name looks familiar it’s because we covered him in our Jamfest Primer. Sure enough Nate didn’t disappoint today, as he routinely got into the lane and caused all sorts of problems for the VA Elite defenders. Britt consistent found the open man for easy baskets and had a couple of pretty layups that drew ooohs from the crowd.
Karl Towns Jr., 2015 C, Sports U 16’s: This was our first live look at Towns Jr. and he didn’t disappoint. Although he didn’t score a ton of points, he did play very well especially when it came to altering and blocking shots as well as cleaning up the glass. He is very mobile and skilled for someone his size and possesses above average passing ability. If Towns can continue to play like he did today it will be hard to not put him at the top of our 2015 rankings.
Hallice Cooke, 2013 SG, Sports U 17’s: This Sports U squad features a bevy of talented guards, and Hallice Cooke could be the best of all of them. Despite his team being down 10 at the half, Cooke was able to bring them back, sparking a 12-0 run at one point, scoring 9 of those alone. The talented wing has said that he is hearing from schools in the Big East and ACC and mentioned that URI is on him hard at this point. The Rams would be lucky to get a player of his caliber.
Spencer Weisz, 2013 SG, Sports U 17’s: Weisz was the one who put the nails in the coffin once his team was finally able to wrestle the lead away from TNBA (OH) . On multiple occasions Spencer hit big time threes that killed runs and furthered the gap between the two teams. While he is primarily a spot-up shooter, Weisz was able to hit a couple of threes off the bounce as well, going 5-7 from three in the second half. Right now he claims interest from most of the Ivy League and Patriot League and JMU and Fairfield where both on hand to see him play.
Derek Sloan, 2013 SG, TNBA: Sloan was the main reason TNBA was able to get and maintain the lead in their matchup with Sports U. He had 13 in the first and followed it up with another 11 in the second. While he is a little undersized there is no denying his ability to score the ball. This kid would be a great fit at a low-to-mid-major program and we will definitely keep an eye on his development throughout the spring and summer.
A.J. Carr. 2013 PF, VA Elite: Carr was faced with a tough matchup tonight as he had to go up against two Future150 top 100 forwards in Junior Etou and Kris Jenkins. Carr was able to hold his own though, especially on the defensive end, where he seemed to slow down both guys at times. He played with energy throughout the game despite the lopsided score and will be a player we are sure to hear from again soon.
Just a quick recruiting side note before we close up shop. I got the chance to talk to 2014 forward Quadri Moore. He claims that Kansas has been calling about him lately as has Georgetown and Cincinnati, and given his ability and style of play it’s no surprise. Moore is a high energy forward with no ego. Skill wise he is a fantastic compliment to teammate Karl Towns Jr. and the two of them present nightmares for opponents. When asked what his dream school was he replied, “I don’t really have one, but growing up as a kid I really liked Ohio State, but they haven’t called about me yet.” We asked him how he would feel if the Buckeyes did call. “I would be very excited,” he said with a huge smile. It sounds like someone in Columbus needs to pick up a phone and make a call.
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