SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – A day after many of the very best seniors in the country showed off their wares, it was the Class of 2017’s turn to do the same thing Sunday during the continuation of the 15th Spalding HoopHall Classic in Blake Arena at Springfield College.
Jump shooter-deluxe Markus Howard and skilled power forward P.J. Washington (Henderson, NV, Findlay Prep); 7-footer Mohammed Bamba (Westtown, PA, School); swingman Tugs Bowen (La Porte, IN, La Lumiere); another 7-footer, Nick Richards (Elizabeth, NJ, The Patrick School); and explosive wing Hamidou Diallo (Putnam, CT, Science Academy) each no doubt not only impressed the mostly capacity crowd but also the assortment of college head coaches in attendance.
Among those coaches were Roy Williams (North Carolina), John Calipari (Kentucky) and Shaka Smart (Texas).
A look at the four games during which those aforementioned players were on display, as well as the other three “prep school-type” contests I watched during a 12-hour or so block of my Sunday viewing time:
Findlay Prep 91, Newark (NJ) St. Benedict’s 67: Coach Andy Johnson’s Pilots remained unbeaten (18-zip) while handing the Gray Bees their first loss in 17 games.
P.J. Washington pretty much had his way in and around the lane while just missing out on a triple-double with 16 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
And, a day after dropping 25 points (including five 3s) in a win over Athletes Institute and 7-foot-1 Thon Maker at the event, Markus Howard continue to tap that jump shooter’s vein to the tune of 26 points (including another six 3s).
The “official” stats sheet had Howard nine of nine from the field although multiple press table witnesses insisted he missed a jump shot in the first half.
Whatever.
No one who has ever watched Howard (who is from Chandler, AZ, but attends school in another state with a significant desert backdrop) flick his right wrist ever-so-exquisitely would quibble about his jump-shooting form and accuracy.
And he also put six assists, three steals and three rebounds on his time card, as well.
Westtown School 53, Jacksonville (FL) Potter’s House Christian 35: After struggling (at least to score) in the first half against the presence of a 2016 McDonald’s All-American, Mohammed Bamba dominated 6-11, 290-pound Udoka Azubuike and everyone else wearing Potter’s House jersey after intermission.
Bamba’s first-half scoring came only via two of three free-throw attempts although he did grab six rebounds and block four shots to go with three assists while Azubuike had six points to go with seven rebounds for Potter’s House, which was in front, 28-18, at the break.
Things were quite different over the final 16 minutes for Bamba and his teammates.
The Moose (I kid you not; that’s the Westtown mascot/nickname!) outscored the Lions 35-7 in the second half as Bamba jacked up his respective totals to 13 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, five steals and 10 blocks.
If he does those things on a consistent basis, then who is a better prospect than Bamba in the Class of 2017?
That’s a rhetorical question, of course, with an answer of “no one”.
Another junior, 6-6 Brandon Randolph, led Westtown with 18 points mostly via a lot of nifty mid-range jump shots.
Azubuike didn’t get his hands on the basketball much after intermission, the fault lying (depending upon your perspective, I suppose) on, a) His inability to go get it; b) his teammates’ inability to get it to him in advantageous positions or, c) the coaching staff’s inability to devise a system in which to feed him in the low post.
His totals: six points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Heck, he is physically capable of ringing up those kinds of numbers in four- and five-minute spurts.
La Lumiere 62, The Patrick School 58 (OT): This was far and away the most entertaining (if not always “well-played”) game of the day.
The team from Indiana (with a roster dotted with players from Michigan, Illinois, Georgia and Canada, among other locales) jumped out to a 7-zip advantage before falling behind by a dozen late in the first half.
But the Lakers (sure, why not?) eventually sent the game into a four-minute overtime and pulled the thing out just a few days after knocking off Prolific Prep (Napa, CA) and freshly minted McDonald’s All-America Josh Jackson at another event.
And that was in large part due to the presence of 6-7 junior Tugs Bowen.
Bowen, a standout as a freshman and sophomore at Hill High in Saginaw in Michigan, is a slick ball handler who is deceptively quick, with or without the ball in his hands, and has much-improved (via form and accuracy) jump
And he put all of those attributes to good use Sunday night while collecting 29 points, five rebounds, three steals and three blocked shots.
He would have gone reasonably deep into the “30-plus” mode if he had been a tad more accurate from the free-throw line where he missed half of his 14 attempts.
The Celtics, after falling behind by four points late in the four-minute overtime, almost extended the game by another four minutes.
Harvard-bound point guard Bryce Aiken drilled a 3 from the right corner to get his team to within 59-58 with 25 seconds to go.
After Bowen missed his second of two free throws with 12 seconds remaining, Aiken was seemingly on his way to a tying layup but lost control of the ball and was called for double dribble with 2.2 seconds to go.
Freshman guard Tyger Campbell was immediately fouled on the inbound pass and added two insurance freebies.
Putnam Science Academy 89, Commonwealth Academy 76: Six-four Hamidou Diallo had quite the second half – and then some – for the winning team.
Diallo scored 30 points, all but 27 of those coming after intermission by way of quite the impressive collection of mid-range jumpers and short drives that often resulted in bicep-flexing and rim-distorting slams.
And he was usually well above the crowd, too, while yanking down 11 rebounds.
Six-eight Mamadou Diarra (who signed with the University of Connecticut in November) added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Putnam Science Academy while 6-1 junior Shyheim Hicks led Commonwealth Academy with 18 points (12 by way of four very deep 3s).
Wolfeboro, NH, Brewster Academy 94, Saxtons Rivers Vermont Academy 87: There is a quite strong likelihood that 6-4, University of Miami-bound Bruce Brown of Vermont Academy would have seen his name posted as a McDonald’s All-American Sunday night if he hadn’t been a “fifth-year senior”.
But his 37-point performance in a losing cause Sunday afternoon was just another way of demonstrating why he will be among the very best college freshmen during the 2016-17 for the Hurricanes.
Brown hit 15 of 24 shots from the floor (including three of seven on 3s) while adding eight rebounds, two assists and three steals while doing a reasonable Dwyane Wade imitation against Brewster Academy.
Six-nine Taurean Thompson (who attended St. Anthony in Jersey City for three years) was eligible to be a McDonald’s All-American but didn’t make the 24-player cut.
He could prove to have a better college career than some of those who did, however, as was evident by way of his 23 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots for Brewster Academy.
His is one of the better as yet-unsigned prospects in the Class of 2016 and should have multiple options come April.
Granby, MA, MacDuffie School 69, Wilbraham, MA, Wilbraham and Monson Academy 61: With his Kentucky-coaching father watching from a baseline seat, senior guard Brad Calipari swished five 3s and scored 17 points for MacDuffie while 6-10 teammate (and still unsigned) Jordy Tshimanaga scored 13 points with 19 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Six-nine Wenyen Gabriel, who is set to play for John Calipari in Lexington next season and, as a fifth-year senior, was also ineligible to be a McDonald’s All-American, had an active second half while finishing with 18 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocked shots for Wilbraham and Monson.
Easthampton, MA, Williston-Northhampton 61, Suffield, CT, Academy 53: Six-five senior point guard Jamaal David had 13 points, a couple of assists and four rebounds for the winning squad in a game that tipped off at 9 a.m.
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