2014 Rankings: Debut Prospects

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

Last weekend the New England Recruiting Report published updated rankings in the class of 2014.  The expanded rankings now include the 25 top sophomore prospects in New England.  Here is a look at the prospects that cracked the rankings for the first time:  

Jalen Adams, Melrose High School (MA): As a freshman, Adams was a guy who showed clear potential but not enough consistent production.  As a sophomore, the flashes of greatness are more frequent while the production is gradually coming in more steady doses.  He has a knack for scoring the ball and ultimately that’s going to make him a player.  He instinctively creates space with his dribble, uses his length, finishes with athleticism, and is still just 15 years old.  He undoubtedly has improvements left to be made but the upside as a scoring guard that he demonstrated at the Elite 75 Showcase – Frosh/Soph Edition was enough to have him make his debut in the 15th spot.  Check out his highlight video care of Derek Malloy, the latest NERR video of the week.   

Mike Auger, New Hampton School (NH):  He appears to be 100% healthy after an injury cost him the vast majority of his sophomore season.  Now reclassified at New Hampton, Auguer is intriguing because he’s an old school power forward.  He likes contact inside the lane, makes the most of his strong body, and provides the type of physical presence that is sorely lacked on most teams in today’s day and age.  Combine that with some raw skill and good athleticism, and it was good enough for 17th overall in New England and fifth in New Hampshire

Henri Bolton, St. Andrew’s School (RI):  Bolton has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the fall.  He’s got the physical requisites to eventually take his game to higher levels.  He’s six-foot-two with a strong body and good athleticism to take his man off the dribble or play above the rim.  Most impressive is that he’s only been playing the game for a couple of years and has already made tremendous strides in the last twelve months alone.  He’ll have the chance to play a big role from day one of his St. Andrew’s career and appears poised to be up to the task.  He debuts as 19th overall in New England. 

Jackson Donahue, Stonington High School (CT): He didn’t shoot the ball as well as he normally does at the Elite 75 – Frosh/Soph Edition, and yet it was that performance that impressed us the most.  All great shooters have off days and Donahue had already proven himself in that department, but the new developments to his game in terms of his passing and defense have made him much less one dimensional and a much more complete basketball player.  Let’s not get it mixed up though, his shot-making is still, and always will be, his niche at the end of the day.  He sits in the 21st spot in New England. 

Bobby Ahearn, Marianapolis Prep (CT):  Ahearn is hardly new to the local basketball scene.  He’s been competing against high levels of competition, on both the high school and AAU circuits, for well over a year now, but it’s his recent development that has been particularly impressive.  We were intrigued when we watched Marianapolis work out early in September because he appeared to be in the best shape of his life and consequently more athletic.  He solidified that opinion at the Elite 75 while also showing his trademark skill set to produce both inside and out.  That was good enough for the 23rd spot overall in New England. 

---