Academic Elite 75 – Unsigned Seniors

Monday, March 16th, 2015

The first ever Elite 75 Academic Experience was a big success on Sunday as with schools like Wesleyan, Williams, Middlebury, Tufts, Bowdoin, Amherst, Trinity, Colby, Connecticut College, Vassar, Bard, Wheaton, WPI, Emerson and many others in attendance.

While the day’s emphasis focused as much on the educational sessions off the floor as it did the action on the court, there were still a few select unsigned seniors that managed to stand out.

The first was Master’s (CT) guard Nylan Yancy who stood out as one of the best sheer talents in the field. A post-graduate who came to Connecticut by way of Texas, Yancy looks to be very under-recruited at this point. While he has the transcript necessary to head to an academic league, the fact that he holds no scholarship offers just yet is a surprise.

His explosive athleticism was on full display as he got up to throw down some impressive dunks while also showing a solid overall floor game. With great handles and his ability to see over any defender he was able to put teammates in positions to score. Add in a nice touch from the three point line and this Dallas product represented big-time Sunday afternoon.

Here’s a look at three other unsigned seniors that stood out:

Celio Araujo, Master’s (CT) – Yancy’s backcourt mate this season showed why any academic school would be lucky to have him running the point. Strong and dependable with the basketball, Araujo is almost impossible to rattle or speed up. While he’s known primarily for his distributing skills, he was also able to show his individual offense here, carrying defenders on his back to the rim and showing off his improved catch-and-shoot game from the perimeter.

Janvier Johnson, MacDuffie (MA) – A playmaking guard who is still generating some solid Division II interest with a few spring tryouts on the horizon, Johnson is a player that has continued to improve at each step in his career to date. With plenty of burst off the bounce and a more than capable jumper, he has all the individual offense to be a playmaker but has made the greatest strides in his decision making and ability to pick his points of attack most efficiently.

Mike Jurzynski, Master’s School (NY) - Jurzynski, from New York, showed his range hitting consecutive threes numerous times while also demonstrating athleticism with dunks in the lane. His ability to score over either of his shoulders with left and right hooks in the post made him a tough guard, while the improvements he’s made to his physical frame within the last year are equally impressive.

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