BABC Holiday Classic – Event Recap

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

The 2009 BABC Holiday Classic welcomed high school teams from four of New England’s six states to Chelsea High School over the last two days.  Three divisions were comprised of four teams each as opening round games were played on Monday and final rounds on Tuesday.

Scoreboard

New England Division – Consolation
Cambridge Rindge Latin 65 La Salle Academy 43
The hometown Massachusetts team handled the visitors from Rhode Island with relative ease as Cambridge got 25 points from Ahmed Charles and led by double figures for the entire second half.  Jared Hopkins scored 18 points for La Salle showing a well rounded skill set including a good handle and quality shooting stroke. 

Metro Division – Consolation
Wareham 71 Braintree 55
This game was tight for the first quarter of action but Wareham gradually pulled away as they were simply the more talented of the two teams.  Jules Tavares and Jordan Rezendes form a devastating 1-2 punch in the backcourt with 21 and 16 points respectively while Ryan Pina had 15 while anchoring the interior. 

Class A Division – Consolation
Lexington 73 Boston College HS 66
Lexington opened up a 19 point first half lead only to see BC come storming back in the second.  After trailing for the entire game, BC finally tied it at 66 with 2:30 left to play, but Lexington would respond, holding the Eagles scoreless for the remainder of the contest while finishing with a 7-0 run.  Jeremy Moss put Lexington ahead for good with a three-pointer at the 1:15 mark and then knocked down two free-throws with 27 seconds to play.  David Miller also impressed for Lexington, shooting the ball well from the three-point line throughout the game. 

New England Division – Championship
Sabis Charter 62 Bishop Guertin 56
It was a clash of two opposing styles as Sabis brought their quickness and athleticism against the skill and discipline of Bishop Guertin.  While Sabis held the lead for the vast majority of the game, Bishop Guertin would always stay within striking distance as they ran their motion offense to perfection and generated some easy baskets with their defense.  Down the stretch the Sabis playmakers proved to be the difference as they did enough to lead their team to a victory.   

Metro Division – Championship
St. John’s Prep 59 Everett 51
The most exciting game of the day saw St. John’s score a dramatic victory over a powerful Everett squad.  Connor Macomber and Pat Connaughton led the way for St. John’s as Macomber finished with a game high 20 points and Connaughton 19 points and 15 rebounds.  With the game deadlocked down the stretch, execution was the difference in this one as St. John’s got good looks for their best players while Everett was unable to do the same. 

Class A Division – Championship
Windsor 91 Springfield Central 56
The defending Connecticut state champions overwhelmed a talented, but young, Springfield Central team from the onset with their ferocious full court defense and equally lethal transition offense.  While Tyrus Weaver led a versatile offensive attack with 29 points, the real story of this game was the Warriors’ defense as their ability to pressure the ball and rotate was exemplary. 

Prospect Watch

Jaquille Taylor, Cambridge R&L, 2013 – The freshman big man is young and still very raw but the signs of his potential are endless.  He has great size, better length, is left handed, and incredibly mobile for a player his size, running the floor beautifully.  He’s still got a lot to learn but if he continues to work hard and stay humble the future will be very bright. 

Jules Tavares, Wareham, 2011 – Tavares showed his toughness simply by playing in today’s game as he fought through an infected tooth that caused one side of his face to swell.  Even that couldn’t slow down this explosive athlete as he was unstoppable attacking the rim and efficient for the most part picking his spots. 

Jordan Rezendes, Wareham, 2010 – One of the top shooters in the field, Rezendes knocked down five three-pointers as part of his game high 21 points.  With his quick release he only needs a glimpse of daylight to make the defense pay.  He also impressed running in transition, moving without the ball, and finishing around the rim. 

Connor Mahoney, Boston College, 2011 – The junior sniper had a huge game in the opening round of tournament and a big second half today.  He has good size and length for the wing, a terrific perimeter shooting touch, and a willingness to get under the boards and bang for rebounds. 

Bryan Hurley, Boston College, 2011 – His three ball has become a true weapon, to the point where he can pull-up off the dribble or knock them down from NBA range.  His shot selection and decision making was spotty at times in the first half, but he bounced back to play a much improved second. 

Chris Lee, Lexington, 2012 – A sophomore big man who is tough and strong around the rim but also has some perimeter skills and a good feel for the game.  He was most effective against BC’s full court pressure as his ability to pass the ball from the middle of the floor led to several lay-ups for Lexington. 

Kamali Bey, Sabis, 2012 – A sub-par game by his standards was still enough to make him the best player on the floor.  Bey did the majority of his damage around the rim tonight, both by going to the offensive glass and attacking with his dribble. 

Andre King, Sabis, 2010 – Ditto for King who wasn’t in full gear this evening.  Nonetheless, Bishop Guertin didn’t have anyone who could contend with either his or Bey’s individual talents as they both got their own shot whenever they wanted. 

Sean McClung, Bishop Guertin, 2011 – After not being much of a factor in yesterday’s game, McClung was the best player on the floor at times in tonight’s contest.  He shot the ball very well from the three-point line, made an impressive mid-range pull-up, and was active in transition.  He will only get better as he continues to grow into his body. 

Connor Green, Bishop Guertin, 2011 – It was just the opposite for Green who was reportedly terrific yesterday but struggled out of the gates today.  He picked it up for stretches in the second half, finally getting a three-ball to drop and having more success getting to the rim with his dribble. 

Connor Macomber, St. John’s Prep, 2011 – We’ve seen this player a few times since the spring and have been impressed by his improvement at each stop.  He did a nice job of running the team tonight and getting his points in the flow.  He handled well against pressure, scored at the rim and in the mid-range, and defended the ball well. 

Pat Connaughton, St. John’s Prep, 2011 – Simply put…he does it all for his team.  Early on he established himself as a playmaker, setting up his teammates for a variety of easy baskets.  Later in the second half he stepped up as a scorer as he made a series of big shots while showing a great touch from the perimeter…oh yeah and he had 15 boards too. 

Nerlens Noel, Everett, 2012 – The best individual prospect in the field made some plays that screamed of his vast potential but didn’t necessarily get the opportunity to put it all together.  He had his typical array of fantastic blocks on the defensive end and made a couple of nice moves offensively but just didn’t get the touches or good looks to have a big statistical night. 

Tyrus Weaver, Windsor, 2010 – He has grown up in the Windsor transition system and now he is the leader of it.  He makes threes in transition, attacks the rim hard going north to south, and can even facilitate a little bit when leading the break. 

Ryan Delaire, Windsor, 2010 – The only other returning starter from last year’s state championship team is a man among boys on the block as Delaire is now as physically powerful as he is bouncy.  He went and got rebounds, finished everything around the rim, and had good use of both hands. 

Ishmael Kalilou, Windsor, 2010 – The young senior obviously spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer as he is now boasting a noticeably stronger frame to go along with some new low post moves.  That makes him a major mismatch problem because his perimeter skills were already a known commodity. 

Victor Aytche, Springfield Central, 2011 – One of the lone bright spots for Central, Aytche made some very impressive plays with his athleticism – slashing to the rim, finishing with body control, and getting tip-ins on the offensive glass – while a much improved jump shot was a noticeable addition to his repertoire. 

Keep an Eye on

•  Tom Hunt, La Salle Academy – Freshman shot maker already in the starting line-up.
•  Darian Fernandes, Wareham – Undersized & stocky guard reminiscent of a young Akeem Williams
•  Malik McLaren, BC HS – Little guy is growth spurt away from being a player. 
•  Jaylen Brantley, Central – Young guard has composure and a smooth stroke
•  Cornelius Tyson, Central – Even younger guard finding his way now with bright future
•  Kamari Robinson, Central – Slashing wing with big hops and strong body = potential
•  Garey Allen, Windsor – Already playing meaningful minutes on veteran laden team