Catching up on More Commitments

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, May 10th, 2010

St. Joe’s of Maine Assembles Class

St. Joseph’s College of Maine has put together one of their best recruiting classes in recent memory by keeping four local players close to home and adding a fifth player from Massachusetts. 

Westbrook’s Nich Joblin and Edward Little’s Jim Philbrook appear to be the cornerstone’s of the class.  Joblin was the SMAA Player of the year after being the league’s second leading scorer and top overall rebounder with 17 points and 11 rebounds per game.  He was also nominated for the McDonald’s All-American game and named to the Bangor Daily’s 2nd Team All-State list.  Philbrook was also a McDonald’s nominee as well as First Team All-KVAC Class A South. 

Also heading to St. Joe’s are Matt Lee from South Portland and Clark Noonan from Bangor.  Lee was the top three-point shooter in SMAA, shooting 47% from behind the arc while scoring over 16 points per game, which was good for Telegram All-State honors.  Noonan averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds per game at Bangor and was nominated for the McDonald’s game, selected to the Telegram All-State team, First-Team All-KVAC Class A North, and Bangor Daily Third Team All-State. 

Rounding out the class is Matt Medeiros from Westport High School in Massachusetts.  Medeiros, a 5’11” guard, averaged 24 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals per game this season and holds school records for most three-pointers in a single game (11) and highest three-point percentage for a season (59%).  Medeiros was named a Mayflower All-Star and was also the recipient of the Dave Cowens’ Achievement Award. 

Former PSA Star Signs with Division I School

Rundell Mauge, a 7’0”, 220-pound center from North Platte Community College, has signed a national letter of intent to become a part of the Pacific University men's basketball program.

A native of Tobago, Trinidad, Muage ranked sixth in the nation among NJCAA(National Junior College Athletic Association) Division I programs with an average of 4.1 blocks per game during his second campaign at North Platte CC.

Mauge graduated from Putnam Science Academy in 2008 where he was a dominate force in Northeastern, CT as well as the Coastal Prep League.  Mauge was nominated as a McDonald’s All American and was the CPL Player of the Year. Muage averaged 22.9 points per game, 18.6 rebounds per game and 8.5 blocks per game during his one season at PSA.

Pacific University is located in Stockton, California and play in the Big West Conference.  Other notable schools include Long Beach State, Cal-State Fullerton, and St. Mary’s.

Messinger to St. John Fisher

Zac Messinger, a post-graduate at Choate Rosemary Hall and graduate of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut, will take his game to St. John Fisher next year.  Messinger averaged over 20 points per game while at Ridgefield and 15 points per game at Choate.

He has the length and athleticism to score points around the rim but is also skilled on the perimeter with a consistent three-point stroke and evolving dribble drive game. 

St. John Fisher was 23-6 last year including a mark of 15-1 within the Empire 8 Conference. 

Nichols Lands Four Local Products

Nichols College has landed four commitments that could prove to be significant.  New England natives Ryan Feehan, Jeff Schmeltz, Joe Lambert, and Sam Horning are all headed to Dudley, Massachusetts next year. 

Feehan will be staying close to home after previously starring at Bishop Feehan High School where he was the leading scorer in the MIAA at 28 points per game.  Meanwhile Scmelz is coming off a post-graduate season at Bridgton Academy this year after having previously starred for Burrville High School in Rhode Island.

Lambert and Horning both led their teams to state championships during their recent senior seasons as Lambert starred with Hyde Leadership Academy in Connecticut and Horning for Falmouth High School in Maine. 

Currier Staying Close to Home

Zach Currier, the 6’4” power forward from Proctor High School in Vermont, will be staying in the Green Mountain State to play his college basketball at Castleton State. 

Currier was a part of multiple state championship teams during the course of his high school career, as Proctor’s streak of four consecutive state championships was finally broken this past season. 

A rugged and powerful post player, Currier will provide a physical presence inside the paint for Castleton as well as someone who is capable of scoring with his back to the basket. 

Lubin Still Heading to Trinity

Middlesex guard Kevin Lubin, who was accepted and committed to Trinity College when interim head coach Sean Tabb was still at the helm of the program, intends to keep his commitment to the NESCAC school and play under newly appointed head coach Jamie Cosgrove. 

Lubin is a versatile guard who can play both backcourt positions and is equally effective making shots from behind the three-point line as well as using his dribble to attack the defense. 

Lubin joins New Hampton forward Eric Dean in Trinity’s 2010 class. 

Taft Players Make Decisions

Jeff Tagger, a graduate of Catholic Memorial High School in Massachusetts, and currently a post-graduate at the Taft School in Connecticut recently committed to Connecticut College. 

An individually talented guard, Tagger also has a long history of playing for winning programs after claiming a state championship with Catholic Memorial as well as earning the top seed in this year’s Western New England Tournament with Taft. 

Forward Greg Nicol has also made his decision and will play at Dickinson College next season.  A native of Scotland, Nicol is a skilled and knowledgeable inside-out threat.  He has good footwork playing around the basket but is equally effective facing up and utilizing a fairly quick first step and some deceptive bounce. 

Senior center Keefer Rafferty has also committed to the Naval Academy where he will row crew.  But before arriving at the Naval Academy Rafferty will spend a year in prep school at the nearby Kent School.  In addition to winning the WNEC Basketball championship this year, Kent also has one of the top crew programs in New England. 

Tilton Guard Earns Scholarship

Tilton’s post-graduate point guard Jeff Adkins has picked up a scholarship from Clark Atlanta University.  CAU is a division II school in Atlanta, Georgia who competes in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. 

Adkins, a New Jersey native, arrived at Tilton this year as a post-graduate and immediately earned the team’s starting point guard position and was an important piece of leading Tilton to their third consecutive NEPSAC Class B championship. 

A strong and athletic guard, Adkins is a productive two way player who pushes the ball up the court, can lock down defensively, and has a definite go-to weapon with his pull-up jumper. 

WPI Gets Another

WPI has added to their already tremendous recruiting class with the addition of George Tsougranis who will join Ryan Kolb, David White, and Jake Nelson in the Engineers’ class. 

Tsougranis is a versatile forward who can produce inside and out.  Strong, athletic and rugged inside the paint, he plays bigger than he is around the rim and can both score and rebound over bigger players.  But he worked hard to develop his perimeter skills this season and made himself into a quicker player off the dribble and more consistent three-point threat. 

Tsougranis won a state championship during his senior season at Portsmouth High School in New Hampshire and claimed another title this year in helping the Rams to their Class B crown during his post-graduate season. 

East Longmeadow Star to R.I.T. 

East Longmeadow’s Dan Martin has committed to Rochester Institute of Technology according to his high school coach Tony Bergeron. 

Martin was instrumental in leading East Longmeadow to their first Western Massachusetts Boys Basketball championship this year.  Martin was the team’s leading scorer on the season at 18 points per game and also notched the 1000th of his career during the team’s postseason run. 

A post player early in his career, Martin developed himself into one of the best three-point shooters in the MIAA while also retaining the same dexterity and footwork that made him such a special low post player as a youngster. 

Brandeis Picks Up One More

Brandeis has added to their already tremendous incoming class with the addition of Connor Arnold.  The 6’4” forward graduated from Andover High School in 2009 before attending Deerfield Academy this year as a post-graduate.

Unfortunately, Arnold’s post-graduate season was little more than a couple of games and he missed virtually the entire season with injury.  Arnold was named a Merrimack Valley all-star following his senior season at Andover when he served as the team’s captain. 

Arnold may be best noted for his toughness and leadership as he played his senior season with a broken kneecap and is known for the many intangibles he brings with him to the floor as well as the ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter and post bigger players on the block. 

Roger Williams Adds Guard

North Andover’s Tommy O’Connell has committed to attending Roger Williams next year.  O’Connell has had a tremendous high school career at North Andover, helping his squad to consecutive 20 win seasons and winning back to back Cape Ann Player of the Year honors in the process. 

A versatile guard who can play either backcourt position effectively, O’Connell is a poised and skilled player who competes with tremendous toughness and tenacity.  He also has good speed and lateral quickness and so is valuable on both ends of the court. 

St. Thomas More Guard to UDC

St. Thomas More’s Phil Izevbehai is headed to the University of the District of Columbia to play for head coach Jeff Ruland on an athletic scholarship. 

A native of Huntington, New York, Izevbehai arrived at STM as a talented, but still fairly raw post-graduate.  He made consistent developments throughout the course of the season and ended up being of vital importance for the Chancellors on both ends of the ball. 

At UDC, Izevbehai will join a program that is now in rebuilding mode under Ruland and should have the opportunity to step right in and play immediate minutes.  UDC is an independent division II school located in the heart of Washington, D.C. 

Salisbury Duo Make Picks

Lachlan Magee (Victoria, Australia), who joined the Crimson Knights two games into the season, will be heading to Endicott College this fall.  The 6'4" shooting guard averaged 17 ppg. and shot 49.6% from behind the arc as he earned all-WNEC honorable mention.  Magee was first noticed by Endicott assistant coach Gary Corbett after he scored 24 points against The Gunnery in the semifinals of the Loomis-Chaffee Holiday Tournament.

Magee had a handful of D3 opportunities but chose Endicott for several reasons.  "In the end it came down to feel, and Endicott gave me the best feel after working out and touring around the school," said Magee. "Closeness to Boston and the internship program were also factors I considered."

"The coaching staff, in particular Coach (Phil) Rowe, was the key reason for my decision to attend Endicott. Also, by meeting all the players and the conditioning team as well, I gained a strong sense of the professionalism and dedication that was instilled in each team member to win this coming season."

On his decision to come to America for a post-graduate year, Magee added,"The Salisbury journey was essential for giving me a range of recruitment options for playing college basketball in the future. It also gave me a small insight into the college lifestyle and what it takes to live so far away from home for a good portion of the year."

Michael O'Connor'10 (Basking Ridge, NJ), a 6'2" guard who started several games for the Crimson Knights, will continue his basketball at Elmira College.

Suffolk goes to Rhode Island

Suffolk University picked up their first commitment recently from Jordan Jones, a six-foot-three swingman from Classical High SChool in Rhode Island. 

Jones was under-recruited coming out of high school after missing the majority of his senior season with injury but has the potential to be a great addition for Suffolk.  A powerful wing player with a well developed offensive skill set, Jones can beat defenders going to the rim as well as he can with his jumper.