Commitment Catch-Up

NewEnglandBasketballServices.com | Saturday, April 28th, 2007

Tristan Thompson Commits to North Texas
Tristan Thompson (pictured above) is heading home. The 6’5 swingman who is close to completing his post-graduate year at Brewster Academy will be returning to his home state of Texas where he will attend the University of North Texas.

Thompson had a very impressive year for Brewster Academy and was one of the main reasons why the team was able to advance to the NEPSAC finals despite the loss of three members of their backcourt rotation. Thompson is a versatile swingman who has range to the three-point line, can attack the rim, and knows how to get himself to the free throw line. In fact, during his season year of high school in Texas, Thompson set a state record for number of free throw attempts in a season.

His commitment is a steal for a North Texas program that beat out a variety of other mid-major programs including SMU and Wichita State for his services. Thompson was lured not only by the opportunity to return home but also because he will have a chance to be an immediate contributor thanks the graduation of three North Texas wing players.

North Texas is coming off their best season in school history having won the Sun Belt Conference Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for only the second time.

Duquesne Nabs Bill Clark
A couple of short weeks ago Bill Clark made a statement as he unleashed a dominating performance to lead his Rhode Island Hawks team to the championship of the Charlie Weber Penn State Tournament. As is typically the case, if you play well in April good things happen, and thanks to his strong play as of late Clark is now headed to the Atlantic 10’s Duquesne.

Clark is an exceptionally athletic player who runs the floor, finishes high above the rim, and also possesses consistent three-point range, all of which makes him an ideal candidate for Duquesne’s fast paced offensive attack. Equally important is Clark is a player who has not yet realized his full potential. If he can develop his ball skills so that he is able to attack the rim with the same proficiency that he shoots the three and finishes he could be very difficult to defend.

Clark, originally from California, spent this season at Worcester Academy as a post-graduate. He received some interest from high major programs like Providence and Penn State before accepting the Dukes’ scholarship offer.

Chris Baez to Central Florida
Chris Baez is another post-graduate product of the NEPSAC who is headed back to his home state. In his case he returns to Florida where he will star for the University of Central Florida.

Baez was very impressive for his Lee Academy team this year and did well for himself by stepping up in almost every showcase style event the team played in. He stood out at the National Prep Showcase in November when he showed his always deadly three-point shooting stroke as well as an improved ability to put the ball on the floor. It was a similar story in February at the National Prep School Invitational as Baez again demonstrated his ability to put the ball in the basket.

Prior to arriving at Lee, Baez starred at Gateway High School in Kissimmee, Florida where he was a 2005-06 All-State second team selection averaging 25 points and almost 7 rebounds a game. He broke Gateway’s record for most points in a single game dropping 50 against instate rival Cypress Creek.

Baez joins Central Florida at an exciting time as they will be moving into a new 10,000 seat on campus arena next season.

Exeter Trio off the Board
Three starters from Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire have finalized their plans for next year as 6’3 guard Dan Mavraides will be headed to Princeton, 6’8 forward Joe Dufy to Vanderbilt, and 6’5 swingman Sam Mason to Tufts.

Mavraides is an extremely complete player who can read defenses, shoot the ball from the three-point line, or put it on the floor. Although he is best suited off the ball he even showed the ability to play some point this year when teammate Ronnie Dixon went down with a knee injury. At Princeton he will play for first year Head Coach Sydney Johnson who is eager to return the Tigers to their traditional spot atop the Ivy League.

Joe Duffy is a prototypical face up four man with his ability to spot up and shoot to the three point line. At 6’7 he is also skilled enough to put the ball on the floor and pull up in the mid-range area. Despite receiving strong interest from some of the top division III programs in the country as well as some low major division I programs, Dufy chose to attend Vanderbilt as a recruited walk-on. Dufy joins a Vanderbilt program that has never been stronger having just advanced to the “sweet 16” of the NCAA tournament.

Sam Mason is headed to Tufts where he should be capable of making an immediate impact. Mason, originally from Maine, is a versatile perimeter player with excellent size for that area of the floor at 6’5.

This season the trio combined with Josh Owens (Stanford) and Ronnie Dixon (Dartmouth) to lead Exeter to a 13-7 regular season record and a spot in the NEPSAC Class “A” Tournament over programs including Worcester Academy and MCI.

Other News and Notes

Boston College High School’s Chris Hurley has signed a national letter of intent to play at division II St. Michael’s next season. Hurley was the co-captain and starting point guard of a BC HS team that went 25-0 this season en route to their first state championship in 90 years. For his efforts he was named to the Boston Globe Super Team, Boston Herald Dream Team, and was awarded the Catholic Conference’s co-Most Valuable Player.
Christian Yemga, a 6’7 small forward from Proctor Academy has committed to Brandeis University. The commitment is a significant one for Brandeis because Yemga is a scholarship level talent who still hasn’t realized his full potential. The Cameroon native already has good ball skills for a player his size and is an excellent passer, especially in the open floor.
Yemga’s teammate at Proctor Academy, Carlos Bryant is headed to division II Merrimack on a football scholarship. Nevertheless, the super athletic swingman is expected to be a two sport athlete and star on both the basketball court as well as the football field.
Conor Meehan a 6’3 point guard from Choate Rosemary Hall has committed to Amherst College, fresh off their division III national championship. Meehan, one of 16 nominees in the state of Connecticut for the McDonald’s All-American game, had received interest from New Hampshire, Yale, Radford, Bryant, Stonehill, and St. Michael’s this season.
Pat Luptowski, a 6’0 guard from Keene High School in New Hampshire, has committed to Adelphi. Luptowski is a skilled and smart player who is best known for his ability to knock down shots from long range. He should be a great fit for Head Coach Jamie Cosgrove’s system because of his toughness and hard working nature.