Commitment Catch-Up

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, April 5th, 2010

Salve Picks up Two More from New Hampshire

Salem’s Alex LaRosa had already made a commitment to Salve Regina head coach Sean Foster, and recently he was joined by two other seniors from the Granite State.  The Mass & NH High School Basketball Report is reporting that Bishop Guertin’s Scott St. Lawrence and Nashua North’s Alex Pratt will both be heading to the Rhode Island division III school. 

St. Lawrence is a versatile swingman with a strong body and a good shooting stroke.  He has been well coached in the Bishop Guertin system and has the balanced skill set and high basketball I.Q. to be able to play an immediate role at the college level. 

Pratt is six-foot-two shooting guard who also has fundamentally sound ball skills with the ability to make open shots and serve as a valuable secondary ball-handler. 

LaRosa, St. Lawrence, and Pratt were all teammates on the AAU circuit with the Granite State Jayhawks. 

Wheaton Lands Point Guard

Another Granite State Jayhawk product made his decision recently as Will Bayliss will continue his basketball career at Wheaton College.

Bayliss recently concluded his post-graduate season at the Tilton School, helping the Rams to their third consecutive NEPSAC Class B title.  Prior to arriving at Tilton, Bayliss starred for four seasons at Manchester Central High School. 

A scrappy and experienced point guard, Bayliss has all the tools to have a successful four year career at Wheaton.  He knows how to run a team and has good leadership skills, can create for himself and others off the dribble, and is a vastly improved shooter from the perimeter. 

Jones to Star on Gridiron

Bloomfield’s Denzel Jones is heading to Central Connecticut State University to play football. 

Jones has always been best known for his talents on the football field, but he emerged as a scholarship level prospect on the basketball court within the last couple of years.  Last summer in particular, Jones proved himself by standing out against a very high level of competition as he was a very important big man for the Connecticut Basketball Club.

A terrific all around athlete who was able to out-run and out-jump almost any opposing big man, Jones also had the rare ability to dominate a game on the defensive end of the floor. 

On the football field, Jones utilizes that athleticism to make him a very versatile quarterback. 

Tufts Gets a Good One

Tommy Folliard, a post-graduate from Philips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, previously made a commitment to Tufts University. 

Folliard is a highly skilled forward with a great three-point shot.  Folliard’s shooting stroke is picture perfect in many ways, except for an ironic complete lack of spin.  Nevertheless, he is a classic face-up four-man who is ideally suited for pick in pop action or as a trail shooter on the break and has all the talent to develop into a major contributor for Tufts’ head coach Bob Sheldon.  

A native of Virginia, Folliard graduated from Deep Run High School in the spring of 2009 before arriving at Exeter in September.  He made his first appearance in New England last summer as he stood out at the Hoop Mountain Academic All-American Camp. 

Herring Sticking with Dartmouth

Folliard’s Exeter teammate James Herring, who had previously committed to Dartmouth during the course of his post-graduate season, has reaffirmed his intention to go to the Ivy League School next year. 

Herring made his commitment after Mark Graupe took over the heading coaching duties on an interim basis following Terry Dunn’s resignation midway through the season.  There has been little movement on the coaching front since the end of the season, but despite the uncertainty of the coaching situation it appears that Herring will still be heading to Dartmouth next year. 

A New York native who came to Exeter by way of a small public high school, Herring is a scorer who can shoot the ball with deep range and score in bunches from behind the three-point line. 

Babson Goes to Rhode Island

Babson College picked up a commitment from Colin Russell, a six-foot-six forward from Mount Saint Charles Academy in Rhode Island. 

A long and skilled player, Russell should be able to contribute time at both forward positions.  He is a player who still has his best basketball in front of him as he continues to get stronger and gain experience against higher levels of competition.

Russell was a 1000 point scorer at Mount Saint Charles.