#E75 College Showcase North 2024 Recap - The Guards

Wednesday, June 19th, 2024

The recap of last weeks showcase participants ends with the largest pool of players, the guards. Guards from all over the North packed in to show off their skills in front of college coaches, let's see how the action unfolded.
 

Top Performers

Josh Caruso, Nashua South - Caruso was arguably the best shooter in the gym the other night as he literally could not miss. He brings an extremely clean and fluid form and scores it in a variety of ways. Scholarship interest has started for the Nashua South guard as he gets ready for a big senior season in the NHIAA. DII’s coming to Clark tomorrow should add him to their list as he returns for a second outing.

Mason Paquette, Londonderry -  Paquette's offensive game was one that drew the "who's that guy?" from a number of college coaches in the gym. The 6'3" guard brings size to the backcourt and uses it to be a relentless slasher/finisher at the basket and to absorb contact. His passing vision to find open teammates is notable as well as his turnaround jump shot in the midpost.

Cohen Galley, Kents Hill - Galley has been a standout QB at Oceanside High School as well as on the basketball court, but his poise and leadership from the gridiron is evident. The 6'0 guard has quarterback-esque passing vision and range as he can make it from multiple levels. He hits both movement shots and standstills as a southpaw but his runners in the paint are a nice touch as he uses it to go over top of opposing bigs.

Luke Soden, Phillips Exeter - Soden was arguably the best player in the NHIAA this season and is taking his talents to Phillips Exeter this fall. Soden is an electric scorer who can really light it up from all three levels, and has impressive bounce to the rim. He plays rough, physical defense to keep opposing guards in check, can rise up to swat/pin shots and should see scholarship interest.

Noah Daniel, Berwick Academy - The Portsmouth NH based guard was a must-add to the showcase after a huge spring with the Storm's ZGXL squad. Daniel has an impressive shooting form that extends to multiple levels of the court. He finishes strong around the basket with his physical build and knows how to keep the offense flowing and get his teammates involved, playing with a never ending motor. He looks to be just scratching the surface of his potential moving forward.

Alexander Gordon, Brewster Academy - The Vermont native came into the Elite 75 and put on a very complete display. The guard has an advanced feel for the game, anticipating the next play well and knowing where to be. He keeps the ball low when handling it, scores it in bunches and does so efficiently. His stop-and-go quickness is impressive and allows him to finish in a variety of ways around the basket. 

Jamier Rose, Noble HS - Rose has had some buzz from his performance in the ZGXL this past April, but had a tremendous performance at the Elite 75. Rose is a crafty guard with a bag to keep defenders on skates, scores it inside and is a pest as an on-ball defender. He pickpocketed a number of players on the court, and took the ball down for easy buckets in transition. Schools should check out this guard heading into the high school season.

Stock Risers

Parth Miglani, St. Paul’s - Miglani is reclassing to the class of 2026 at St. Paul's and brought his developing game this past week. He has a compact build and uses it to his advantage on drives. His quick burst towards the basket and knockdown outside shooting ability coupled with his physicality will definitely translate to the next level when the time comes.

Isaiah Andino, Methuen -  Making the short trip up 93, the Methuen HS prospect left a strong impression as a stockriser from the showcase. Andino captains the offense, reads the floor and directs traffic. He does a good job of driving to the cup and finishing inside, plus makes some nice drop-off passes to open teammates when getting downhill.

Carter Galley, Kents Hill - One half of the Galley twin clan, Carter brings an impressive game as well coming off a huge four-year career at Oceanside High. Galley is an excellent shooter off-the-catch with a fluid form, gets into spot ups quickly and converts running floaters at a rapid rate.

Justin Jamal, Deering - The Maine native was a true stockriser in the gym the other night. Jamal's quickness and burst off-the-dribble keeps opposing guards guessing, but his strength on finishes around the basket, motor and outside shooting ability are what college coaches look for.

Alex Torres, Wilbraham & Monson -  The Springfield native made a resounding impact on our scouts. Torres has a good handle on the ball, gets to the rack to finish inside and knocks down the three ball with a smooth release of the ball - excelling from the corner.

Patrick Ricca, St. Paul’s - Ricca's ability to affect many facets of the game was eye catching. He has a strong grasp for the game, knowing when to burst down the lane or cut through to the three point line. The 6’1” guard made some threes, but his ability to lead the offense and take advantage of being in an iso as a defender were both very impressive.

Drezell Duffaut, Raymond - The New Hampshire native brought his quick jolt to the showcase to impact the game. He gets downhill in an instant, has a nice package as a ball handler, buys in, competes on defense and can create for his teammates.

Adam Fitzgerald, Skowhegan - Fitzgerald put on an impressive shooting barrage from behind the three-point line in his second game-set, compiling over five in the game. He has a smooth shot and gets into his rhythm quickly, but also moves the ball as a passer and does a good job of forcing turnovers on defense.

Andrew Joncas, Danville - The 5’10 guard made the trip down from Vermont and showed off his electric scoring ability. He had numerous big scoring outputs in the VPA and showed off his high motor driving skills, tight handle, tough defense and knock down three-point shooting ability.

Deng Aguek, South Burlington - Aguek brought his impressive guard play down to SNHU. The South Burlington product has wiggle to his game as he can out maneuver opposing guards with his handle, as well as stretch the floor from three on stepbacks and when getting downhill.

Manny Hidalgo, South Portland - Hidalgo has had strong seasons this year with South Portland and XLP and once again stood out. The point guard's tight handle and bag of moves allow him to navigate a defense, while his ability to place the ball with precision on passes is very impressive.

New Names to Know

Christian Bilolo, Manchester Memorial -  Bilolo is a mercurial ball handler that creates separation from the defense, and uses this to load up and get into the three ball with consistency.

Evan Legassey, Deering The 6'1" guard is coming off a strong season averaging just south of 20ppg. He hits three's from all over - the corners, above the break, college range - you name it he can shoot it.

Tave Cloutier, Kents Hill - The Maine native’s play caught our scouts attention as he was able to convert shots at multiple levels, has a strong finish around the basket to pair with impressive bounce.

Franck Moron, Shawsheen Valley - Moron is a quick guard that excels at running the floor in transition and getting buckets on the break. His offensive rebounding skills standout as he is a magnet to the ball. 

Kerrick Medose, St. Johnsbury - The Vermont native made his mark as a shooting threat in this setting. Medose is a knockdown shooter who can knock it down from all-over the floor with a fluid shot.

JD Heneke, Holderness - Heneke uses his body well on drives to keep defenders on his back. He can convert shots at the rim through contact, but has a smooth touch on running floaters. His spot-up shooting from behind the free throw line and long range is also impressive.

Jack Lafayette, South Burlington - Lafayette put his strong guard skills on display as he brings innate passing vision to create for others, handles the ball well to break pressure, and makes good use of pump fakes to get his shots off with defenders contesting.

Bory Bory, Manchester Memorial, Bory's defensive tenacity stood out as he has impressive lateral quickness and times hand checks, while also crashing the boards on both ends of the floor and has pop towards the rim to throw down.

Eric Poso, Rice Memorial - Poso's ability to overpower defenders stood out as he uses his physicality to get downhill on drives to the basket. He has a tight handle, impressive athleticism and tracks down shots to send them flying right back.

Nate Hebert, Kents Hill - Hebert made his impact on the showcase as a particularly effective shooter off the catch and slasher to the basket with a good handle on the ball.

Alize Roig-Cortes, Nashua North - Roig-Cortes made his mark on the showcase as a smaller guard with a punch to his game. He converted some tough finishes through contact around the basket and knocked down shots off the dribble.

Musa Kasanga, Vermont Academy - Kasanga will be joining Vermont Academy this upcoming season and impressed with his ability to stop on a dime for finishes and hit three's over contesting defenders.

Tej Stewart, Twinfield Union - Stewart has a budding game and played well with his especially smooth shooting stroke from outside and rebounding motor that caught the attention of our scouts.

Tom Maloji, South Portland - Maloji brought his finishing talent to the table as he converted a number of shots around the basket. He does a good job of relocating on offense and getting to his spots for pull-ups.

More Standouts

Jack Murphy, Pingree - Murphy does a good job of using his body and making timely attacks to the basket. He attacks opposing ball handlers to force turnovers and plays an unselfish game.

Sammy Dewitt, Alvirne - Dewitt is a mid-range marksman who can knock down the shot almost automatically whether it's off a pass or when creating for himself.

Ryan Walker, Woodsville - Walker exploded in the postseason for Woodsville. He has a steadily improving game with a package of skills to put the ball in the net.

James Lyon, Belmont Hill - Lyons made a number of smart reads at the guard spot whether it was crashing the glass on the offensive end and putting back shots, or knowing when to pull-up and knock down moving shots.

Brayden Pierce, Mascoma Valley - One of Mascoma Valley's leaders this season, Pierce has a quick jump stop, converts around the basket and knocks down the long ball.

Shawn O'Neil, Trinity - O’Neil has some twitch to his game to keep defenders off balance and can get into jumpers quickly to convert shots off-the-dribble.

Jerrick Jacobs, Richford - Jacobs made some impressive reads as a guard whether it was scanning the floor and making the right pass, or knowing when to attack the defense on drives.

Ryan Close, ConVal - The One Dream product has a good release on the ball and can light it up from all three levels.

Weston Hickman, Souhegan - The 6'2" guard does a good job of filling lanes, moving the ball, scoring at all three-levels, and knowing where to relocate to when on the court. 

Bryce Ballou, Mascoma Valley - Ballou moves very light on his feet as he's able to get out in transition with quickness, helps generate offense in fastbreaks, has a good handle and a smooth three-ball.

Atticus Whitten, Gorham - Whitten's ability to set hard screens as an off-ball guard and then pop for clean looks at the three ball was very impressive. He thrived from the corner as well.

Logan Zoulamis, Mt. Ararat - Zoulamis knows when to make quick cuts through the defense and get clean looks around the basket, as well as space the floor as a shooting threat.

Brady Lynde, Lowell Catholic - Lynde is coming off a strong high school season and his off-ball scoring on offense and ability to play tough, scrappy, high motor defense caught our attention.

Dallas St. Peter, Rice Memorial - St. Peter stood out as a relentless attacker of the basket who can finish through contact and use some moves to get past opposing defenders.

Lucas LeGage, Portland - LeGage impressed with his smooth stop and go game as a finisher, clean shooting stroke, as well as his above average rebounding skills from the guard spot.