#E75 Frosh/Soph Flashback to ‘11
The fourth Elite 75 Showcase – Frosh/Soph Edition took place in September of 2011 and set a new standard when it came to assembling ALL of the region’s top young talent.
Sophomore Noah Vonleh was absolutely dominant that day and already well on his way to being a five-star prospect who would later go on to be a one-and-done first round draft pick in the NBA.
At the time, future Rhode Island guard Jared Terrell was probably the second most recognizable prospect in the class, already bigger, stronger and able to impose his will against other guards. He lived up to the hype that day as well.
The class was also characterized by some ascending big men. Fairfield Prep big men Paschal Chukwu proved to be one of the best long-term prospects in the building. He went on to be another top 100 prospect and is currently slated to be Syracuse’s starting center this upcoming year.
The biggest breakout performance came from a lanky young big man from Lexington High School named Josh Sharma. While he had been a virtual unknown up until that point he went on to be a top 100 national recruit and is currently in his senior year at Stanford.
Also in the sophomore division, another guard was showing increased signs of stardom as Jalen Adams really put New England on notice that day at the M-Plex. The current UConn star went on to be the fifth national top 100 prospect from that class.
Also returning for the second consecutive year was St. Andrew’s forward Bonzie Colson. He did what he always did back then, quietly and efficiently being one of the day’s most productive players. He would continue to do the same thing during his All-American career at Notre Dame.
Future Pittsburgh guard Jared Wilson-Frame was in attendance as too were a handful of other future division I prospects including Matt Cimino, Bobby Ahearn, Mike Auguer, Mike Leblance, Obi Momah, Collin McManus, Dimitri Floras, Patrick Benzan, Jackson Donahue, Mike Rodriguez, Kealen Ives, and Henry Bolton…and that was just the sophomore class.
There were a trio of frontcourt prospects who stood out in the freshmen class that day. Jarred Reuter had the biggest reputation coming out of the middle school ranks and he lived up to it that day on his way to a national ranking and scholarship at the University of Virginia.
Djery Baptiste made arguably the loudest debut that day as his physical stature alone put him on another level while future Northwestern forward Aaron Falzon was beginning to put people on notice that he was a budding high-major prospect as well.
Two other freshmen that made their Elite 75 debut that year were none other than Bruce Brown and Wenyen Gabriel, both of whom are now preparing for NBA training camps with the Pistons and Kings respectively after two-year careers at Miami and Kentucky.
Brown stood out with his athleticism that day, playing above the rim with ease, but hadn’t yet developed any skill or nuance to his game. Gabriel was just a lanky young prospect from Manchester, New Hampshire who made shots from the perimeter and showed flashes of footwork and even some passing ability.
Other future division I players in that year’s freshmen class included Ian Sistar, Corey Daugherty, Tyree Robinson, Elijah Pemberton, Arkel Lamar-Ager, Brandon Aughburns, A.J. Brodeur, Ikenna Ndugba, and Chancellor Ellis among others.
The Elite 75 Frosh/Soph will feature two session in 2019 giving each player increased opportunities for visibility, attention, and exposure. The North Edition will take place on Saturday, September 14th at the Dana Barros Basketball Club. The South Edition will take place on Sunday, September 15th at Connecticut College. Following both events, we'll release the list of the Elite 75 Freshmen and Sophomores one-by-one across all NERR social media platforms.