Frosh/Soph Elite 75 2013 Flashback
We are now only a few weeks away from the 2023 Elite 75 Showcase: Frosh/Soph Edition, set for Friday, September 8th, at 6:00 PM in Hanover, MA at the Starland Sportsplex.
Space is still available. Interested prospects in the classes of 2026 and 2027 can use the link above to learn more or register.
Today’s flashback is from 2013, when the sixth installment of the Elite 75 Frosh/Soph Showcases once again raised the bar for regional recruitment. Over the past few years, many alums from the showcases have continued their success. Here are some of the biggest updates from recent years:
Most notably, Wakefield HS/Vermont Academy alum Bruce Brown recently signed a deal with the Indiana Pacers after winning the 2023 NBA Championship with the Denver Nuggets this past season, averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Brown was selected 42nd overall in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He then went on to play for the Brooklyn Nets before joining Denver this past season.
The Rivers School alum Jermaine Samuels spent five seasons at Villanova, graduating in 2022 and averaging as many as 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He recently signed with the Houston Rockets on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G-League. Samuels averaged 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the G-League.
New Hampton School alum Kimani Lawrence recently finished his fifth season at Arizona State, also graduating in 2022 after averaging 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his final season. He competed for Lugano in Switzerland this past season, averaging 22.4 points and 5.8 rebounds with a 58.2% field goal percentage and a 47.4% three-point percentage.
Catholic Memorial/Northfield Mount Hermon alum Kellan Grady spent four years at Davidson, where he averaged as many as 18.0 points per game shooting over 50% from the field, before transferring to Kentucky for his final year, during which he tallied 88 three-pointers on 41.7% from behind the arc. He competed for the Grand Rapids Gold in the G-League this past season, averaging 12.2 points per game.
Cushing Academy/Brewster Academy alum Makai Ashton-Langford graduated this spring after playing over 140 NCAA games for Providence and Boston College, averaging over 12 points per game both of the past two seasons in Boston.
Northfield Mount Hermon alum Calvin Whipple averaged 9.0 points per game for Teuta during the 2021-22 season, spending part of the season in the Liga Unike and part in Albania-Superliga. He most recently competed professionally in China.
Brimmer & May alum Mark Gasperini competed in over 100 games at the college level, starting at American where he spent three seasons, averaging as many as 11.7 points per game, and finishing at UMass.
St. Thomas More alum Christian Vital graduated from UConn in 2020 after averaging 16.3 points and 6.4 rebounds as a senior. Over the past couple seasons, he has played for a few different teams, continuing his success. He spent the 2021-22 season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G-League, where he averaged 13.1 points, helping the Vipers win the G-League Championship. He competed in the off-season with the Brampton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, where he averaged 17.5 points. He started this past season with Raptors 905 of the NBA G-League before moving to the Salt Lake City Stars, where he averaged 14.6 points. Most recently, he once again competed for the Brampton Honey Badgers in the CEBL, averaging 19.5 points.
This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to successful alums of the 2013 Elite 75 Frosh/Soph Showcases. Other players from that year who went on to play Division I (and some professional) include Terrell Brown, Saul Phiri, A.J. Broduer, Matt Turner, Ikenna Ndugba, Greg Kuakumensah, Ian Sistare, Nick Mayo, Luke Rosinski, Sam Ibiezugbe, Mark Gasperini, David Watkins, Tamenang Choh, Javaughn Edmonds, KeAndre Fair, James Foye, Ben Shungu, Tshiefu Ngalakulondi, Patrick Harding, Jordan Hardwick, Caleb Green, Shyheim Hicks, Jalyn Hinton, Jakigh Dottin, Jerome Desrosiers, Hasahn French, Sunday Okeke, Sedee Keita, and KJ Santos.