Gym Rat Names All Tournament Team

Content from GymRatUnlimited.com | Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

16:U All-GymRat CHALLENGE MVP – Most Valuable GymRat

Harrison Taggart (6-5 F) Rhode Island Hawks/St. Paul’s Prep: A do-everything forward in the mold of Vermont standout Brian Voekel. Dougle-digit rebounds in some prelim-round games here and led the fast break after some of them. Showed lightning-quick spin move in the paint as well as superb interior and transition passing. Diving, hustle play in the semifinal round helped seal the game. Picked up scoring when it mattered most. Deferred to teammates at times, but always came up big late in games.

16:U Honorable Mention All-GymRat CHALLENGE

Kurt Steidl (6-4 Wing) CBC/Ridgefield (Ct.) H.S.: Skilled wing who has ability to rebound and run break. Good handle and a great passer. Showed range beyond college 3, which sets up his ability to shoot, fake or drive off the bounce. Deceptive athleticism and ability to finish with both hands makes him dangerous if he gets defenders on his hip. Gets after it on the glass on both ends.

Jeff Racy (6-3 SG) CBC/Ridgefield (Ct.) H.S.: Sniper from beyond the 3-point line. Doesn’t need much airspace to get off his shot. Utilizes his ability to shoot to also penetrate defense and set up his strong pull-up game. High IQ player who knows how to get open without the ball. Prjects as a potential Patriot League player for now.

Sammy Mojica Jr. (6-3 Wing) MABC/Chelsea (Ma. ) H.S.: Scores in variety of ways and doesn’t need to have the ball to be effective. Gets numerous second-chance points and points off steals. Efficient player. Long, athletic and really plays passing lanes well. Not flashy, but finds open man and uses body well when penetrating. Comfortable in mid range and showed he could hit college 3. Versatile defender, can match up with 1 through 4. Potential mid-major level.

Elijah Rogers (5-10 PG) NE Ballas/Brookline H.S.: Smooth lead guard who makes his living in the paint. Excelled all weekend in transition; has an extra gear. One of the best distributors in his age group. Hit some 3’s, but more effective in mid range off the bounce. Capable beyond the stripe when feet are set. Finishes well with contact and with either hand against bigs. Projects as A-10/CAA level.

Jake Fay (6-5 SG) NE Ballas//Brimmer & May School: Big-time shooter with range beyond college 3. Very effective using his shooting strength to create scoring off the bounde into his pull-up game. Rebounded well here, especially on the offensive glas. Will need to continue to develop handle to thrive against A-10 competition. Early verbal to Fordham.

Shyquinn Dixon (5-10 PG) USAD/Stamford H.S.: Baby-faced lead guard who elevated his team’s play while on the floor. Knows how to change speeds to beat defenders off the bounce, while having ability to blow by defenders using his quickness. Thinks like a wily veteran. Uncanny feel/vision in the paint to find open teammates when help comes to defend him. Limited range on jumper, but plays to his strength. Projects as definite D-I player.

Chris Leak Jr. (6-2 2G) USAD/Hillhouse H.S.: Athletic wing who lived in the paint during pool play. Flashed ability to hit pull-up jumper from 12-to-15-foot range. Creative finisher in lane. Uses glass well. Has good floater, pull-up game. Struggled from perimeter with jump shot here, but played to his strengths and played through an injured wrist. Rebounded well despite giving up size. Mid-major level player.

Isshiak Coleman (6-4 SF) New England Ballas/New Mission: Jumps out of the gym. Will finish at the rim with dunks. Quick off his feet, allowing him to contest and block shots. Limited offensively right now. Gets by with superior athleticism moreso than with his skills. Projects as a D-II player right now.

Charles Correa (5-8 PG) Rhode Island Hawks-Black/St. Raphael Academy: Extemely quick point guard. Able to finish inside using either hand. Has deep range beyond the 3-point line. Exceptional handle. Uses an array of spins and crossovers to get away from defenders. Key member of tournament championship team.

Kip Stewart (5-9 G) R.I Hawks-Red/Mt. Pleasant: Well-built combo guard who uses phenomenal change of speeds to get into the lane. Pitches up ahead in transition and dishes off in the half court. Good looking feet-set 3-point jumper. Physical defender. Good scorer in pool play while playing solid lead-guard position and running the team.

Colin Richey (6-1 SG) Blackstone Valley Chaos/Whitinsville Christian School: High IQ player with excellent shooting mechanics. Very polished perimeter game including pull-up and catch-and-shoot jumpers, and good, solid handle with both hands. Vocal leader who moves well without the ball and uses screen well for his age. Averaged 24 points per game in pool play.

Darien Fernandez (5-8 PG) Cape Cod Crossover/Wareham H.S.: Immensely talented, strong point guard who sees the whole court. Still overly flashy and prefers lengthy, difficult passes to shorter safer passes. Lightning quick hands who uses them to disrupt opposing ball-handers, but only does so on occasion. Gets to basket at will and strong enough to finish. Capable of taking over games, but seemed interested only in playing on the offensive end here.

Jamahl Lopez (5-10 PG) New England Storm-Black/Central Catholic: A scoring point guard. Passes well in transition, but has good range out to 3-point stripe. Uses superior quicknenss to go by defenders and get into lane. Always looking to push the ball upcourt. Might project to D-I level.

16:U Honorable Mention All-GymRat CHALLENGE

Nick Simpson (6-3 F) Boston Warriors East; Zach Tonello (6-4 F) Cape Cod Crossover; Isaiah Nelson (6-5 PF) New England Storm-Black; Rodney Williams (5-7 PG) Connecticut Elite; Matthew Sherlock (6-2 SG) Mass Evolution; Jaquan Harris (5-11 SG) Bay State Magic; Austin Woods (6-6 C) CBC; Zeeve Gray-Mandell (6-6 C) New England Ballas; Demitry Lewis (5-9 PG) New England Ballas; Xavier Munoz (6-2 SF) New England Ballas; Jaleel Bell (6-3 SF) MABC Bengals; Ben Engvall (6-4 PF) RI Hawks-Black; Henry Bolton (6-1 G) RI Hawks-Black; Thomas Rivard (6-4 SF) RI Hawks-Black

17:U All-GymRat CHALLENGE TEAM

Maurice Taylor (6-5 SF) Team Prodigy/Cambridge Rindge & Latin: Versatile player with a nice shooting touch inside the 3-point line. Shows the ability to bring the ball up and start the offense. He’s long and athletic and does a good job using his size at both ends to control the boards. He’s going to be a good inside/outside scorer on the next level. Offered by Siena and Boston University with interest from Boston College.

Jacquil Taylor (6-9 C/F) Team Prodigy/Cambridge Rindge & Latin: Long, athletic and very mobile for his size. He runs the floor hard every trip, and has excellent hands that allow him to catch and finish on the fast break. Like most lefties he favors his right shoulder in the low post. Looks to have great upside and should improve. Offered by Siena and Boston University with interest from Boston College.

Darren Payen (6-7 PF) East Coast Elite/Hamden Hall Country Day School: Atlhetic lefty post player at his best getting out and running the floor and finishing around the basket. Has a nasty streak and will look to dunk in traffic with either hand. Jumper is OK out to 12 feet, but no further. Could use work on his mechanics. Plays above the rim and rebounds well in and out of his area. Yale, St. Francis, Bucknell all interested.

Rob Hazard (6-2 PG) R.I. Breakers/North Kingstown H.S.: One of most-explosive point guards here. Is capable of getting to the hoop at will with either hand and can finish above the rim. Uick release on his jumper makes him tough to guard. Has a strong body and can finish through contact. Best in the open floor and attacking. Capable passer when needed. Richmond, St. Louis, Siena, Georgetown all interested.

Zach Karalis (6-3 SF/SG) New England Storm-Black/North Andover H.S.: A sharp-shooting slasher who deceptively scores in bunches. Had multiple 20-point games in pool player here. Tremendous mid-range game and finishes well for his size. Size and athleticism probably keeps him out of the scholarship level, but still very skilled and would be a Division 3 steal. Union College is involved.

Aaron Davis (5-11 PG) Middlesex Magic/Brooks School: An explosive point guard who is great in transition. His mentality is pass first and turns down shots to move the ball and get everyone involved. Sometimes too unselfish. Tremendous ball defende. His ability to shoot consistently from the perimeter will determine his eventual level. Interest from NESCAC, NE-10, some Ivy and Patriot teams.

Kachi Nzerem (6-5 SF) Boston Warriors-Blue/Marianapolis H.S.: Physical wing scorer who shoed ability to finish through contact. Did great work in the mid post, showing a quick bounce to finish. Range to 3-line when set and enough handle to get to the rim. Averaged 16 points per game here. Niagara, Maine, some NEC schools involved.

Joe Glynn (6-6 SF) Middlesex Magic/Cardinal Spellman: Physical face-up forward who led his team in scoring, including a 21-point effort in one game. Sneaky finisher around the rim who seeks contact at the finish. Stepped out for mid-range jumpers, too, and will continue to extend that range. Plays extremely hard. Low D-I’s, Ivy League teams mostly involved.

Anthony Barry (6-3 Wing) Middlesex Magic/Brooks School: Mature, physical wing who battled to put up a 20-point game here. Excellent shooter from mid range and seeks contact to get to the line. Very effective with a bounce or two, but will need to tighten handle as me moves up. Some Ivies, NE 10’s already involved.

17:U Honorable Mention All-GymRat CHALLENGE

Kevin LaFrancis (6-6 F) New England Storm-Black; Matt Ellis (6-6 G) New England Storm-Black; Adam Bramanti (6-1 G) New England Storm-Black; Kenny Reed (5-11 G) Boston Warriors Blue; Tyson Hallowell (6-2 G) Boston Warriors Blue; Kyle Reardon (6-5 F) Middlesex Magic; Matt Droney (6-4 F) Boston Warriors-Blue; Matt Mobley (6-2 G) Worcester West Wolfpack; Tim Sheridan (6-5 F) Worcester West Wolfpack; Devon Robertson (6-3 G) Mass Premier Elite; Sean Myers (6-2 G) Mass Premier Elite; Brenden Fowler (6-6 F) Mass Elite; Myles Penniman (6-7 C) Mass Elite; Pat Burns (6-6 F) Mass Elite; Patrick Talentino (6-1 PG) Mass Elite; Freddy Shove (6-3 Wing) Mass Elite; Tony Beauliau (6-3 G) New England Demans; James Costello (6-3 G) New England Storm-Silver; Ryan Freeman (6-6 F) New England Storm-Silver; Kalusha Ndoumbe Ngollo (6-9 C) RI Breakers; Mike Neal (6-6 F) RI Breakers; Billy Murphy (6-9 C) East Coast Elite; AJ Tilghman (5-11 G) East Coast Elite; Darryl Best Jr. (6-6 F) East Coast Elite; Kenneth Hemstead (6-5 F) East Coast Elite; Malique McLaren (5-7 G) Prodigy; Christian Dunston (5-9 G) Prodigy; Henry Pendergast (6-3 G) Academic Basketball Club-Rubin; Devin Mehra (6-4 F) Academic Basketball Club-Rubin; Matt Daley (6-9 C) Academic Basketball Club-Rubin

15:U All-GymRat CHALLENGE Team

Paschal Chukwu (7-1 C) Team Frenji/Trinity School: An African import who has been playing for less than a year. Tall, but still extremely center. Tremendous potential. Developing at a quick pace. Dominates in the paint. Great shot blocker. Will only get better with bulk/strength. Converts lob passes into dunks. Decent footwork at this stage. Tremendous impact on games at both ends. The sky is the limit for him.

Shawn Reardon (6-3 F) Mass Premier Elite/Attleboro H.S.: Strong body size and tough interior presence who is solid on the boards and can finish around the basket. Showed a nice perimeter touch in some games here, which could help him develop into a nice combo-forward over time.

David Labossiere (6-1 SG) Mass Evolution/Stoneham H.S.: Strong combo guard who can use both hands well. Can fight his way inside and also stop and connect on or off the dribble. Good defender who runs the court well and can get up to block a shot.

Keon Wilson (6-1 SG) Rhode Island Hawks/La Salle: Good athletic ability with quick first step going either way. Plays well in the half court and is seemingly able to get to the basket with ease and finish with either hand.

Jason Ganley (6-4 PF) Blackstone Valley Chaos/Northbridge: Strong with back to the basket or on put-backs around the rim. Did a nice job keeping the ball in spots to help maintain possession. Strong lower body helps him stick in the post when posting up.

Jack Boucher (5-11 PG) Mass Bearcats/Newton North: Standout point guard who was also a good spot-up shooter with a hand in his face. Outstanding pressure defender and got his hands into the passing lanes with regularity to force turnovers.

Tler Desrosiers (6-0 PG) Mass Hoops Jaguars/Agawam H.S.: Decent size for his position. Showed long-range shooting ability. Exhibited good court vision and delivered passes to open teammates. Made good decision. Threads needle with passes.

Brendan OShea (5-6 PG) Sea Cougars/Burlington H.S.: Extremely slender, but overcomes that with prototypical point-guard skill set. Very unselfish player, but made 3’s when left open. Extremely smart player. Mistake free, as befits the son of a former college coach. True floor general who could become a D-I player with additional size.

Jack Winston (6-3 SF) Mass Bearcats/Newton North: Nice wing player who got to the glass. He also showed an ability to draw out defenders and, then, beat them off the dribble. Surprisingly quick moves and good with either hand.

15:U Honorable Mention All-GymRat CHALLENGE

Liam Bruno (6-3 PF) Mass Bearcats; Marquis Holman (6-2 F) MABC Bengals; Shaquille Evans (6-1 G) MABC Bengals; Pavin Parrish (G) Lone Wolf; Van Orlanda (5-11 PG) BS Chaos; Edson Dascy (6-3 F) RI Hawks; Phil Levine-Caleb (6-2 F) Mass Bearcats; Ryan Richard (6-2 F) Mass Evolution; Christian Wilkens (6-1 F) Mass Bearcats; Alex Hilger (6-0 G) Mass Bearcats