Hoop Mountain SW2 - Final Recap

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Wednesday concluded Hoop Mountain’s Super Week 2, the last of the two Super Weeks that gave high school players instruction, competition and exposure to local college programs. The All-Star game on Tuesday night and playoffs on Wednesday morning gave us a glimpse of some top performers; players to look out for the rest of July and this fall going into their high school season:

Thomas Rivard, Isaiah Nelsen, and Joe Flannery led the Bucks to the NBA East championship, showing their superiority as the top team in camp.

Rivard, also named Super Week 2 Most Valuable Player, has a great skillset for a 6’7 forward. He can shoot it from outside, run the floor, score off the dribble or on the low block, rebound, and defend. His talent helped him stand out from the get-go at camp, and he was there at the very end too – leading his team to a title.

Nelsen gives maximum effort at all times, he’s a legitimate 6’6, and his toughness is the most admirable aspect of his game. Like Rivard, he’s an extremely versatile forward who can score from all over the floor and rebound at a high rate.

Flannery has shown a great improvement since the end of his senior season at Acton-Boxborough and going into a postgraduate year at Taft. He has put on a lot of strength, has worked to make himself more athletic and laterally quick, but even more than that his outside shooting was deadly all week.

The best players in camp were put into two teams Tuesday night for the Super Week 2 All-Star game.

Matt St. Amour was the biggest standout performer of the All-Star game. His constant energy was constant, playing hard defense and running all over the floor to make plays. Also a fantastic student, he always seems to be in the right place in the right time on the court, and that high basketball IQ will certainly benefit him going into his senior year at Missiquoi (VT).

Johnnie Spears, like St. Armour, had his handprints all over this game; it seemed like every time we looked up Johnnie was forcing a turnover, hitting a big shot, beating a trap, or setting up teammates for open shots. His recruitment is still in his infancy, but he will be a coveted local recruit as he continues to add strength.

Tarik Smith did a nice job of hitting shots and creating off the dribble in the all-star game. He is looking to postgrad next year, which will be great to add some polish to his game. He had plenty of people on the sidelines talking about his game, and that is sure to continue going into next year.

Fredens Deneus is an impressive athlete who excels on the wing. In the all-star game he further showed off his nice combination of skill and athleticism, so he could be expected to be one of the MIAA’s breakout stars next season.

The East All-Stars

Carlin Haymon, Justin Nolan, Connor Reardon, Johnnie Spears, Matt Ozella, Owen Murphy, Stephen Edmonds, Sam Jean-Gilles, Isaiah Nelsen, Joey Flannery, Tom Rivard, Tarik Smith, Devon Williams, Matt St. Armour, Jon Robinson, Trever Glassman, Gabe Veira, Fredens Deneus, Mambi Diawara.

The West All-Stars

Sam Jefferson, Colby Andrews, Celio Aruajo, Trevon Betts, Tony Bell, Griffin Bell, Mark Grant, Malik Hill, Dominick Nuzzo, Jeff Tabb, Edward Rupia, Brendon Arnold, Chris Diclement, Matt Shifrin, Cameron Jones, Seamus McHugh, Zach Rodz, Isiah Mcleod, Demetrius Woodson, Sean O’ Gara