Look Who’s Coming to Town

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, September 7th, 2009

Prep school basketball is stronger in New England than in any other area of the country.  That means every year we see a new batch of extremely talented players come to our region to play. 

This year is no different as the local prep schools are once again gearing up for a hard fought season.  Here is a look at some of the high level talent making their first appearance in New England. 

Class of 2010

Bryon Allen, St. Thomas More School (Upper Marlboro, MD) – 6’3” combo-guard spent last year at Oak Hill Academy and was committed to West Virginia until a couple of weeks ago when he opted to open up his recruitment. 

Antonio Barton, Notre Dame Prep (Baltimore, MD) – One half of the Memphis bound Barton brothers, Antonio is a 6’2” guard who is well known for his versatile game. 

Will Barton, Brewster Academy (Baltimore, MD) – Top ranked shooting guard in the country by both ESPN & Scout.  #2 by Rivals.  Committed to Memphis and could have gone just about anywhere he wanted. 

Tyshawn Bell, Maine Central Institute (Camden, DE) – A six-foot-seven post-graduate wing forward who has drawn interest from the likes of Georgetown, Missouri, Indiana, South Florida. 

C.J. Fair, Brewster Academy (Baltimore, MD) – Top 100 ranked player in the country who committed to Syracuse last fall over schools like Virginia, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Georgetown, and Maryland. 

Alexander Harris, Bridgton Academy (Richmond, CA) – Six-foot-one post-graduate point guard flew little under radar in Cali but should make waves with ball in hands for defending class A champs.  

Brady Heslip, New Hampton School (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) – Canadian import who will stay in New England following post-graduate year and run point for ACC’s Boston College. 

Jordair Jett, Notre Dame Prep (Minneapolis, MN) – Notre Dame’s latest playmaking point from the Midwest already has Baylor, Arkansas, St. Louis, Iowa State, and Nebraska on his list. 

Markus Kennedy, Winchendon School (Philadelphia, PA) – Winchendon head coach Mike Byrnes might be just the guy to light a fire under Kennedy and if he does the Villanova bound big man could be one of the nation’s best. 

Cleveland Melvin, Notre Dame Prep (Baltimore, MD) – The athletic and active forward has a list that includes big time programs including Memphis and Missouri. 

J.J. Moore, South Kent School (Brentwood, NY) – Stock went soaring after tremendous summer with Louisville, UConn, Florida, Pitt, Providence, St. John’s, and Rutgers having all offered. 

Jesse Morgan, South Kent School (Philadelphia, PA) – The other half of South Kent’s incoming wing duo has UConn, Florida, Georgia, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma State and others closely monitoring his progress. 

Russell Smith, South Kent School (Briarwood, NY) – Smith should be the man to run the show at South Kent and he’s quickly developing his own list of high major suitors. 

Maurice Walker, Brewster Academy (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) – Rugged Canadian is latest in long list of high-major interior products to come out of Brewster.  Pittsburgh, Marquette, UConn, Kansas, Providence, and Xavier are all involved. 

Class of 2011

Olivier-Paul Betu, Worcester Academy (Montreal, Canada) – Another budding star from our neighbors to the north, Betu could be a bit of a sleeper capable of emerging into a star for Worcester. 

Trahson Burrell, St. Thomas More (Albany, NY) – Long and talented swing man appeared in New England in June for Boston Shootout and showed he is potential star in the making. 

Keith Coleman, Lee Academy (Philadelphia, PA) – Imposing big man who already has schools like Nebraska, Villanova, Miami, and Pittsburgh very involved in his recruitment. 

Aaron Cosby, Northfield Mount Hermon (Louisville, KY) – Has stud written all over him with early offers to match (Indiana & Oklahoma State among others).  Will immediately challenge top guards in class. 

Mladen Novakovic, Wilbraham & Monson (Podgorica, Montenegro) – Six-foot-eight big man is one half of Wilbraham & Monson’s international interior duo and reportedly has the talent to be a major player.  

Angel Nunez, Winchendon School (Bronx, NY) – Consensus top 60 player in the country (37th by ESPN, 47th by Rivals, 59th by Rivals) is just beginning to realize his enormous potential. 

Andrej Pajovic, Wilbraham & Monson (Podgorica, Montenegro) – The other half of Wilbraham & Monson’s dynamic international duo, Pajovic will no doubt claim plenty of attention in the upcoming weeks. 

Vince Van Nes, Northfield Mount Hermon (Dorchester, England) – Six-foot-eleven big man with big body, deceptive athleticism, and European type style and feel to his game.

Class of 2012

Darwin Billingsley, South Kent School (Yucaipa, CA) – Youngster turned some heads at Reebok All-American Camp this summer and is said to have nice combination of size, athleticism, and low post game. 

Khem Birch, Winchendon School (Quebec City, Canada) – Not totally new to region after running with Expressions Elite last spring.  Good size and absolutely incredible athleticism gives him both immediate impact and great long term potential. 

Richard Peters, Brewster Academy (Pickering, Ontario, Canada) – Another Canadian with massive frame (6-10, 250) who picked Oklahoma early over Connecticut, Florida State, Louisville, and Miami. 

Clyde Smith, Hotchkiss School (Houston, TX) – No surprise that Stanford is on top of early list of latest high level Hotchkiss guard as Smith is said to be as driven in classroom as on court.