National Prep Showcase Tips off Friday

New England Recruiting Report | Thursday, November 18th, 2010

The National Prep Showcase, one of the top post-graduate basketball events in the entire nation, is coming to New Haven, Connecticut this weekend from Friday, November 19th to Sunday, November 21st at Albertus Magnus College.  The event features a 23 team field, including all of the top ten schools in the country and the defending national champions from each of the last four seasons. 
 
The National Prep Showcase will also feature an overwhelming amount of individual talent, adding to an alumni list that includes over 15 NBA players including Michael Beasley and Tyreke Evans.  Over 150 division I prospects will be in action including the nation’s top two ranked juniors according to ESPN in Middletown resident Andre Drummond (St. Thomas More School) and Khem Birch (Notre Dame Prep). 
 
But that is just the beginning as local fans will have the opportunity to see many of college basketball’s future stars.  A small sample of the top committed players in the field includes: Notre Dame Prep’s Birch (Pittsburgh), Angel Nunez (Louisville) and Grandy Glaze (UNLV); Brewster Academy’s Naadir Tharpe (Kansas), Jakarr Sampson (St. John’s), Markus Kennedy (Villanova), and Durand Johnson (Pittsburgh); Bridgton Academy’s Donnie Hale (Purdue); Hargrave Military Academy’s P.J. Hairston (North Carolina), Desmond Wells (Xavier), C.J. Barksdale (Virginia Tech), Marquis Rankin (Virginia Tech), and Robert Brown (Virginia Tech); Northfield Mount Hermon’s Aaron Cosby (Seton Hall); Nia Prep’s Shaquille Thomas (Cincinnati); South Kent’s Maurice Harkless (St. John’s), Derrick Randall (Rutgers), and Ge’lawn Guyn (Cincinatti); St. Andrew’s Michael Carter-Williams (Syracuse); and Westwind’s Richard Peters (Oklahoma). 
 
The event is annually among the most highly attended in the country by college coaches and scouts with the 2009 National Prep Showcase drawing close to 200 on-looking coaches with schools like UConn, Texas, Kansas, West Virginia, Baylor, Missouri, Georgia, and Washington all represented. 
 
This year college coaches are once again expected to come out in high volume as some of the top un-committed players in the field include: St. Thomas More’s Drummond; Brewster Academy’s Elijah Carter and Mitch McGary; Kiski’s Sim Bhullar, Stefan Jankovic, and Tanveer Bhullar; La Lumiere’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Obij Aget; Lee Academy’s Anthony Joseph Perez Cortesia; New Hampton’s Zach Auguste; Notre Dame Prep’s Myles Davis and Todd Mayo; South Kent’s Ricardo Ledo; St. Mark’s Alex Murphy and Kaleb Tarczewski; and Tilton’s Nerlens Noel, Goodluck Okonoboh, and Wayne Selden.
 
There is also a definite local flavor to the field as Wilbraham & Monson’s seven-foot-one center Enosch Wolf has already committed to UConn, St. Thomas More forward Adam Jones is committed to Fairfield, and Northfield Mount Hermon’s Armani Cotton has committed to Yale.  Connecticut residents in the field include St. Thomas More’s Drummond (Middletown) and B.J. Cardarelli (Manchester), South Kent’s Anthony Jernigan (East Hartford) and Jabrille Williams (Stamford), Maine Central Institute’s Ryen Vilmont (Hamden), Northfield Mount Hermon’s Ethan O’Day (Mansfield) and Obi Momah (Farmington), Bridgton Academy’s Brendan Allen (Windsor), and Wilbraham and Monson’s Adam Shrecengost (Avon). 
 
The first game will tip off on Friday morning at 10:30a.m.  Tickets will be available at the door, which will open at 9:30a.m. on Friday. 
 
Friday, November 19th
10:30a.m. Fork Union Military Academy (VA) vs. Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
12:15p.m. Fishburne Military Academy (VA) vs. Notre Dame Prep (MA)
2:00p.m. Westwind Prep (AZ) vs. Bridgton Academy (ME)
3:45p.m. Hargrave Military Academy (VA) vs. South Kent School (CT)
5:15p.m. Lee Academy (ME) vs. St. Thomas More School (CT)
7:00p.m. Princeton Day (MD) vs. Winchendon School (MA)
8:30p.m. Alif Muhammad Nia School (NJ) vs. Maine Central Institute (ME)
 
Saturday, November 20th
9:00a.m. Bridgton Academy (ME) vs. Fork Union Military Academy (VA)
10:45a.m. St. Thomas More (CT) vs. Princeton Day (MD)
12:30p.m. New Hampton School (NH) vs. Hargrave Military Academy (VA)
2:15p.m. Brewster Academy (NH) vs. Fishburne Military Academy (VA)
4:00p.m. South Kent School (CT) vs. La Lumiere School (IN)
5:45p.m. Notre Dame Prep (MA) vs. Westwind Prep (AZ)
7:30p.m. St. Mark’s School (MA) vs. Lee Academy (ME)
9:00p.m. Winchendon School (MA) vs. Kiski School (PA)
 
Sunday, November 21st
10:00a.m. Princeton Day (MD) vs. Brewster Academy (NH)
11:45a.m. Maine Central Institute (ME) vs. Northfield Mount Hermon (MA)
1:30p.m. Kiski School (PA) vs. La Lumiere School (IN)
3:15p.m. Alif Muhammad Nia School (NJ) vs. New Hampton School (NH)
5:00p.m. Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA) vs. Tilton School (NH)
6:30p.m. St. Andrew’s School (RI) vs. Blair Academy (NJ)