NEPSAC Showcase II Standouts
The NEPSAC held their second consecutive weekend showcase, welcoming players from across their numerous schools to Hamden Hall this weekend to play in front of college coaches during the new NCAA sanctioned recruiting period.
College coaches turned out in full force, which was an appropriate reward for the numerous NEPSAC coaches that volunteered their time to organize and operate the event for the benefit of their student athletes.
A handful of players picked up new offers, with more undoubtedly set to come in the coming days. Incoming Lee Academy guard Aidan Carpenter picked up CCSU, Akron, and South Dakota. The Beaver Country Day tandem of Anthony Morales and Aaron Cooley was both offered by Brown. Incoming Williston Academy post-graduate Cooper Creek landed his first offer from Hartford. UNC Greensboro offered both St. Andrew's Myles Wilmoth and Worcester Academy's Judson Martindale while Worcester's Dasonte Bowen added offers from UMass and South Dakota.
Incoming prep products were also allowed to play with their future teams and the new Vermont Academy duo of C.J.Jones and Raphe Ayres were big winners with Siena offering both players and Jones scoring additional offers from Fairfield and Niagara. Incoming St. Andrew's guard Preston Murphy Jr. landed an offer from Rhode Island.
Offers don't always tell the whole story though and social media can be a misleading place if you weren't on hand to personally watch the action. With that in mind, who were the players who moved the needle the most on Sunday?
Ben Callahan-Gold, NMH - If you've watched the rising senior forward over the last year you know that when he gets hot from behind the arc, he's almost unstoppable. It happened in the NEPSAC championship game...and it happened again on Sunday. Callahan-Gold rained threes from all over the court at Hamden Hall on Sunday, making them in bunches and from long-range, and will undoubtedly reap the rewards and see an uptick in his recruitment.
Aidan Carpenter, Lee Academy - His most recent three offers were the latest in an increasingly long line of new suitors from the last couple of weeks and Carpenter is playing with unprecedented confidence because of it. He's not only creating off the dribble, but also making jumpers with more consistency than ever before and even creating for others. In short, he appears to be playing the best basketball of his career right now.
Truth Harris, Trinity-Pawling - A high-level athlete with an attacking style, Harris has a quick first step and explosive bounce at the rim. He made plays off the bounce consistently throughout his team's two games on Sunday morning and was consistent enough with his jumper to keep opposing defenders honeset.