Northeast Hoops Festival Preview

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

The second annual Northeast Hoops Festival will take place this weekend and will once again feature many of the best programs from around not just New England but the rest of the Northeast as well.  The tournament, which serves as the kick-off to the AAU season for many programs, once again had a 20 team waiting list this year as spots were limited.

U17 Preview

Registration was limited to 24 teams in the u17 division and this year’s field is an especially strong one.  In addition to local powerhouses like Xpressions Elite, CBC, MBR, Rhode Island Hawks, Lone Wolf, Connecticut Gold, Bay State Magic, YABC, Western Connecticut Warriors, Academic Basketball Club, Granite State Jayhawks; SECC All-Stars, and New England Select, the field also features top programs outside the region including the Long Island Lightning, Syracuse Select, and East Coast Fusion. 

Here’s a small sample of the players expected to be participating in the u17 division:  Tyler Olander; Corey Wright Jr.; Laurent Rivard; Joe OShea; Majok Majok; Chris Evans; Dominique Langston; Jefferson Lora; Keegan Hyland; Indiana Faithful; Andrew McCarthy; Dennis Clifford; Paris Massey; Danny Lawhorn; Luke Matarazzo; Clancy Rugg; Louis Montes; Mike Rivera; Phil Gaetano; Ryan Woumn; Steven Glowiak; Matt Barboza; Will Tye; Denzel Jones; Greg Newton; Chris Fitzgerald; Antjuan Jones; Mike Juarez; Aziz Dieng; Danny Majchrzak; Frank Robinson; Justin Kuntz; Jon Goldberg; D.J. Campbell; Isaiah Salafia; Julian Harris; Jevon Williams; Ryan Dulaire; Nick Meunier; Troy Robinson; C.J. Moss; Dan Martin; Andre King; Ryan Mickiewicz; Akeem Williams; Ryan Romich; Eric Jean-Guillaume, Dominic Borrelli; Koang Thok; Jacob Moore; B.J. Cardarelli; Jengodji Gates; Zach Taylor; Ellis Cooper; and many more. 

U16 Preview

With 21 teams in the u16 division, the rising juniors are no less competitive.  This will be the first tournament out for Connecticut Basketball Club, who went to the final four of AAU Nationals last year.  But they’ll get plenty of competition from clubs like Xpressions, MBR, CT Hoopstars, Vermont Basketball Group, Mass Bearcats, LI Lighting, and many others.  Some of the top players participating in this bracket include:  Andre Drummond; Alex Murphy; Canaan Severin; Jakarri McCallop; Fred Wilson; Tavon Allen; John Papale; Darryl Best Jr.; K.C. Hoff; Brandyn Benson; Anthony Jernigan; Jerome Harris; Mike Fraylon; Gerald McClease; Eric Katenda; Kevin Rivers; Steve Santavenere; Takari Smalls; Evan Cummins; Deric McCottrell; Tyler Strange; Scott Watson; Michael Laplante; Billy Soriano; Ben Nunez; Ricardo Ledo; Jake Donnelly; Troy Davine; Austin Robinson; Jaren Scrubb; Josh Varney; and Evan Tullar

Stay tuned to the New England Recruiting Report throughout the weekend as we will be bringing you various updates and recaps throughout the tournament.