Prep Profile – Northfield Mount Hermon

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

The 2009-2010 season was arguably the most successful in the history of the Northfield Mount Hermon basketball program as NMH matched a school record with 23 wins, advanced to the semi-finals of the NEPSAC tournament, and then upset both Notre Dame Prep and Hargrave Military Academy en route to the finals of the National Prep Championship. 

However, at a place like Northfield Mount Hermon, success is measured by more than just wins and losses, but by the balance of academic and athletic success. 

NMH head coach John Carroll makes no secret of the fact that the primary goal of his program is to be the best combination of academics and basketball in the United States.  Not only has NMH produced more Ivy League players than any other program in American over the last four years, but they are also the only school to belong to both Class AAA of the NEPSAC and the Eight Schools Association, arguably the premier athletic and academic classifications in the northeast. 

This year’s Northfield Mount Hermon roster once again features a variety of highly talented student athletes. 

Their staring backcourt returns intact from last season in Aaron Cosby and Joe Sharkey, who are pledged to Seton Hall and Brown respectively.  Both were particularly impressive the day we sat in on open gym with Cosby appearing ready to take over as the team’s dominant playmaker on a consistent basis and Sharkey poised to do plenty of damage of his own. 

Vince Van Nes also returns from last year’s squad and appears the odds on favorite to land the team’s starting center job.  A highly skilled seven foot southpaw, Van Nes has now had a full year to adjust to the speed and physicality of the American game and is showing signs of putting all the pieces together this fall. 

The rest of NMH’s 2011 class is comprised of four new post-graduates in Armani Cotton, John Golden, Jvonte Brooks, and Ethan Mackey.  While all four are expected to be important contributors, Cotton is the guy who could add a new dimension to this team as his athleticism on the wing is something that NMH lacked on both ends of the floor last season. 

Beyond their academic prowess, building with youth has been another staple of the NMH program and this year is no different.  The junior class includes three returning members of last year’s team in addition to one newly arrived Connecticut native.  Evan Cummins, Tommy Carpenter, and Lucas Van Nes have all made huge strides within the last year.  Cummins is now finding himself the target of high major suitors, Carpenter is arguably the team’s most versatile frontcourt player, and Van Nes a physically imposing post presence on both ends of the floor.  Newly arrived Ethan ODay is also making a quick transition and rapidly adding new dimensions to his game. 

Sophomore forward DeKeeba Battee is an Australian native who transfers in after spending last season at Findlay Prep and may have as much upside as anyone on the roster while Obi Momah is another Connecticut product with a high ceiling in his own right. 

In total, the 2010-2011 NMH squad will be longer and more athletic than they were a year ago.  With star power in the backcourt and as much frontcourt depth as anyone in the NEPSAC, Coach Carroll’s squad could once again find themselves making a run into the month of March.