Rivers Open Gym – Event Recap

New England Recruiting Report | Saturday, October 11th, 2014

With most of their players participating in fall sports, the Rivers School hosted their only open gym of the fall on Sunday, giving college coaches their only opportunity to see sophomore sensation Jermaine Samuels among others.

The workout attracted Boston College head coach Jim Christian as well as assistants from Connecticut, Providence, Villanova, Boston University, and Holy Cross.

The defending ISL champions return a young, but obviously talented roster. While the underclassmen are perhaps the most well known prospects, there are also a trio of juniors on board who will help to provide experience and leadership in Ross Carter, Connor MacIsaac, and Hans Gabriel.

Carter and MacIssac form a skilled and versatile inside-out duo in the frontcourt. Carter has a strong body and a good sense for how to score around the rim while MacIsaac excels facing the basket from the perimeter with a touch that extends out to the arc. Both are good rebounders, but Gabriel may be the best pound-for-pound rebounder on the team, and an equally determined defender.

The sophomore class includes another trio as Samuels is joined by Azar Swain and Jamari Venter, two players who also star on the football field for Rivers. Swain has improved by leaps and bounds on the hardwood and is likely ready to take on a significantly increased role as a sophomore. He’s become a shifty and crafty playmaker, capable of creating off the bounce for himself and others. Venter is a powerful bulldog type guard with deceptive quickness who will also be asked to step into a bigger role this season.

Freshman point guard Tyler Aronson is another important addition for the coming season. Talented beyond his years, Aronson is a true point who understands how to distribute but also has the sheer talent, playmaking ability, and athleticism to potentially contend for major minutes from day one.

Then, of course, there’s Samuels, the nationally ranked sophomore who put up huge numbers as a freshman and will have to do even more as a sophomore. He spoke with NERR-TV recently, reflecting on his last twelve months, including both his debut season in the ISL as well as his experience at the Nike Elite One Hundred in June where he went against many of the other top underclassmen in the country. Samuels also spoke about the coming season and his consistently increasing role for the Rivers School: