Top Stock Risers of the Summer

New England Recruiting Report | Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

When someone’s recruiting stock rises it means their recruitment goes to previously unreached levels.  Stock risers are not the same as best overall performers.  If a player is considered a high-major prospect before the summer and then dominates in the month of July, he is still a high-major prospect.  If he has division II recruitment going into the summer, plays well, and still ends with division II recruitment, his stock hasn’t gone anywhere despite how well he might have played.  With that in mind here is a look at the players whose stock rose the most during the July live period. 

1.  Pat Connaughton – He warmed up at the Super 16, proving his worth against Jermaine Sanders and his New Heights team, but what he did in Orlando will be talked about for years.  Forget about New England, no one in the country helped themselves more in those ten days than Connaughton as he just played incredibly well and consequently took his recruitment to the very highest levels with Notre Dame, Tennessee, and even UCLA all having reportedly offered scholarships. 

2.  Scott King – The long and skilled forward began the month without a single division I scholarship offer and ended it with a bag full of them, extending all the way to conferences like the Atlantic 10.  A long and fast forward with a knockdown jumper, King took his game to another level this month and is now reaping the rewards. 

3.  Ousmane Drame – Another guy whose recruitment rose steadily over the course of the month.  Division II schools were intrigued by him this spring and by the end of July a host of division I schools were following him around Orlando as the skilled big man had picked up three different offers from NEC schools with interest from several more. 

4.  Georges Niang – You couldn’t be much better offensively than Niang was in Orlando as he was BABC’s most consistent scorer throughout the national championships.  He flat out made everything inside of 8 feet and didn’t even show his smooth three ball.  Mid-major offers were quick to follow. 

5.  Timajh Parker-Rivera – He led his Connecticut Elite team to a championship at the Gauchos Roundball Classic, proved himself in a tough match-up at the Super 16, and took things to a new level in Orlando leaving with scholarship offers from St. Joe’s of the Atlantic 10 and Seton Hall of the Big East. 

6.  Evan Cummins – He stood out at the Elite 75 and backed it up on his trip to the west coast in the second half of the period.  He has gotten stronger and more skilled and has a host of mid to high-major schools who are now giving a close watch and are likely to make the trip to NMH this fall. 

7.  Zach Chionuma – A lot of people learned his name at the Elite 75, when he scored the ball at will from the perimeter.  He didn’t disappoint for the rest of the month as he continued to impress as the group of schools tailing him seemed to grow by the day. 

8.  Andrew Shaw – He simply wasn’t the same player we saw this spring as Shaw was more assertive, utilizing his tremendous skill set to score the ball inside and out.  He picked up his first scholarship offer early in the period and ended up committing to division II powerhouse Bentley. 

9.  Jake Fay – He stood out at Hoop Mountain Super Week II and made his first division I offer a big one when he jumped right to the Atlantic 10 with UMass offering him a spot in the 2013 class.  With his great size, good bounce, and knockdown long range stroke this might be just the beginning. 

10.  OShawn Bannister – He literally came out of nowhere this summer as almost no one had heard of him going into Hoop Mountain Super Week II.  Coaches became more and more intrigued as the month went on because of his great size, mobility, and scary long arms. 

11.  Kachi Nzerem – Nzerem stood out at the Super 16 and was equally good at the Super Showcase.  Division I coaches were intrigued because of his explosive combination of power and athleticism in addition to a good shooting touch from behind the three-point arc. 

12.  Jake Layman – A long forward with a good built and soft shooting touch, Layman doesn’t even realize how good he is yet but might have made an early jump onto high-major recruiting lists last week in Orlando with multiple displays of his tremendous potential. 

13.  Gabas Maldunas – Most thought he was too lean for the division I level coming into the summer, turns out college coaches felt differently as they were attracted to Maldunas’ high motor, long arms, and inside out skills. 

14.  Terry Tarpey – Most people didn’t even know his name a month ago and now he has mid-major scholarship offers.  An all-star performance at the Hoop Group Elite Camp started the month off on the right foot and was followed up by performances at the First 8, West Virginia Jam Fest, and Orlando.

15.  Mike OLoughlin – The Jayhawks won the Hall of Fame National Invitational, upset the New York Panthers at the Super 16 and then advanced to the finals of the copper bracket at AAU nationals.  Although it was a total team effort, O’Loughlin was the guy who stood out the most. 

Honorable Mention - Jerome Harris, Phil Gaetano, Marco Banegas, Chris Sherwood, Rohan Brown, Jacquil Taylor, Ikemenfuna Ngwudo, Mike Deffley, Tavon Allen, Brandon Sherrod, Deshawn Murphy, Joe Bramanti, John Papale, Demitry Coronell, Adam Bramanti, Zaid Hearst, John Henault, Tommy Carpenter, Tristan Thomas, Akosa Maduegbunam, John Wickey, Jared Fay, Cedric Kuakumensah, Andre Makris