Live player evaluations returned to the hoops world over the last two weekends, providing a big boost to high school players and teams, college coaches, and the basketball media. It's hard to overstate the value of these events to all parties involved, and it was great to have them back. With that said, let's see what we can glean from what we saw over the past two weekends.
Much of our attention was on the Philly High School Live events, both because they were among the premier events of the period and because of factors like location, convenience, and the number of connections/sources that took in the events. Of course, Jay Wright and Mike Nardi spent a good deal of time at the two events.
First, Wright and staff made sure to make a strong show of support to the program's first 2022 commit, Mark Armstrong. Nova representatives had eyes on Armstrong's St. Peter's Prep throughout the event. No surprise there, as naturally the staff wants to show love to their commit and also see where his game is at and track his progress.
Outside of an offer to 2023 top prospect Dajuan Wagner Jr. and confirmation of Villanova interest in Mackenzie Mgbako, there wasn't much in the way of hard news. However, one of the many advantages of these kinds of events is information you can get simply by paying attention to who certain coaches are watching. By doing so, we can get some clues as to who the program may be interested in.
A pair of teams that the Nova staff appeared to be particularly interested in were Imhotep Charter and Don Bosco Prep. Now, it's impossible to know who exactly the coaches may have been interested in, but with some research on the rosters, the eye test and buzz surrounding performances you can make some fairly educated guesses. In terms of the two teams just mentioned, it seems the most likely prospects Nova was eyeing are Imhotep's Justin Edwards and Don Bosco's Akil Watson, both 2023 prospects.
Edwards is a 6-6 small forward who is currently ranked 21st in the class. Watson is a 6-9 forward, ranked 51st.
Some other prospects to keep an eye on are Camden's Aaron Bradshaw (7-0 center ranked 19th), Paul VI's Deshawn Harris-Smith (6-4 SF ranked 64th) and Salesianum's James Johns Jr. (6-6 SG ranked 86th).
It was great to have live events back and we were able to gain at least a little insight into what Wright and staff are thinking, particularly regarding the 2023 class. We certainly have some names to keep an eye on, and a better idea on where to focus attention at future events. The next round of live events kicks off in about two weeks.
Much of our attention was on the Philly High School Live events, both because they were among the premier events of the period and because of factors like location, convenience, and the number of connections/sources that took in the events. Of course, Jay Wright and Mike Nardi spent a good deal of time at the two events.
First, Wright and staff made sure to make a strong show of support to the program's first 2022 commit, Mark Armstrong. Nova representatives had eyes on Armstrong's St. Peter's Prep throughout the event. No surprise there, as naturally the staff wants to show love to their commit and also see where his game is at and track his progress.
Outside of an offer to 2023 top prospect Dajuan Wagner Jr. and confirmation of Villanova interest in Mackenzie Mgbako, there wasn't much in the way of hard news. However, one of the many advantages of these kinds of events is information you can get simply by paying attention to who certain coaches are watching. By doing so, we can get some clues as to who the program may be interested in.
A pair of teams that the Nova staff appeared to be particularly interested in were Imhotep Charter and Don Bosco Prep. Now, it's impossible to know who exactly the coaches may have been interested in, but with some research on the rosters, the eye test and buzz surrounding performances you can make some fairly educated guesses. In terms of the two teams just mentioned, it seems the most likely prospects Nova was eyeing are Imhotep's Justin Edwards and Don Bosco's Akil Watson, both 2023 prospects.
Edwards is a 6-6 small forward who is currently ranked 21st in the class. Watson is a 6-9 forward, ranked 51st.
Some other prospects to keep an eye on are Camden's Aaron Bradshaw (7-0 center ranked 19th), Paul VI's Deshawn Harris-Smith (6-4 SF ranked 64th) and Salesianum's James Johns Jr. (6-6 SG ranked 86th).
It was great to have live events back and we were able to gain at least a little insight into what Wright and staff are thinking, particularly regarding the 2023 class. We certainly have some names to keep an eye on, and a better idea on where to focus attention at future events. The next round of live events kicks off in about two weeks.