By Russ Waterman
MaxPreps.com
Over 60 college coaches, including University of Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun, took in the action at the 11th annual National Prep School Invitational played at the University of Rhode Island.
According to the New England Recruiting Report national poll, the competition featured most of the nation's top 10 prep teams and put a spotlight on players from 38 states and 25 countries and signed prospects at 44 different Division I schools.
Mighty Patterson rules
Three-time national champion Patterson School (N.C.), loaded with six Division I signees, flexed its muscle by winning all four games.
In a 79-70 debut over No. 10 Brewster Academy of Maine, Deandre Kane (Seton Hall signee) had 17 points and 6-foot-11 Hassan Whiteside (Marshall) and Vincent Council (Providence) each had 16. Kane paced six players with seven points or more in a 66-52 triumph over No. 4 Bridgton Academy (Maine).
Patterson dominated Progressive Christian (Md.), 72-40, with Council putting in 11 points and dishing out six assists.
The national power (27-2) closed out with a 72-58 victory over New Hampton Prep (Mass.) as Whiteside and Council each netted 14 points and Hunter McLintock 11 – including a trio of three's. Contributions were also made by 6-8 forwards Clarence Trent (Washington) and Rashanti Harris (Georgia State), and by 6-7 guard Arsaian Kazemi of Iran, who has commited to Rice.
Notre Dame Prep rolls
No. 3 Notre Dame Prep (Mass.) matched Patterson's four wins by conquering Stoneridge Prep (Calif.), Progressive Christian, Marianapolis (Conn.) and North Carolina Tech. The Big East-bound duo of crafty 6-2 point guard Johnny Lacey (Providence) and sweet-shooting 6-5 guard James Southerland (St. John's) completed the sweep when each standout delivered key hoops.
Lacey stroked consecutive 3-pointers in the final minutes to hold off North Carolina Tech, 73-71. Jamil Goodwin had a team-high 15 points.
In NDP's comeback overtime win, 66-58, over Marianapolis, 6-4 guard Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati) stepped up with 23 points (9-of-13) and had three assists and three steals.
Duane Smith and Carl Blair (New Orleans) kept No. 4 Bridgton close with 16 points and 11, respectively, in the loss to Patterson.
Bridgton Academy defeats St. Mark's
Bridgton's perimeter excellence and depth were crucial in a 63-54 win over Class C titan St. Mark's School (Mass.). Malik Stith poured in 20 points on a variety of slashing drives and Duane Smith (George Washington) added 15 more.
Superior inside play by 6-10 Florida signee Florida signee Erik Murphy (24 points) and 18 more on 7-of-8 shooting by 6-8 junior Nate Lubick (Georgetown) produced almost all of St. Mark's points.
South Kent records big wins
Michael Burwell with 22 points and Kevin Parrom (Xavier) had 17 points and six rebounds for No. 6 South Kent (Conn.) which finally dealt previously unbeaten No. 7 Tilton School (N.H.) its first defeat, 82-53.
Burwell, a 6-6 forward, connected on 7-of-12 shots and made three shots behind the arc.
Tilton committed 22 turnovers and shot just 35 percent on 22-of-63 shooting. Gerald Coleman led the way with 18 points and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (Connecticut) added 14. Heralded 6-9 center Alex Oriakhi, another UConn signee, was held to just two points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Northfield-Mount Hermon (Mass.) fell in successive games to Lawrence Academy, 73-57, and South Kent, 82-70. Hector Harold, a 6-7 junior, kept NMH close against Lawrence, finessing and twisting inside for 29 points.
Mike Marra (Louisville) of nearby Smithfield rocked the rim with a resounding baseline dunk to give NMH a brief 35-33 lead against South Kent. But 6-4 guard Omari Lawrence (St. John's) penetrated and muscled his way inside for 18 points with support from Parrom and Nicholas Gerrity with 12 each and Burwell with 11 more.
"We are playing well right now," South Kent head coach Kelvin Jefferson said of his 17-5 club. "(Against Tilton) we were facing a club that has five guys at 6-8 or over and four play at a high level. So we went to a four-guard lineup to control the tempo of the game, keep rotating players in and out, get into passing lanes, go to full court pressure and try to get them to turn the ball over."
Carl Johnson took the reins for St. Thomas More (Conn.) in handing Tilton its second straight loss, 75-64. The 6-0 lefty senior guard from Philadelphia was electric in the second half, making 6-of-7 shots in the last 10 minutes and finishing with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Coombs-McDaniel converted 15-of-18 free throw attempts in a 28-point, 9-rebound effort while Oriakhi had 17 points.
Despite standout efforts by guards Corey Wright, Jr. of Providence (14.5 points per game) and Boston's Chris Flores (15), Class B Marianapolis Academy fell just short of pulling off big upsets, losing late leads in losses to Class A powers Notre Dame Prep, 73-65, and Worcester Academy, 66-58.
Worcester Academy roommates, 6-9 center Ben Crenca (Exeter) and 6-2 guard Sam Martin (West Warwick), returned to Rhode Island to play a major role in the Hilltoppers' victory over Marianapolis. Worcester came back from a 13-point hole to tie the score at 50 to force the extra session. That's when Crenca, headed for Vermont, scored five of his 10 points including an inside feed from Martin, who also had 10 points and will play at Yale.
Napier dazzles as MOP
Shabazz Napier of Class C Lawrence Academy earned Most Outstanding Player of the four-day invitational after putting on a dazzling performance of ball handling and shooting in a grueling 73-57 win over a Class A Northfield-Mt. Hermon. The 5-10 sophomore guard bombed away for a game-high 36 points, including seven 3-pointers.
"If Shabazz continues to learn as much as he has in the past four months, he could be sensational," Lawrence Academy head coach Kevin Wiercinski said of his young guard.
Also drawing praise was 6-4, 250-pound forward Darryl Cato-Bishop, who signed with North Carolina State on a football scholarship as a defensive end but plans to play basketball there, too.
"He's tough, he's competitive and he's all man. He plays the game the way it should be played. He's the best basketball player I've ever had," Wiercinski said.
Winchendon School prevails despite injuries
Injury-riddled Winchendon (Mass.) also defeated Hotchkiss School (Conn.), 75-56, behind a balanced attack led by David Imes (Hofstra) with 20 points.
An intriguing match-up between Napier and Winchendon junior guard Akeem Williams, last year's MIAA state scoring champion, turned into a sizzling up-and down affair.
With the 5-10 Williams (26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists) running the show, No. 8 Winchendon pulled away in the final few minutes for a 74-62 victory. Napier finished with 27 pointers and six 3-pointers in the loss. Denzel Britto of Wareham also was outstanding for Lawrence with 20 points.
Fitzgerald and Robinson lead Brewster
Andrew Fitzgerald of Baltimore starred for Brewster in a split of two games. The Oklahoma-bound 6-8 forward had a double-double effort of 25 points and 10 rebounds in the 79-70 loss to Patterson, then made 13-of-16 shots and scored points in a 71-62 win over Life Christian Academy of Humble, Texas.
Teammate Thomas Robinson, who'll play against Fitzgerald when he attends Kansas, played a big role in two games, averaging 11 points and 13.5 boards.
Stoneridge Prep (Calif.) lost both games, but Guy Landry exploded for 33 points and put on a long-distance show with six 3-pointers – five in a row in the second half – on 13-of-20 shooting overall in a 76-68 loss to Nia Prep (N.J.).
All-NPSI Team
Vincent Council, Notre Dame Prep
Chris Gaston, New Hampton Prep
Duane Smith, Bridgton Academy
Junior Cadougan, Humble Life Christian
Michael Burdwell, South Kent
Akeem Williams, Winchendon School
Guy Landry, Stoneridge Prep
Andrew Fitzgerald, Brewster Academy
Hassan Whiteside, Patterson School
James Southerland, Notre Dame Prep
Most Outstanding Player
Shabazz Napier- Lawrence Academy