By Kevin McCaskill Jr.
Day 1:
RJ Mayfield - Team Spartans/Baystate Academy (MA)
Dion Byrd - Team Spartans/Baystate Academy (MA)
John Bell - Team Spartans/Granby HS (CT)
Simon Percy - Team Spartans/Rockville HS (CT)
Tayzhon James - Team Spartans/MacDuffie School (MA)
Troy Butler - The Court Basketball Club/Manchester HS (CT)
Mo Silva - The Court Basketball Club/Holyoke HS (MA)
Emmanuel Cruz Team Spartans/Paulo Freire (MA)
Mark Garraud - Team Spartans
Dana Williams - Team Spartans
Nahkeem Singleton - Team Spartans/ East Boston HS (MA)
KC Ugwuakazi - Team Spartans
Dajon Burton - Team Spartans
Max Lockett - Team Spartans
Sebastian Thomas - RI Elite
Edwin Daniel - RI Elite
Alvin Baez - RI Elite
William Lobor - RI Elite
Chandler Wilson - Expressions EYBL/Paulo Freire (MA)
Kingston Walker - NE6/CT (15u 👀)
Day 2:
DJ WAGNER - NJ Scholars Elite/Camden HS (NJ)
QUADIR COPELAND - NJ Scholars Elite/Life Center Academy (PA) & IMG Academy (FL)
Aaron Bradshaw - NJ Scholars Elite/Camden HS (NJ)
Ojulu “JuJu” Omot - NE6 UA/Springfield Central HS (MA) & We Believe Academy (SC)
Da’shon Gittens - NE6 UA/Woodstock Academy (CT)
Elijah Wilborn - NE6 UA
Nick Townsend - NE6 UA
Sam Kodi - RI Elite
Brendan Mykalcio - NY Lightning - HGSL/The Patrick School (NJ)
There were so many players 😅 There were four players on the NJ Scholars Elite 16u team that are good. Only could get 2 of their pictures though 🤷🏽♂️
(Corneilius Robinson, NJSE 16u)
Western Mass players:
All the players from Western Mass contributed to their teams.
As far as “sneaker teams”, Paulo Freire’s Chandler Wilson is the only player from our area that plays on an Expressions EYBL team. Top tier in AAU basketball. He had a good showing on Saturday and Sunday. He has a great jump-shot and can finish after driving to the basket.
Under Armour (UA) sponsors NE6. The standouts, for me, were 17u players “JuJu” Omot and Eric Tynes, both of Springfield. JuJu is really good. He is a 6’6” PG and not just because he can dribble; he gets his teammates involved and leads the offense. Tynes shot well from 3.
The NE6 16u team - Colby Duggan from Monson, MA, Ray Carter from Chicopee, MA and Darrin Smith from Springfield, MA. Ray Carter has a great 3-pt shot. His makes don’t touch the rim. Duggan is a great young player. Only saw Smith play for a couple minutes but he scored a basket and got to the foul line. He looks like a good player.
People have to start paying attention to Emmanuel Cruz. He’s got ups 🆙 He is one of the most athletic young men in Western Mass/Northern CT area. He can dribble well and has a good jump-shot. Most important, he knows who he is 💡.
The two players from Baystate Academy (Springfield, MA) had good showings: RJ Mayfield and Dion Byrd. Mayfield is a interesting prospect. He is about 6’4”. He isn’t a big kid, relative to mass, but he plays like a big man. He is athletic - “caught a bang” in transition. He is a good player. Byrd is also a good player. He is mainly a shooter but he can drive to the basket to score or pass. He also plays with a certain competitive spirit I appreciate.
Lastly, there were two players on The Court Basketball Club that I noticed from this area - Holyoke HS Mo Silva and Longmeadow HS Brendan Nkwenti. Both had decent games offensively but they both play hard on defense. If both of those young men seek the support they need, in regards to basketball instruction and physical training, they can both have great HS seasons this upcoming fall/winter.