Manhattan’s Super Sixty-Four: #56-#49

<p>It's time for the second installment of Super Sixty-Four as part of a crusade to publicize Manhattan basketball. While Manhattan may be one of the world's largest cities, basketball prospects are more commonly pumped out from much smaller cities and is even beaten by some international cities. In this second installment, players numbers 56 to 49 will be covered, and while they're not at the top, their future play is something colleges and fans would want to see.</p> <p><em>Note: The Super Sixty-Four only includes players from the classes of 2021,2022, and 2023.</em></p> <p><strong>56. Jason Davila | Freshman | School of the Future (JV)</strong></p> <p>Jason Davila has had his debut season of high school basketball for the School of the Future's JV team, and it was as strong as a debut season could be.  Davila showed he could lead an offense, as he averaged almost 6 assists per game, showing he knew when and how to distribute the ball. Davila also showed he can initiate and capitalize off of fastbreaks he started, as well as drive against an offense already in its place.</p> <p><strong>55. Deven Maheshwari | Sophomore | Stuyvesant (JV)</strong></p> <p>Deven Maheshwari has become an elite presence in the paint. Maheshwari's towering size is able to deny guards from getting a clean shot in the paint while he can hold his own against forwards looking to post up. On offense, Maheshwari is able to capitalize off of second-chance points as well as score off of his roll and plays carefully designed to feature him. All in all, Deven should be a force to be reckoned with in varsity next year.</p> <p><strong>54. Benjamin Kitaeff | Sophomore | Beacon (JV)</strong></p> <p>Benjamin Kitaeff has been the focal point for Beacon's offense. Kitaeff has shown that he has the quickness in his hands and feet to guard smaller guards, while he can set himself up to deny big men the ball, and scoring with it, giving him valuable defensive versatility. Kitaeff excels at blowing by defenders, even when they are prepared, and driving to the basket, while he can also occasionally sprinkle in a jump shot here and there.</p> <p><strong>53. Diogo Rondon Perez | Freshman | W.H.E.E.L.S (JV)</strong></p> <p>Age is just a number, and Rondon Perez certainly proved that this season. He was able to come in unheralded and become the focal point of the W.H.E.E.L.S. offense in one preseason. Rondon Perez could literally score anywhere, from long and mid-range, as well as through frequent drives to the paint which consistently award him with two points or a trip to the foul line, where he is able to respectably convert.</p> <p><strong>52. Jzhuan Davis | Sophomore | Thurgood Marshall (JV)</strong></p> <p>In science, the law of equilibrium states that an environment will shift itself to achieve a balance. There's a similar rule in basketball, which states when there's a position that needs to be filled, it will be filled. Jzhuan Davis eyed the position of all-around scorer, and when it became open, he wasted no time in taking it. Davis averaged almost 25 points on the season, proving he does not lack the consistency issue that ruins basketball career after career.</p> <p><strong>51. Bryan Viscaino | Freshman | Bayard Rustin (Varsity)</strong></p> <p>Without ever seeing high school basketball action before, Bryan Viscaino was able to step in as a freshman for the Bayard Rustin squad and immediately contribute, which deserves more credit than it currently gets. Viscaino was able to knock down shots with literal adults staring him down, while he also proved he wasn't a liability on defense.</p> <p><strong>50. Harrison Banner | Sophomore | HS Health Professions (Varsity)</strong></p> <p>Harrison Banner has an interesting story. He was coming off a decent freshman year on the Health Professions junior varsity squad, but apparently he put on a Herculean amount of work on himself and actually finished his sophomore season on varsity with a statistically better year. Banner is able to lead the offense, distributing the ball and penetrating inside, while he can also be a great off-ball spot-up shooter.</p> <p><strong>49. Calum Wolfe Thompson | Junior | Columbia Secondary School (Varsity)</strong></p> <p>Calum Wolfe Thompson has shown the ever-so-valuable ability to be able to guard multiple positions, having the speed to guard smaller guards and the strength to defend against more powerful forwards. Thompson can create himself as a force in the paint, providing valuable screen assists to open up the floor for himself and his teammates as well as be an above-average rebounding presence on both sides of the floor.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>