Gauchos Roundball Classic: Stepinac Debut
Last night, The Crusaders (Stepinac) made their Gauchos Roundball debut against a gritty Team Mega (Vision Academy) squad. It was a close game throughout but the Crusaders prevailed 67-54. Duke commit, AJ Griffin AJ Griffin 6'6" | SF Stepinac |…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingLast night, The Crusaders (Stepinac) made their Gauchos Roundball debut against a gritty Team Mega (Vision Academy) squad. It was a close game throughout but the Crusaders prevailed 67-54. Duke commit, AJ Griffin AJ Griffin 6'6" | SF Stepinac | 2021 State #7 Nation NY , a five-star prospect, didn’t play last night but the team seemed to be reloaded with quality prospects filling the void left by RJ Davis RJ Davis 5'11" | PG Archbishop Stepinac | 2020 State #65 Nation NY who begins his first season at North Carolina.
Senior forward Malcolm Chimezie Malcolm Chimezie 6'8" | PF Stepinac | 2021 State NY led the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The Boston University commit controlled the paint and finished very well at the rim.
The Crusaders welcome a pair of outstanding freshmen, 6’2” point guard Johnuel “Boogie” Fland and 6’8” power forward Jacob Hogarth, both hold multiple D1 offers. Fland finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals while Hogarth contributed 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in their high school debut.
Junior prospects Keith Mency Keith Mency 6'1" | CG Marist | 2021 NY , Samuel Gibbs, and Tyler Randolph Tyler Randolph 6'2" | SG Uniondale | 2022 State NY seemed poised to take on large roles this season. Mency, a first-year transfer, added 9 points, 4 assists, and a steal. Gibbs knocked down three 3-pointers finishing the night with 11 points and 5 rebounds. Baez played with a ton of energy adding 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists along with a number of deflections on the defensive end, doing the intangible things that don’t show up in the box score.
Senior forward Jonah Phang played well off the bench protecting the paint with two timely blocks. Phang’s 6’8″ frame will prove to be beneficial as the season progresses.
Additional notables
Josh Zangerle ’21
Francisco Mattei
Francisco
Mattei
6'0" | PG
Stepinac | 2022
NY
’23
Nico Andrews ’23