MD/DC Roundtable: Signing Day, 2021 D3’s, Duos

<p>For this week’s roundtable, the crew tackles three questions surrounding the story lies of early signing day, D3 prospects of note and what duos will be must-see this season.</p> <p><a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/05/Keels-Trevor-Head-Shot.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1012353" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/05/Keels-Trevor-Head-Shot-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></p> <div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>1. With National Early Signing Day coming up, what is one storyline you are watching? </strong></span></div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Giacubeno:</em> I’m eagerly monitoring the recruitment of [player_tooltip player_id="712742" first="Bez" last="Mbeng"]. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is the No. 6 ranked player in our MD/DC 2021 player rankings and has a high ceiling as a prospect. He isn’t being courted by any high major programs, but still has a nice list to select from. There’s so much uncertainty surrounding this class and recruitment with everything that COVID-19 has brought, so in a sense I understand why he is deciding to wait a bit. In the same breath, prospects who aren’t nationally coveted should lock in their scholarships sooner rather than later. As for a fit, I like James Madison for Mbeng, but Canisius recently offered and is showing some willingness to invest the time as well. Last time I caught up with the Good Counsel standout, he preferred to take visits to campus. It won’t look like that will be happening anytime soon. Will he cave and decide to commit? Time will tell.</div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Ayalew: </em>I’ll be interested to see who signs early and who decides to wait. With all the uncertainty, I’d expect many players to sign early, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see some others wait. </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Wilson:</em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For me I have to go with the recruitment of [player_tooltip player_id="543841" first="Trevor" last="Keels"]. There is no sign of him signing early but you never know what could happen in the coming days. Keels is down to a final three of Duke, Villanova and Virginia and has shown no hints of when or where he will be committing to.</span></div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2. Who are some 2021 prospects that D3 programs should be recruiting?</span></strong></div> <div dir="auto"> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Giacubeno: </em> <span style="font-size: 1rem;">I’ll stick with my Baltimore roots for this question. A few guys come to mind immediately. Pikesville point guard Evan Flaks is one who already has a handful of high-academic D3 programs actively recruiting him and if you’ve seen him in action, you can understand why. Flaks is a 5-foot-9 point guard who plays extremely hard on both ends while fulfilling the role as a floor general to its definition. He understands how to control a game’s pace, ensures his team’s execution in half court play, knocks down three’s with regularity and picks up his man full court defensively. Flaks does a bunch of things that don’t show up on the box score as well such as taking charges, communicating effectively and making the hockey assist on drives or quick swings.<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Vincent-Payn.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1014666 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/07/Vincent-Payn-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a></span></div> <div dir="auto"> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="902060" first="Jeremiah" last="Stanton"] is a guard out of Gerstell Academy who programs need to be aware of. He’s one of the players that has improved his game and body the most since stepping foot on a high school campus. Stanton is a marksman from three when he’s playing next to guys who can create open shots for others. However, when that’s not the case, Stanton is good at getting to the rim and finishing with either hand. Stanton’s work ethic speaks for itself and I truly believe any Division III program that could land him would benefit from having him not only on the court, but in the locker room.</p> <p>Quentin Wells is a combo guard from Randallstown with good size at 6-foot-2. He’s a solid all-around scorer who could improve at all three levels, but at this point he’s a player that needs to be accounted for by opposing defenses. Wells takes pride in guarding his matchup defensively and isn’t afraid to dive on the floor for 50/50s.</p> </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Ayalew: </em>One solid D3 prospect that not a lot of people know about is <b>Sid Smith</b>. Smith will be playing his senior season at B-CC. He’s a very good three-point shooter who adds value as a team defender who communicates</div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Wilson: </em><span style="font-size: 1rem;">There are a lot of strong division three programs around the DMV and there are a slew of prospects from coaches to choose from. I will start with 2021 6’1 Ed Johnson of Bishop McNamara. Johnson is a reliable shooter that can hit from multiple areas on the floor. When he is not scoring he also can get others involved well. Johnson would be a nice addition for any ODAC program as he is constantly engaged on every possession and someone you can count on both ends of the floor. </span><br /> <br /> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another prospect that could fit the division three level well is 6’2 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id="836500" first="Vincent" last="Payne"] out of St. Maria Goretti.  Payne is another guard that you can rely on to make a lot of shots and has shown signs of getting better defensively. If Payne is able to get in the right system, he is another guy that will thrive at the division 3 level.</span></p> </div> </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>3. Name a duo that will be well worth checking out this season.</strong></span> </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"> <div dir="auto"><em>Giacubeno:</em> 2022 duo of [player_tooltip player_id="837927" first="Cameron" last="Whitmore"] and [player_tooltip player_id="837924" first="CJ" last="Scott"] will be worth admission. Archbishop Spalding enters this season with high expectations largely due to Whitmore’s progression, but this is a huge season for Scott. He’s garnered low and mid-major attention, but with proven consistency he should be able to add to his list of offers.</div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Ayalew:</em> 2022 <b>[player_tooltip player_id="904673" first="Miles" last="Hicks"]</b> and 2021 <b>[player_tooltip player_id="1049636" first="Lucas" last="Siegel"]</b> will be an intriguing guard-big tandem to watch at St. Albans this season. I’ve heard they are putting in a lot of work this offseason in preparation for a big year. </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto"><em>Wilson:</em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">New head coach Kenny Johnson has brought a lot of talent to National Christian led by George Washington pledge [player_tooltip player_id="543848" first="Brayon" last="Freeman"]. Johnson also brought in 2021 unsigned guard [player_tooltip player_id="902015" first="Ahmad" last="Harrison"]. I am very excited to watch this backcourt as National Christian could be one of the most improved teams across the DMV</span></div> </div>