NERR National Prep Showcase – Florida Standouts
This weekend I attended the Northeast Recruiting Report’s (NERR) National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in my own New Haven, Connecticut. While the games may have been muted in importance by the impending flock of Yale and Harvard alum…
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Continue ReadingThis weekend I attended the Northeast Recruiting Report’s (NERR) National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in my own New Haven, Connecticut. While the games may have been muted in importance by the impending flock of Yale and Harvard alum attending The Game, the showcase brought together some of the nation’s best prep school talent. And as a fairly new New England scout, I couldn’t have been more excited to finally get to see some of the region’s best teams go at it.
However, while the Northeast shined bright, I found a small cohort of Florida hoopers who deserved all the recognition I could give them. All of these hoopers played for the Montverde Academy CBD team, a post-grad team that dominated all weekend and caught the attention of many coaches. Here were the players who stood out from that team:
TJ Wainwright, 6-2, Post Grad
Wainwright took over the big win against Brewster Academy on Friday night, garnering him some national attention from the likes of SLAM and other outlets. The post-grad guard was a high energy hooper who let Brewster know when he was smoking them. Wainwright finished with 24 points and was getting his buckets in every way imaginable. He went a crazy 9-12 from the field and 3-4 from distance, showing that he can get buckets from anywhere on the floor. The high motor and high intensity point guard was electric on defense and got the whole crowd jumping. Wainwright will be a huge snag for a program that is willing to give him a second look.
DJ Jackson, 6-2, 2022
Jackson was one of the quieter buckets on the floor who exploded in a huge game on Saturday. When I watched him on Friday, he was a confident guard with quick feet and the ability to get downhill. Like Wainwright, it felt like Jackson could get his from anywhere in the half court. He was slightly inefficient from downtown, but not enough to write him off as a shooter. He has a quiet bounce and was able to fly past some of the better Brewster defenders. He’s definitely a guy to watch out for on the 2022 scene.
DJ Richards, 6-5, Post Grad
Did you know that the Montverde CBD has more starters named DJ than they do Floridians on the whole team? Well, now you do. Richards plays like a standard two-guard who really adds a lot of value on the offensive end of the floor. He’s a well-built, long guard who functions at a high level below the free throw line. He’s a solid athlete who was able to rise for some nice finishes over big defenders, leading to some nice dunks and a lot of free throw trips. His 32-point explosion on Saturday was one of the best performances of the day, garnering him looks from many of the schools in attendance. He’s a nice post grad pickup for a program that needs some immediate impact on the offensive end.
Jermaine Ballisager, 6-11, 2022
The Denmark-product Ballisager was a nice complement to the guard-heavy system that MVA CBD used all weekend. Ballisager has a long way to go before he becomes a dominant center, but he did his job very well against Brewster. Ballisager clogs the paint with his massive frame and makes rebounding over him incredibly difficult. He goes hard to the rim after rebounds and was fouled more times than I could count on Friday. Tag on that he’s a competent free throw shooter and solid defender, and Ballisager really stuck out as an under-the-radar big who could find home at a program this fall.