June 13th Odds and Ends

Nothing new from me today, but there is info floating around on other sites about some SJU recruiting targets. A number of the names belong to 2013 players. On that front, this Wednesday, the 15th, is the first day that college coaches are permitted to call players from the 2013 class. It is likely that a number of names mentioned below will be getting calls from the Saint Joseph's coaches.

This past weekend, the Nike Elite 100 took place at Saint Louis University. One of the players that caught the eye of ESPN.com's Dave Telep and John Stovall was Union, New Jersey forward Tyler Roberson. Roberson is a 6'7 combo forward in the class of 2013 who already owns a scholarship offer from the Hawks. You can read what Telep and Stovall wrote about Roberson here.

Locally, the biggest event of the weekend was the Rumble in the Bronx. Once again, the event featured a loaded field including a number of teams from Philadelphia and New Jersey. ESPN was also on hand to cover that event. Adam Finkelstein was on hand on behalf of ESPN and has a terrific recap here. 2012 center Blaise Mbargorba, who currently holds offers from the Hawks, Temple, and Vanderbilt, has made "huge strides in the past year" according to Finkelstein. Blaise is one of the big men that the staff has targeted in the 2012 class. Marcus Gilbert, Charles Cooke, Ja'Quan Newton, Miles Overton, and Villanova signee Savon Goodman also get written up.

According to Alex Kline of TheRecruitScoop, Saint Joseph's will get an unofficial visit from 2013 Saint Anthony (NJ) guard Halice Cooke tomorrow. Cooke is a 6'2 shooting guard who played sparingly on a Saint Anthony team that finished the year ranked number one nationally.

Brian Bosworth of NBE Basketball Report has a write-up of 2012 New York wing Jeffland Neverson. Neverson's name has been linked with the Hawks for quite some time, and the Hawks pop up again in this article. Neverson is a 6'5 wing who, according to Bosworth, showed an ability to play the 2 guard this weekend at the Rumble in the Bronx. That article, which breaks down Neverson's game and school list, can be found here.

Finally, last Thursday night, the annual Rasual Butler All-City Classic took place. The event features a freshman, sophomore, and junior game. Alex Schwartz has an article up on the NBE Basketball Report site, which breaks down the games. One of the Hawks top targets in the class of 2013, point guard Rysheed Jordan, gives his school list. As does Chester forward Rondae Jefferson. Both players mention the Hawks. That article can be found here.

Philadelphia Players Turn Heads at Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest

Over the weekend, the Southern Hoop Group Jam Fest took place at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton, Virginia. AAU season is currently in full swing, and the Jam Fest was just one of many high-profile events over the weekend. The folks at Hoop Group do a tremendous job of recapping their events, and while reading over the recaps, I came across a number of familiar names. As anyone who follows high school in the Philadelphia area knows, the area is littered with talented freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. A handful of those talented players got themselves some publicity over the weekend. Their names, and links to the articles, are provided below.

The Team Final 16U team took home the title over the weekend. The team stars Chester sophomore Rondae Jefferson, Princeton Day School (NJ) sophomore guard Davon Reed, Saint Pat's sophomore forward Austin Colbert, and a number of other big-time prospects. The link below details the success that Neumann-Goretti sophomore Johnny Davis had over the weekend. In the article, he claims offers from Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Delaware, as well as interest from Rutgers and Seton Hall.
Johnny Davis Getting Press

Two of the most talented freshmen in the area are, without a doubt, Roman Catholic's Shep Garner and Neumann's Ja'Quan Newton. Garner and Newton both play in the Team Final 15U backcourt together. As the article points out, there are unlikely to be many backcourts in that age bracket with their firepower. That article can be found here.

Another Roman Catholic guard, rising senior Montana Mayfield, also got himself some positive press this weekend, primarily due to a 31-point outburst for his NJABC team. Mayfield talks about his game and recruitment here.

PIAA Boys' Basketball Round-Up

On the campus of Penn State, three games are down, with one to come this evening. The city of Philadelphia is 3-0, with Math, Civics, and Sciences, Neumann-Goretti, and Imhotep Charter all taking home state championships.

In the Class A championship game yesterday afternoon, MCS Charter downed Lincoln Park 70-55. Sophomore Jeremiah Worthem was the story of the day for MCS, as he took charge in the second half and led his team with 22 points and 12 rebounds. For Lincoln Park, senior Chaquille Pratt led the way with 27 points. Junior center Devontae Watson contributed 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots for Lincoln Park. Saint Joseph's and Temple are two of the schools heavily recruiting Watson. According to Rick O'Brien's article in the Inquirer (linked here), both SJU's Phil Martelli and Temple's Fran Dunphy were in attendance for the game.

Watson is not the only player that Temple and SJU were looking at. Jeremiah Worthem, who scored his 22 points on an array of jumpers, drives, and emphatic fast-break dunks, has also been offered by both schools. According to Mike White of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (linked here), Martelli offered the sophomore a scholarship after the game. Rick O'Brien's article states that Worthem has offers from SJU, Temple, Drexel, and Rice. That interest, and those offers, are only going to grow as Worthem's stock continues to increase.

Last night, Neumann-Goretti won their second consecutive Class AAA title 55-45 over Montaur. Montaur actually held the lead late in the third quarter before Neumann upped the defensive intensity and just about ran Montaur off the court. The Saints had a balanced scoring attack, but the spark plug for them down the stretch was 6'2 freshman guard Ja'Quan Newton. Newton scored 13 second-half points, mostly coming off steals and fast-break opportunities. He was a terror on the defensive end, doing everything in his power to shut down Devin Wilson and the other Montaur guards. Helping Newton out were Derrick Stewart (14 points and 10 boards) and Johnny Davis (12 points). Neumann lost four starters from last year's state championship team, but still returned to Happy Valley this weekend, and they will return home state champs once again. With four of their five starters returning next year, they will be prohibitive favorites to win Class AAA yet again. Rick O'Brien's article on the game can be found here.

Moments ago, Imhotep Charter's Class AA game came to an end. They too will return to Philadelphia state champs, after a resounding 67-34 win over Greensburg Central Catholic. Greensburg kept the contest close at the beginning but just didn't have the talent or depth to deal with Imhotep.

Tonight, Chester will look for the Class AAAA state title against Mount Lebanon.

Image of Jeremiah Worthem above from Christopher Weddle of the Centre Daily Times.