St. Paul’s Summer League Recruiting Notebook: Weeks 1-2 Part 1
The St. Paul’s Summer League features many prominent high school programs from around the immediate area of Baltimore. There are even some teams from surrounding counties and the state of Pennsylvania who travel down to test their abilities and prepare for the upcoming high school season.
As the first two weeks of play wrapped up last Thursday, Calvert Hall sits atop of the standings with a 4-0 record. With it being the beginning of summer, many teams have conflicts that restrict them from playing more than once a week, so teams such as Poly, Mt. Carmel, and Glen Burnie are also at the top of the standings but only sport a 1-0 overall record.
From here on out, we’ll release a weekly recruiting notebook on the week that was in the St. Paul’s Summer League. Specifically looking at which players stood out for that particular week. There will be two parts to this first edition since the first two weeks have passed by.
Brendan Adams | Calvert Hall | 2018
Adams has been the most impressive player in the SPSL thus far. His athleticism and size at 6’4 has been overwhelming to each team that the Cardinals have faced. Not only has it been fun to watch an array of dunks from Adams in the open floor, but his one-on-one isolation game has simply been too much. He is especially good at knocking down three’s off of a combination of moves. The Cardinals are loaded with talent this season, but Adams will be the go-to guy throughout next season.
Logan Curtis | Calvert Hall | 2019
Curtis has played well throughout the first four games this summer. With guys like Justin Lewis and Josh Cornish having to miss a few games, Curtis has been the next consistent scorer next to Adams. He is finding his shot in transition coming from the corner off kick-out passes. There were a couple of games where Curtis couldn’t find his shot from deep, but still did a solid job of putting the ball on the deck and getting to the free throw line. No matter how Curtis’ offensive performance is going, one thing that is certain is he will get after you defensively. He moves his feet well when his match up has the ball and has been the frequent suspect at drawing charges in the lane.
Ziggy Reid | St. Paul’s | 2019
Reid has been a force for St. Paul’s as the Crusaders have gotten off to a 3-0 start. The upcoming junior is 6’4 with good size that makes him a handful for most defenders. What makes him so effective is that he can score from all three levels. The Crusaders to a good job of moving the ball until the best possible shot presents itself, but Reid can turn will turn down a good shot to create a great one. To be more specific, Reid will sometime turn down an open three if he can get into the lane, create contact, and finish the lay up plus the foul. His size and effort have shown in his presence on the glass as well.
Jalen Rucker | Gilman | 2019
It doesn’t take long when watching Rucker to fall in love with how he plays the game. Gilman is off to a 2-1 start and he is to credit with much of the success they’ve had. He is extremely shifty and looks to make a flashy play almost every time he has the ball. The 5’10 point guard can put up point in a hurry as well as create open looks for teammates with showy passes. Often times, he is the smallest player on the floor, but that doesn’t mean he hesitates to take the ball in the paint and bang amongst the bigs. Gilman’s only loss came to Woodlawn when Rucker showed up with just seven minutes left in the first half. He brought the Greyhounds back by pouring in a game-high 20 points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.
Chase Drew | Gilman | 2019
Drew will sit out this season after transferring from Dulaney, but he has shown why the coaching staff at Gilman should look forward to Drew and Rucker teaming up in 2018. Drew is a 6’5 wing that can stroke it from outside. He also has the athleticism to make plays above the rim in transition. Gilman has pretty good size all around, but Drew adds the athleticism and versatility to grab a rebound and push the ball himself.
Mark Brinkley | Woodlawn | 2018
Woodlawn has looked good in their three games so far, compiling a 2-1 record. The two wins came against Gilman (by 6) and Mervo (by 20), with their one loss coming to Calvert Hall (by 6). The Warriors are going to depend on their backcourt of Brinkley and teammate Demauri Warren to carry them through the SPSL. Brinkley has been impressive with his energy and effort on both ends. Although his three-point shooting has never been a strength, Brinkley is shooting the long ball at an efficient rate. He is best in transition when he finds himself taking it to the rim. Adams got the best of him when the Warriors faced the Cardinals, but Brinkley showed no backing down. His man-to-man defense forced Adams to work for every look. The Warriors will be a team that pushes a lot of the private schools to the brink in the SPSL.
Demauri Warren | Woodlawn | 2018
Warren is the other piece of the one-two punch for the Warriors. In many ways, Brinkley and Warren are alike, but Warren has a little bit more size at 6’3. He’s also a football player, so right away he has a different mindset towards contact than most basketball players. With that being said, Warren has shown notable skills on the court. Thus far in the SPSL, he’s been efficient at knocking down mid-range shots. He’ll hit a three every now and then, but his greatest strength is filling lanes in transition and finishing. Woodlawn has thrown the full court press in each game so far. Warren has done well with anticipating passes for deflections and steals that often lead to quick baskets.