Summer League Insight: Tuesday Night
On Tuesday night, summer league basketball went down in Tampa.
Seven schools played during a four hour session at Tampa Prep. Hillsborough, Clearwater Central Catholic, Bloomingdale, Alonso, Land O’ Lakes and Seffner Christian joined the Terrapins for some June basketball.
Here is what I took away from the night.
Tampa Prep is a sound group
Jaren Phillips and Jared Walker, two 2019 forwards didn’t suit up. However, 2018 starters, forward Trey Sibert and Christian Schach held it down.
Most impressively were 2020 guards Jaden Gray and Isaac Ward. They worked well off one another and made smart plays. 2019 forwards Owen Carlson and Tim Williams earned ample minutes as the Terrapins leaned on the aggressive Williams inside. 2020 forward Gabriel Sharp is someone who has flashed talent.
Tampa Prep is going to be a much deeper and experienced group this fall. Under head coach Joe Fenlon, they are always contenders.
The Crusaders look much different
Seffner Christian graduated nine seniors this spring from a deep unit. 2018 guard Darius Hopkins and 2019 guard Khalil Waleed are going to be the new faces of the Crusaders offense. Waleed is quick and a really good decision maker. Hopkins can take over a game quickly with his outside shooting and attacking ability.
2018 guard Bryan Chong and 2019 forward Cornelius Bobo will also help the cause for head coach Sam Moorer.
Alonso is full of hard workers
2019 starters Sager Cavalier and Christian De Leon are the most sound players the Ravens have. Cavalier is a bruising forward who grabs key boards and has a nice mid-range jump shot. De Leon is a speedy point guard who makes eye opening drives and layups at times.
2018 guard Drew Price is a knockdown 3-point shooter and someone who get hot in a hurry. 2019 guard Zack Lecorchick is another name to remember for this group. Alonso won’t be as successful as a year ago, but they have a nice mix of talent still.
The Marauders has emerging talent
Clearwater Central Catholic welcomed Dunedin transfer Ronnie Williams this week. The 2020 forward showed a ton of poise making back to back fourth quarter 3’s in a win over Tampa Prep during the final game of the night.
2021 forward Trey Johnson is long and skinny, but he worked his way in the post at times and hit big 3’s. 2018 pieces Nick Amaro, Jeremiah Brown and Tripp Robinson all did damage for CCC who played a much more up tempo type of basketball than a week ago.
Land O’ Lakes is a work in progress
The Gators graduated five seniors including top scorer Trivone Hill. Right now, 2020 guard Mekhi Perry is running the offense and that bodes well for this team. Land O’ Lakes took a while to find points against Alonso in the final game of the night, failing to score in the first quarter.
It remains to be seen if this group has enough talent to finish above .500. Either way, Perry is someone to monitor, he is really good with the ball in his hands and he plays like a veteran.
Bloomingdale is blending together
2018 starters Mikey Rusz, Jeremie Santana-Jone, Connor Moran and Luke Gazzo all had their moments a week ago at Jesuit. It was more of the same on Tuesday night. The Bulls are still coming together and that is no surprise under new coach Jeff Shotwell.
Shotwell was the top assistant for Newsome previously. He demands a lot from his players and will likely figure this all out by the time season begins. Shotwell is a very good coach.
Hillsborough has a new look
The Terriers are not the same team. That is a fact. 2018 guard Myles Cowart is the leader of the group along with 2020 forwards Tyriq James and Nasir Edmonds. Overall, this is a super young Hillsborough team.
The star of the night for the Terriers was 2019 forward Qadiir Wajd. He was joking prior to his game during the Alonso-Land O’ Lakes matchup, cheering on his Skills Center teammate De Leon. But when the whistle blew in his game, he attacked at will and routinely made drives to the basket and finished. He is going to be a breakout candidate for this new look Hillsborough unit.