Rummel Summer League Preview (Part 1)

Summer League season has arrived as players will put their AAU squads on the back-burner to re-unite with their high school teams throughout the month. There are a handful of summer leagues taking place in the New Orleans area and the Rummel Summer League has a solid group of teams that should make for some interesting matchups starting May 31.

Here's what to look out for from five of the 10 teams that will take the court every Tuesday and Thursday in the month of June, and take a look at the other five teams in Part 2 of the Rummel Summer League preview, which will focus on Riverside, Country Day, Bonnabel, Lusher and Chalmette.

Rummel

It will be an interesting season for Rummel with new head coach Scott Thompson taking over for Troy Holley. The Raiders underperformed last season going 18-15 with strong top-end talent including 2018 G Aaron Brule, 2020 PG Corey Smooth and 2019 PG Donte Mitchell, who recently transferred to Bonnabel. Smooth, who picked up an offer last summer from Lamar and competed with Adidas Louisiana Supreme's 17U team this summer, will likely be the unquestioned leader for this year's group. We'll see how the new-look Raiders are able to build around him.

Holy Cross

Holy Cross will be one of the favorites in the Catholic League this upcoming season with a wealth of talent returning. They have a deep 2019 class led by 6-foot-4 shooting guard Kalil Thomas, PG Jason Chan and guards Myles Sanders and Tyler Beaver, an assassin from midrange territory. The Tigers' 2020 class also gives them a ton of depth with 6-foot-7 C/F Aaron Ursin manning the middle along with guards Jeremey Lindsey and Tyler Kirkwood. Holy Cross is certainly set up to be a team to be reckoned with in 2018-19.

Jesuit

Jesuit finished second in the Catholic League last season behind St. Augustine and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Division I playoffs. 2019 PG/SG Elijah Morgan is one of the best kept secrets in the area as a scorer that can really shoot it and score in a variety of ways. His ball handling has improved over the summer and while the Blue Jays don't have much top-end talent aside from Morgan, their egalitarian system keeps the ball moving with all players involved.

St. Paul's

St. Paul's will have to reload after losing lynchpins of the program in 2018s Parker Edwards (Southeastern University), Chandler Owenby (Hobart College) and Devonte Allen. The Wolves also lost key seniors in Luke Andrews and Collin Quinlan, and now have a young group that will rely on the playmaking of 2020 point guards Bill Leahy IV and Isiah Phillips.

Shaw

Shaw has been bringing up the rear in the Catholic League the last few seasons and they'll be looking to reverse their fortunes this year. It still appears they have a long way to go, however, after winning just four games last season while going 0-12 in the Catholic League.