Mercer County Tournament: Round One Players to Watch

<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">Photo by Yahoo! Sports</span></em></p> <p>The Mercer County Tournament will tip off on Wednesday. Hightstown will enter as the No. 1 seed and will be the only team with a bye. Seniors Ben Simon, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ryan-hogan/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ryan-hogan/">Ryan Hogan</a></a>, and Nicky Desmond have their team primed for a deep run but they will have to wait to see who their opponent is. There will be seven first round games on Wednesday. Here are the top players to keep an eye on.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamir-watkins/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jamir-watkins/">Jamir Watkins</a></a> (2020) | Trenton Catholic</strong></p> <p>It will be hard to miss the best player in Mercer County. Watkins has scored 10 or more points in every game this season. The VCU commit has led Trenton Catholic to the No. 4 seed in the tournament. Their record is not impressive because their schedule has been extremely tough with powerhouses like Roselle Catholic, Patrick School, and St. Benedict's. Watkins is averaging 18.9 points per game this season. He is a player that can score from anywhere on the floor and has range from anywhere in the gym. At 6'5, he is a force down low and gets to the rim at will using his speed and ball handling ability.</p> <p><strong>R.J. Weise (2020) | Allentown</strong></p> <p>Weise has been a stat sheet filler all season long. He is one of the top scorers in the county with 18.5 points per game but he contributes in so many ways. Weise has knocked down 38 three's and 87 free throws this season. At 6'0, Weise is an incredible rebounder. He has five games with 10 or more rebounds and is grabbing 7.2 per game. Weise is also dishing out 4.8 assists per game to lead Allentown. He is a complete guard with a complete game and it has shown all season.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brandon-raba/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brandon-raba/">Brandon Raba</a></a> (2021) | Nottingham</strong></p> <p>Nottingham will enter the tournament on an eight-game win streak and with an 18-5 record overall. Raba has scored in double-figures in eight straight highlighted by a 34 point performance in a win over Hillsborough. raba is scoring 16.9 points per game to lead Nottingham. They will face Steinert in round one who they have a win over back in January.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ryan-smith/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ryan-smith/">Ryan Smith</a></a> (2021) | Robbinsville</strong></p> <p>Smith has been hot all season long. He began the schedule with three 20 point games in the first four. He will enter the tournament scoring double-figures in six straight games including a 22 point, 12 rebound performance against Florence. Smith is scoring 15.3 points per game during his junior campaign to lead Robbinsville. He is a big bodied player at 6'4 that gets it done inside. Smith is also one of the top rebounders in the conference.</p> <p><strong>Gefen Bar-Cohen (2020) | Princeton</strong></p> <p>Princeton could be getting hot at the right time. They have won four in a row and eight of their last 10 overall. Cohen has scored 18 or more points in every game during Princeton's four-game streak. Cohen's season-high came in a loss to Union city where he finished with 24 points. He is a player that can take over a game. As the No. 7 seed, Princeton needs to watch out for any upset and Cohen will have to lead the way.</p> <p><strong>Krishi Dattani (2020) | West Windsor-Plainsboro South</strong></p> <p>It has been a tough season for WWPS. They will have their hands full once again with Watkins and Trenton Catholic in round one. For them to pull off an upset, Dattani will have to show up like he has all season. He is scoring 16.9 points per game this season and leads the team with 56 three's this season. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>