Southeastern PA Grassroots Report - Week 4

[caption id="attachment_1195534" align="alignleft" width="178"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Sean-Howlett-2022-resized-2.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1195534 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Sean-Howlett-2022-resized-2-178x300.jpg" alt="" width="178" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1180429" first="Sean" last="Howlett"] of LVBC Force National and Notre Dame Green Pond[/caption] This past weekend tournaments such as Zero Gravity’s The Summit (PA); Team Final Day (DE); Hoop Group New England Jam Fest (MA) and the Junior 76ers Challenge (DE) pitted southeastern Pennsylvania’s grassroots squads against many of the elite regional teams on the circuit. Below is a review of prospects from southeastern Pennsylvania who played well on the grassroots circuit this past weekend. 17U (2022) [player_tooltip player_id="1116036" first="Daniel" last="Alcantara"] – 6’4’’ / Reading / Team Final Red / Shooting Guard: Alcantara (6A 3rd team all-state selection) is an elite scorer at all three levels who helped push Reading to the PIAA 6A state title. Now he is unleashing his well-rounded game on the spring grassroots circuit. Alcantara was electric at Team Final Day, scoring 24 points in their highly anticipated match-up with Team Final EYBL (Blue). Unfortunately, Alcantara and Team Final Red lost that game by 4 points in OT. Most high level prospects on the circuit can score the ball, but what separates Alcantara from that already elite pack is that at the defensive end of the floor, he is an absolute menace. Even on the grassroots circuit (where defense is optional), this long, super athlete gives maximum effort on defense and is a disruptive force from the opening tip to the final horn. [player_tooltip player_id="1200775" first="Saraj" last="Ali"] – 6’4’’ / Loyalsock / Team Final Red / Wing: Ali was a major contributor to Loyolasock’s PIAA 3A state championship run and he continues to put in impressive work this spring. A long and athletic prospect with plenty of energy and bounce, Ali is a wing player built for the transition game. Ali had one of the most impressive sequences of Team Final Day. After a weak-side swat by Ali triggered a fast break, Ali raced down court, called for and caught an alley-oop and then finished with a ridiculous flush. This is a prospect to keep an eye on this spring/summer. Jalen Duren – 6’11” / Montverde Academy (FL) / Team Final EYBL / Center: The Philadelphia native and former Roman Catholic star simply destroyed the competition during Team Final Day at the Grail Sports Complex in Delaware. Posterizing dunks in traffic, blocking shots with authority, catching alley-oops in transition and scoring in the half-court on flip hooks. Duren was a one man show on Saturday and the show was very impressive. [player_tooltip player_id="1180429" first="Sean" last="Howlett"] – 6’1’’ / Notre Dame Green Pond / LVBC Force National / Shooting Guard: During his runs at The Summit, Howlett showed text book shooting mechanics and drained threes from all around the arc at a high clip. Howlett (11.6 ppg. at The Summit) also owns solid ball handling skills that allow him create scoring ops for himself off the dribble. When he doesn’t have the ball, Howlett is in constant motion which makes him a tough cover. His ability to set up and execute a back door cut to the rim led to a number of easy baskets for this athletic two-guard. This past winter Howlett averaged 11.3 points and 4 boards per game for Notre Dame GP. [caption id="attachment_1195522" align="alignleft" width="256"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Jedaya-Ortega-2023.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1195522 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/05/Jedaya-Ortega-2023-256x300.jpeg" alt="" width="256" height="300" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="1200778" first="Jedaya" last="Ortega"] of Reading HS and Reading KTB[/caption] 16U (2023) [player_tooltip player_id="933733" first="Darrien" last="Grady"] – 5’10’ / Shipley School / We R1 UAA / Point Guard: Shipley’s basketball team only played a 5 game schedule this winter (Grady averaged 22.8 ppg.), so you know this elite point guard was ready to go when the spring grassroots circuit tipped off. This weekend at ZG’s The Summit, Grady (pic at top of article) was hitting stand still threes from way downtown as well as scoring off the dribble in the mid-range and at the cup. Grady is ultra-quick and has a high basketball IQ, so DI schools should be all over this prospect. He tipped off the weekend by posting 20 points against DC Premier UAA and ended it by netting 25 vs. BABC. Grady and We R1 16Us went 3-0 at The Summit event. [player_tooltip player_id="1200778" first="Jedaya" last="Ortega"] – 6’4” / Reading / Reading KTB / Small Forward: If there is a team hotter than Ortega and the Reading KTB 16U squad, we don’t know about it. Two weekends ago, Reading KTB 16U ran up 4-0 record and won their division at the E3 Challenge (PA). This past weekend at ZG’s The Summit, they posted a 5-1 record and lost in the ‘chip game. Ortega has assembled two straight weekends of outstanding play. He has displayed a soft touch around the basket which is complimented by good footwork. So he can definitely be a force on the interior. Thanks to a nice jumper, Ortega if also a threat in the 12 to 15 foot range. 15U (2024) [player_tooltip player_id="1195389" first="Nick" last="Chapman"] – 5’11” / Reading / Reading KTB / Combo Guard: A slick but not too flashy guard, Chapman uses his quickness and change of pace skills to drive the ball past defenders and into the paint for buckets. He can definitely lead the fast break, but Chapman also looks very comfortable executing the team’s half court sets. In addition to scoring at the cup, Chapman showed range on his jump shot. He posted 13 points in an OT win over East Coast Power that propelled his Reading KTB 15u squad to a 3-1 record at The Summit. [player_tooltip player_id="1130840" first="David" last="Fridia"] – 6’7” / Allentown Central Catholic / Team Final Red / Power Forward: On Saturday at the Team Final Day event in Delaware, Fridia was a dominant interior presence for a Team Final Red squad that was down several bigs because of injuries. In addition to scoring the rock inside (13 points vs. Team Final EYBL), Fridia served a as a fantastic rim protector and cleaned the glass at both ends. In short, Fridia was forced to hold down the paint on his own for Team Final Red against elite competition and he did an excellent job. [player_tooltip player_id="1119136" first="Trey" last="O’Neil"] – 6’0’’ / Hill School / NJ Scholars Elite / Combo Guard: Spring 2021 has been a big season for O’Neil. First, O’Neil announced that he is departing national basketball powerhouse Westtown for The Hill School and will reclass into the 2024s. Now he is lighting it up on the grassroots scene. O’Neil has a reputation as a combo guard with the ability to blow by opponents and create scoring opportunities for himself or teammates. However, this weekend at the Hoop Group New England Jam Fest (MA), O’Neil unleashed his silky shooting stroke. He splashed home threes from and alarming distance and in a variety of ways (pull ups; stand still and off pick action). [player_tooltip player_id="1130829" first="Kirby" last="Mooney"] – 6’1” / William Tennent / PA Royals / Combo Guard: An elite slasher who can finish at the rim with either hand, Mooney simply glides on the court. When opponents at the Junior 76ers Challenge (DE) went zone to keep Mooney out of the lane, he simply shot the lights out from deep. Mooney’s stat line from this weekend was 15.5 ppg. on 50% shooting from the field to go along with 6.7 rpg. Over this past weekend, Mooney led the PA Royals (4-0 & age group champs) in points, rebounds, assists and blocks.