National Prep Championship Standouts (Part 1)

The National Prep Championship took place this week in West Hartford, CT for the first time since 2020 when the championship game was canceled due to Covid, and it was back like it never missed a beat. There were two brackets, a championship bracket featuring 16 teams who were chosen due to their resume, and a showcase bracket featuring 8 teams that just missed the cut. There were teams from all over the country in attendance, and there were tons of big time players throughout the event. Here’s a look at part one of the New England standouts from the event, featuring the two teams in the championship game Putnam Science and Northfield Mount Hermon. If you’d like to watch the playback of the event, you can see it <a href="http://cbglivenetwork.com">here</a>. [player_tooltip player_id="1081793" first="Desmond" last="Claude"] | 6’5” CG | Putnam Science Academy ’22 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Claude-Desmond.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1405867" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Claude-Desmond-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> The MVP of the National Prep Championship led his team in scoring and was fantastic throughout the week leading them to their third national championship since the event started in 2007, and there’s so much to love about this Xavier commit as he moves on to the next level too. He’s a savvy combo guard who has good size and a great IQ as a scorer, playmaker and a defender, and he’s the type of guy you want to have the ball in his hands with the game on the line or when the shot clock is winding down. He’s an excellent shooter from deep off the catch, he has great body control around the rim and can finish with either hand in traffic and he has a calming leadership presence his teammates can look to when they need him. [player_tooltip player_id="1081712" first="Dashon" last="Gittens"] | 6’3” WG | Putnam Science Academy ’22 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/IMG_2782-rotated.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1105127" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/12/IMG_2782-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a> The FIU commit was electric throughout the week making plays time and time again that just leave you shaking your head, and his mix of shot making ability as well as his athletic slashing and finishing ability makes him able to get a bucket whenever his team really needs him to. While he’s a little undersized for a two guard he’s dynamic when he gets downhill as he has big time bounce and is fearless around the rim whether he’s driving to the basket or catching a lob, he’s able to guard the ball handler and has quick hands and jumps passing lanes to get steals and he can knock down shots consistently from deep and in the midrange. [player_tooltip player_id="1315309" first="Arturo" last="Dean"] | 5’10” PG | Putnam Science Academy ’22 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/11/Dean-Arturo.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1333853" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2021/11/Dean-Arturo-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> While Claude was named MVP of the tournament, Dean is the heart and soul of this team and the Region POY sets the tone for their suffocating defense and their uptempo style on the offensive end as well. When it comes to a pest and a dog as a defender, I haven’t seen anyone in a long time that defines that more than Dean as he picks up ball handlers full court and stays in them and forces turnover time and time again. He’s a freak athlete who has an unbelievably quick first step and great elevation as a finisher, he can knock down shots from deep and he’s a flat out winner who brings toughness and production at every spot. Ugonna Kingsley | 6’10” C | Putnam Science Academy ’23 <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Kingsley-Uganna.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1405868" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/03/Kingsley-Uganna-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Kingsley came to PSA midway through the season, and it was a situation where the rich got richer as they already had multiple big men but Kingsley came in and earned the starting spot in no time and he was a huge factor in their run to the state championship. Standing 6’10” with a good wingspan and strength as well as good athleticism, he’s an absolute elite rim protector who had multiple games with double digits blocks and probably averaged close to 8 on the week, and he made it very difficult for teams to score in the paint. Throw in the fact that he rebounded well and played with a great motor, finished around the rim and showed he has good touch out to 15 feet as well, this summer will be huge for him as he will be heavily recruited by tons of high major programs. [player_tooltip player_id="1125334" first="Mouhamed" last="Dioubate"] | 6’7” PF | Putnam Science Academy ’23 PSA plays 9-10 deep as they have tons of depth on the bench at multiple positions, but Dioubate stepped up huge on Friday in their semifinal and championship win bringing good energy and production off the bench on both ends and will be very sought after this summer as well. The 6’7” forward is a very versatile as he can shoot the midrange jumper out to the elbows, he can play and guard multiple positions, he plays with good energy and hits the glass on both ends of the floor and he still has a lot of room to get better moving forward. [player_tooltip player_id="1204320" first="Blair" last="Thompson"] | 6’6” WF | Northfield Mount Hermon ’22 We all were talking about how Thompson is an absolute steal for Columbia where he committed before the season started, and without two high major starters he stepped up big to help NMH make a run to the championship game before they just ran out of gas against such a deep and athletic team. Thompson has great size on the wing with length and big time athleticism when he’s around the rim as a finisher, he moves extremely well off the ball and cuts with purpose looking to score, he can stick it from deep and put it on the deck to get open and he can defend the other team’s best perimeter player as well. [player_tooltip player_id="1204624" first="Luke" last="Hunger"] | 6’8” C | Northfield Mount Hermon ’22 Hunger stepped up huge when his team needed him to, especially on Friday and was the main reason they were able to hang in with PSA for most of the game as he did a little bit of everything and was a walking mismatch for them. He’s such a smart big man with great IQ and knows how to be productive within their system and get shots when his team needs him to, he’s an excellent shooter from deep who can pick-and-pop and knock it down as the trail man and he knows when to slip screens and roll as well, he’s a good passer and he rebounds and owns the paint too. Northwestern not only got a great fit in him within their system but also got a very talented player who knows how to play and is very productive. Hudson Hansen | 6’8” PF | Northfield Mount Hermon ’22 Hansen was one of the x-factors for NMH throughout the week, as his all-out style of play brought energy to his team and he was productive across the board and on both ends of the floor. He’s an athletic two-way impact guy who hits the glass and can guard multiple positions, he is a big time finisher at the rim when he gets downhill or gets out in transition and his above the rim play injected energy into his team and he’s able to make shots and makes the right play more often than not on both ends of the floor.