Philly Live II: Day 2 Sleeper Wings & Bigs

<p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Wings are the most important position in basketball because of the variety of ways they can impact the game. And in a game that only continues to be perimeter oriented, bigs who can stay on the floor are hard to find. Session II, Day 2 featured 2023 &amp; 2024 wings and bigs for all levels of college ball.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="991390" first="Duce" last="Jackson"] | 6’5 F/C ‘23 Collegium (PA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">His team wasn’t able to pull out the win, but not without a 15 point contribution from Duce. He played inside-out, finding soft spots in Abington’s zone up and using his big frame to create space down low. From there he stretched it out to the mid-range by hitting jumpers from there and attempted some threes. With his size and mobility, Duce naturally added rim protection on the other end.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brady Eagan | 6’5 W/F ‘23 Bonner-Prendie (PA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Eagan brought flexibility to BP’s lineups with his versatility. Defensively, he spent some possessions guarding up versus big and others defending on the perimeter where he racked up 3-4 steals. His activity on the boards resulted in second-chance points for the team and a couple buckets for him (6 points total). In limited opportunities, Brady showed he could handle the ball and pass too.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1115504" first="Jayden" last="Harris"] | 6’7 W ‘23 Potomac (VA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">When people talk about the “3-and-D wing” archetype, they’re basically describing Harris. In both their games (PA’s Archbishop Carroll and NJ’s Lenape), came out the gates blasting, going on to average 19.5 points. Jayden cashed in 4 threes in the first match, then 3 in the second. His high and quick release made it difficult for defenders to contest. And if by chance he didn’t have a good look, he was willing and able to drive to the cup for 2 and/or make good passes.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1472583" first="Blake" last="Deegan"] (6’6 F ‘23) + [player_tooltip player_id="1477738" first="Su-Meer" last="Alleyne"] (6’4 W ‘24) | Archbishop Carroll (PA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Patriots from Radnor, PA have their own diverse pair of wings. Blake defended on the help-side, covered the back line, and contested rim attempts. Offensively, he knocked down a couple treys and crashed the boards. Su-Meer hit two threes as well and brought some secondary ball-handling to the table when Potomac (VA) tried to press. On defense, he was disruptive at the point of attack, deflecting passes and forcing turnovers. He finished with 9 points.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1187959" first="Larenzo" last="Jerkins"] | 6’6 F ‘24 Neumann-Goretti (PA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Without 6’8 F ‘23 [player_tooltip player_id="1279647" first="Sultan" last="Adewale"], Jerkins stepped up big time against Gonzaga (DC). He ran the floor hard and picked up several buckets in transition. Larenzo scored the rest of his 15 points in the half court on dump offs. On the other end, he was physical down low, anchoring the Saints defense.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1049867" first="Anthony" last="Davenport"] | 6’9 C ‘23 St. John’s College (DC)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">SJC faced two different styles of teams on Saturday in Imhotep and Camden. Against the small-yet-fast Imhotep, AD moved his feet well on defense to limit their paint touches. Where he really hurt them was on the glass, grabbing rebounds to get the ball back to his team. The catch-and-shoot three and the 5 points he scored were a bonus. In the Camden game, he went toe-to-toe with 7’0 C ‘23 Aaron Bradshaw and was solid.</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">[player_tooltip player_id="1477721" first="Ma’Kye" last="Taylor"] (6’7 F/C ‘24) + [player_tooltip player_id="1173985" first="Jeremiah" last="White"] (6’6 F ‘24) | Imhotep (PA)</span></p> <p style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Taylor &amp; White are the Panthers “big men.” Neither of them scored against SJC but they still positively impacted the game. Makye’s wide body and strength gave him the leverage against the taller bigs when he defended in the post and set screens on offense. Jeremiah’s motor is always an asset. He denied SJC’s bigs by fronting them and held his own when switched on to perimeter players. The combined skill sets of Teps 2024 forwards kept the opposing team from exploiting the size mismatch.</span></p> <p><strong>Other Sleeper Wings &amp; Bigs</strong></p> <p>Kamari Brashar | 6’6 F ‘24 Abington</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1013075" first="Carson" last="Howard"] | 6’8 C ‘23 Archbishop Wood</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1190330" first="Pearse" last="McGuinn"] | 6’7 F ‘24 Cardinal O’Hara</p> <p>Anthony Lilly | 6’7 ‘F/C ‘24 Father Judge</p> <p>Chris Santer | 6’9 C ‘23 St. Thomas Aquinans</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1400497" first="Erik" last="Oliver-Bush"] | 6’4 Wing ‘23 Trenton Catholic</p> <p>For more basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter/IG at @CGraham_Sports </p>