Prospect Report: Friends League Playoffs

After decisive wins in the semifinals, George School and Academy of the New Church faced off in the Friends School League Friday night at LaSalle. The Cougars came away with their first FSL chip in school history, beating the Lions 64-61. Here are the prospects who shined in the process:   [player_tooltip player_id='1202039' first='Christian' last='Kirkland'] | 6'8 F 2023 Friends Select   The Falcons' swiss-army knife was all over the place against ANC. Offensively, he created space for himself around the basket, using his length and quickness to finish over and around the Lions for 11 points. 4 of his 7 boards came on that end as well, generating second-chance opportunities for the team. He flashed even more on defense, doubling as their rim protector and havoc-creator. Kirkland racked up 4 steals, one of which he took coast-to-coast for a lay, plus a block.   [player_tooltip player_id='1477774' first='Malik' last='Rasul'] | 6'8 F 2024 Westtown    Extremely short-handed versus GS, Rasul came out aggressive. He attacked the basket and converted tough layups for 6 points in the opening quarter. The Cali-native also cashed in a trey. His 11 total points were accented by his 5 rebounds while battling Nzeh and Bevilacqua inside.   Jarell Keels | 6'2 G 2023 ANC    Keels demonstrated the full-range of his game in the semis and the finals. Normally more of a glue-guy, he had 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals to go along with his 6 points in the FS-game. Uncommitted, the senior leader still had 4 steals and guarded at the point-of-attack during the chip, but he married that with his scoring. Keels put up 17 buckets, getting to the mid-range for his pull-up and into the lane.   Bahsil Laster | 6'5 G 2024 ANC   The big, two-way guard played his game against two very different teams. He turned nearly every paint touch into a layup or a trip to the free throw line in the semis (7-of-9). He was able to do a bit of the same in the championship game, but against a more packed paint. Laster hit threes in both games as well. The major difference was his assignment defense. Versus the Cougars, he hedged ball-screens and recovered while guarding Nzeh. He totalled 7 steals across both games and scored 16 and 15, respectively.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119156' first='Deywilk' last='Tavarez'] | 6'3 G 2023 ANC   ANC's primary offensive weapon, Tavarez was aggressive on defense, jumping passes and blitzing ball-handlers for 3 steals in each game. Further, he complimented his shot-making with creative playmaking throughout the playoffs. His 18 points and 4 assists against FS turned into 22 points and 4 assists against George School. On both occasions, his pull-up shooting opened up the rest of his creation ability.   [player_tooltip player_id='1153953' first='Luke' last='Bevilacqua'] | 6'11 C 2025 George School   Player of the game versus Westtown had to go to Bevilacqua. The big man progressively extended his range and showed how versatile of a scorer he can be. After his first quarter layup, he ran into a FT line jumper, then hit a spot-up three. Bevilacqua went back to using his touch inside before sinking another triple on his way to a game-high 19 points and 6 rebounds.   [player_tooltip player_id='1285466' first='Christian' last='Bliss'] | 6'4 G 2024 George School   After a loud 10 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals in the semis - including two steals for and-1 dunks - Bliss turned up the volume with 39 big ones to get his team the chip. He knocked down every kind of self-created jumper possible - side steps, stepbacks, etc. In addition to the perimeter scoring, the high-major guard got to the rim and cashed in at the charity stripe as the Cougars pulled out the victory.   [player_tooltip player_id='1119114' first='Onyekachi' last='Nzeh'] | 6'9 F/C 2023 George School   Nzeh's physicality inside made a difference in his team's championship run. His 10-points, 10-rebound double-double was more than enough to get the job done against Westtown. But they needed every bit of sweat he gave them to beat ANC. Being tagged on every roll and swarmed on each paint-touch, the Xavier signee powered through contact to score 18 points and grab 18 boards.    [player_tooltip player_id='901991' first='Dante' last='Weise'] | 6'0 G 2023 George School   A couple buckets and an assist short of a double-double, Weise was the maestro behind GS's semi-finals victory. He's the one who set the table for their shooters on the perimeter and served up their big men down-low. Going to the NE10's College of Saint Rose this fall, he threw his guys open with his crisp passes. Weise also cashed in spot-up and pull-up threes to help the Cougars advance.   Honorable Mention   [player_tooltip player_id='1608494' first='Dior' last='Carter'] | 6'3 W 2026 ANC   Jaylen Childs | 6'0 G 2025 Friends Select   Temir Davis | G 2023 Friends Select   [player_tooltip player_id='1369805' first='Jayden' last='Kelsey'] | 6'7 G 2025 Westtown   Carson Mastin | 6'3 G/W 2023 George School   [player_tooltip player_id='1383005' first='Cameron' last='Wallace'] | 6'5 W 2025 Westtown

After decisive wins in the semifinals, George School and Academy of the New Church faced off in the Friends School League Friday night at LaSalle. The Cougars came away with their first FSL chip in school history, beating the Lions 64-61. Here are the prospects who shined in the process: