NEBL Championship Weekend: Honorable Mentions Part 2

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The New England Basketball League held its championship weekend at New Balance Headquarters in Brighton, MA on Saturday and Sunday (2/15 and 2/16). I'll be doing three top teams as well as some honorable mentions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To be clear, being included in previous NEBL articles does not mean you can't be included in these ones. There are many players who will be written about multiple times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here was my&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/nebl-championship-weekend-1st-team/">1st Team</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/nebl-championship-weekend-2nd-team/">2nd Team</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/nebl-championship-weekend-3rd-team/">3rd Team</a>&nbsp;from this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is <a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/02/nebl-championship-weekend-honorable-mentions-part-1/">part 1 of my honorable mentions</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below is part two of my honorable mentions, and that'll conclude my coverage from this weekend!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1532411"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67b608e85bd90"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">I've seen Bollin in AAU, where he's a big-time driver who loves to get into the paint and finish with his left. But with Newman, he shifts his role to a ball mover and little things guy, which is admirable. He is probably the best kick-ahead passer at the NEBL; he's always looking to push the pace and throws incredibly crisp passes up the court. He's also a great extra passer in the half court and can hit an open three semi-consistently. Defensively, Bollin often takes the most difficult matchup and is certainly not afraid to mix it up in the paint; he's strong, tough, and athletic. The junior should be a scholarship player and would really benefit from making his shot a bit quicker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2547062"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67b608e85be20"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Yes, Dhillion is an undersized big at only 6-foot-7. However, he makes up for his lack of size with solid strength and an incredibly cerebral post game. He has excellent footwork and positioning offensively, and he's one of the better post passers I've seen at the high school level, consistently finding backdoor cutters and shooters on the weak side. His lack of size might limit his scholarship chances – unless he can develop some more perimeter skills – but I could imagine him having an incredibly successful high-level D3 career somewhere as a result of the way he thinks the game.<br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1204660"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67b608e85be73"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Jones was attached at the hip to Tillery for the entirety of Saturday's matchup between Cushing and New Hampton. The 6-foot-4 guard/wing is excellent defensively, even though he may not get a lot of steals or blocks; he just slides his feet really well and doesn't take too many chances on that end, but he almost never gets beat off the dribble. Offensively, he can make an open three here and there and is good at attacking closeouts. I would imagine he'll play a defensive/ball mover role at Penn next year but is ready to do so right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2325768"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67b608e85bed7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Davis is a very strong human being. He's only 6-foot-7, but he makes up for it with TONS of strength. He can bully his way under the rim against other bigs because of how compact and dense he is, and he's got some finishing touch around the rim which allows him to figure it out amongst the trees. It'll be tough for him to be a center at the scholarship level, but Davis is probably unique enough to find his way to a scholarship. I would also be shocked if some D1 football coaches haven't inquired about his willingness to switch sports. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2546823"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67b608e85bf44"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Dering is a joy to watch in layup lines, where he gets his head above the rim and has the body of an ox. The 6-foot-9 forward is a freak athlete who uses his strength and athleticism to carve out space in the paint for offensive rebounds, but his offensive skills are definitely still coming along. If the Air Force commit could ever figure out his footwork and learn to effectively finish around the rim, he could be a transfer candidate out of Air Force to somewhere way higher. Big time potential for Dering.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->