Wilbraham and Monson Academy vs. Brimmer and May School Standouts

Wilbraham & Monson traveled to Brimmer & May for the last game of each of their regular seasons on Saturday, March 1st. W&M was too much on both ends for Brimmer and cruised to an 80-65 win. Onto the playoffs for them.   Here are my standouts from the game.    Kranz was FEELING IT from beyond the arc against Brimmer. He was 8/9 from three and they all might've been swishes. The lefty moves off the ball very well and has a beautiful release that he can get off from well behind the line if needed. He's also not bad at attacking closeouts, which he was doing a lot of after defenders started stepping out to him more aggressively. Defensively, Kranz is strong and can hold his own against larger wings. I'm not sure what his recruitment looks like, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up at a D1 or D2 school.     Okpara is a fascinating player. He's 6-foot-7 with ridiculously long arms and the ability to play in numerous spots on the court. Offensively, he can handle it well and has really good touch around the rim with both hands; he also has good footwork in the paint and some nice turnaround shots. Defensively, he's a wrecking ball who can guard basically anyone and does a really good job blocking shots at the rim and sliding his feet on the perimeter. Okpara is an amazing athlete who just reclassified to 2026, and I would imagine he'll end up with a scholarship somewhere.     Ajakaiye is a super quick PG who runs the show for Wilbraham and Monson. The 6-foot-1 point guard has a good handle and feel and is a very talented finisher at the rim with both hands. Defensively, he locks up when he's paying attention and is very good with his hands in the passing lanes. I don't see offers on Ajakaiye's twitter, but he'll most certainly play college ball somewhere. His size could be the reason why he isn't picking up D1 or D2 offers, though he could probably compete with a lot of those guys. It's also difficult to see him defend when W&M is in a 3-2 zone for the whole game, so coaches could be hesitant about that.     Martin is a lethal shooter, and you can tell by the fact that he missed his first few shots and went on to make a handful in a row in the second half; even though he had some rough misses initially, he kept firing without any hesitation and showed the innate confidence he has in his stroke. Martin adds a lot of floor spacing for Wilbraham and Monson; with both him and Kranz (splash bros) on the floor, defenses are forced to give Ajakaiye and Okpara easy lanes to the rim. He fills a wonderful role than I could imagine him filling at the next level nicely.     I'm sometimes disappointed by Payne's lack of aggression and selfishness in some games. I think at times he's too content to make the kick out pass as opposed to pressuring the rim. But against Wilbraham and Monson, he was impossible to stop from touching the paint and scoring. He showed off some really impressive lefty finishes at the rim and also was knocking down shots consistently from the mid-range and three. Defensively, he always competes very hard and has good instincts in the passing lanes. He's a definite D1 guy and I love the way he plays.     Idada is a big, big boy. And for 6-foot-6 and the physical build that he has, it's shocking how high he gets off the floor. His conditioning can be rough sometimes, but the way he elevates at the hoop is simply uncanny for his size and strength. He also has decent touch around the rim and isn't afraid to hit anyone. I was super impressed, too, with his vision in the middle of the zone. He made a lot of nice passes out to shooters. I need to know what Idada would look like as a defensive end – it's truly scary – but he can certainly play college hoops too.

Wilbraham & Monson traveled to Brimmer & May for the last game of each of their regular seasons on Saturday, March 1st. W&M was too much on both ends for Brimmer and cruised to an 80-65 win. Onto the playoffs for them.