Middlesex Magic College Night Standouts: Part 1

On Monday night, I attended the Middlesex Magic college night, where a bunch of their high school teams competed against each other. There were tons of coaches in the gym and tons of talent on hand. Here is part one of my standouts.    Quinlan is usually one of my favorite players to watch, and he didn't disappoint during the college night on Monday. The 6-foot-1 guard is always dribbling with his eyes up and scanning the floor, which allows him to make on time, on target passes to teammates consistently. He has a really nice handle and a compact, controlled jump shot that is quite effective, and he can shoot it from the midrange and three (he gets solid elevation in the midrange). I would imagine he'll be an incredibly key player for Roxbury Latin next season, and I'll be very curious to see how the sophomore adds to his game this AAU season.     OConnell is as solid as they come. During the showcase, he was knocking down three-balls left and right; off the catch, off the dribble, on the move, etc... he was hitting everything. When his shot wasn't there, he was able to attack closeouts and use euro steps in the lane to carve out space for finishes, or he consistently made extra passes on the perimeter for easy shots. He's always going to make the right play, and he can play any role you need him to. On Cushing, he's a role player and little things guy. But on this Magic squad, he's more of a playmaker and creator.     It's incredibly rare to see a high school player with as quick a shot release as Gretz. The 6-foot-5 senior (reclassifying to 2026 next year) will catch the ball above his shoulders and go straight into his shot -- a classic catch high, keep high -- but he'll actually knock it down with consistency. He also seems to have bulked up physically since the last time I saw him. If he can get quicker laterally and improve his handle, he could get some really high D3 looks, and maybe even some D2 looks. Right now, though, I would slot Gretz in as a D3 player who should get a lot better at Phillips Exeter next season.     This was my first time seeing Bey play and I was very impressed by his IQ and skillset. He's undersized for the forward position -- only 6-foot-5 -- but he's very hefty and strong, which makes up for his lack of vertical size. He does a great job operating out of the high post as a hand-off hub, and he was consistently finding backdoor cutters for easy layups. If the help doesn't come, Bey is able to completely bulldoze his way to the front of the hoop with his strength and balance, though he sometimes struggles against really large bigs. He should definitely find a college home somewhere.     Blackburn was maybe the most athletic prospect at the college showcase. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward can really get up for rebounds and has the toughness to fight with other bigs in the paint. Once he gets a board, he's off and running, showcasing his deer-like athleticism. He can be a bit out of control at times, but he shows flashes of great potential on the offensive end. If he can figure out his shot selection and getting to two feet in the paint, he can be a really great player.

On Monday night, I attended the Middlesex Magic college night, where a bunch of their high school teams competed against each other. There were tons of coaches in the gym and tons of talent on hand. Here is part one of my standouts.