NJBCA Tip-Off Showcase Additional Standouts

Now firmly established as a marquee fixture on New Jersey's high school basketball calendar, the NJBCA Tip-Off Showcase returned once again to Montgomery High School in Skillman, NJ to tip off the opening weekend of action across the state. Saturday's slate of competitive matchups showcased not only several of New Jersey's top programs, but also a collection of compelling prospects—ranging from proven college level talents to intriguing underclassmen with interesting long term upside. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at some more standouts from this past weekend's action.    [player_tooltip player_id='3243498' first='Nick' last='Tait'] possesses an interesting blend of glaring positional size, great length, and legitimate offensive skill. In SJR's matchup against Plainfield, Tait showed some really good flashes of what his long term upside could look like later down the line as a bigger point guard. Tait showed an ability to handle the basketball with confidence and comfortably initiate offense, highlighting his decision making capabilities. Tait also showed flashes of his shot making ability— compact spot up shooting, crafty finishing at the rim when driving lanes opened up, and even using his body to bump defenders and create separation to get to his spot(s) in the mid range area.     A bright spot for Ramapo's backcourt, [player_tooltip player_id='3243511' first='Finn' last='Marah'] provided extremely steady and reliable guard play over the course of Saturday's action. Marah was a true difference maker with the impact plays he made not only as a timely shot maker, scoring the basketball from different areas on the floor but also a reliable ball handler and decision maker as well as a strong on ball defender.     Emerging as a bright spot in the backcourt throughout the course of Saturday's action, [player_tooltip player_id='3243517' first='Michael' last='Moody'] provided steady shot making, particularly off the catch for Ramapo's offense. What seemed to be a buried look after buried look from three point range and a number of timely made shots down the stretch, Moody established and maintained a nice rhythm that saw him do a tremendous job of hunting his shot— finding openings in the half court and consistently staying shot ready off the catch.     A crafty guard who served as a legitimate offensive engine for Hudson Catholic's offense— [player_tooltip player_id='1595764' first='Elijah' last='Williams'] got into a steady rhythm that saw him constantly knock down tough shots over strong contests, particularly in the mid range area, highlighting his lethal pull up game off the dribble. A quick guard off the bounce, Williams touched the paint with ease and often, and made strong reads to generate open looks for his teammates at a really decent rate.     A confident sniper from three point range with deep range accuracy and phenomenal touch on his jumper, [player_tooltip player_id='2683648' first='Jayce' last='Rodriguez'] stood out as an overall smooth and confident shot maker. Rodriguez displayed his ability to be a versatile outside shooter who at a high rate, converts on open catch and shoot looks, movement opportunities coming off different types of screens, and even off the bounce when he creates separation and gets his shot off. Capable of creating for himself off the bounce at times, Rodriguez also flashed his ability to get to his spots in the mid range area and hit tough, contested pull ups.     Among a talented group of incoming freshman throughout the entire state, [player_tooltip player_id='3243555' first='Shelton' last='Gibbs III']'s much anticipated debut highlighted some of the long term upside that is in his skillset. Although young and still at the early stages of his development, Gibbs III strung together some bright moments, finding different ways to contribute for Hudson Catholic— particularly knocking down a pair of open catch and shoot threes, crashing the glass and generating second chance possessions, and even moving well without the ball and cutting to open space for easy looks at the basket.     [player_tooltip player_id='1609109' first='Richie' last='Rosa'] delivered a standout performance that featured an aggressive but efficient scoring attack on the day while also highlighting his facilitation skills in the ways he was able to get his teammates the ball in the right spots. Quick off the bounce, Rosa converted on a number of crafty layups and runners around the basket when driving lanes opened up while also showcasing his diverse shotmaking arsenal— knocking down open catch and shoot threes from the perimeter and mixing in some tough pull ups from beyond the arc and in the mid range area. Rosa also put together some really strong moments of his decision making ability highlighted by his court vision— getting in the paint and making sharp and on time passes to open teammates in the dunker spot and out to open shooters.     What was one of the more head turning showings throughout the entire day Saturday, [player_tooltip player_id='3243556' first='Connor' last='Benedict'] delivered a standout performance that highlighted his dangerous three point sharpshooting ability, particularly as a spot up shooter. Benedict caught fire early and got into a crazy rhythm from the perimeter— burying a number of open catch and shoot looks, with extreme confidence and deep range accuracy.

Now firmly established as a marquee fixture on New Jersey's high school basketball calendar, the NJBCA Tip-Off Showcase returned once again to Montgomery High School in Skillman, NJ to tip off the opening weekend of action across the state. Saturday's slate of competitive matchups showcased not only several of New Jersey's top programs, but also a collection of compelling prospects—ranging from proven college level talents to intriguing underclassmen with interesting long term upside. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at some more standouts from this past weekend's action.