Big Jersey Basketball Championship: Consolation Games Notables

The Big Jersey Basketball series came to a close this Saturday afternoon with the showcase hosting both its consolation and championship games this weekend at Caldwell University in Caldwell, NJ. Saturday's consolation games featured two matchups— battles between Roselle Catholic and Rutgers Prep as well as Gill St. Bernard's and Christian Brothers Academy. With a number of high profile prospects across both matchups, let's dive into some prospects who delivered standout performances.    An experienced guard with versatility, positional size and impressive feel for the game, [player_tooltip player_id='1919211' first='Dorsett' last='Mulcahy'] leveraged those intangibles to impact the game in a handful of ways— providing value as an efficient scorer, an unselfish connective passer, a versatile defender and a tough rebounder. An ultimate testament to the strides in his development since being in high school, Mulcahy settled into a nice rhythm from the perimeter— excelling as a dangerous threat off the ball and knocking down open three point shots at a highly efficient clip. Mulcahy also mixed in some crafty finishes at the rim— utilizing his creativity off the bounce to get to the basket along side some swift attacks of the basket in the open floor.     [player_tooltip player_id='2504904' first='Izayah' last='Cooper'] embodies the definition of an unselfish playmaker, pairing an advanced feel for the game with high-level court vision. He impressed with his composure as a primary ball handler, consistently creating quality looks for teammates through sharp reads and decisive play. Quick and fluid with the ball, Cooper routinely collapsed the defense, delivering passes to cutters and spot up shooters in rhythm. While playmaking remains his calling card, he also showed an ability to score when needed, converting on different looks at the basket in the paint and knocking down open threes to keep defenses honest.     A significant asset to Gill St. Bernard's offensive success, largely because of his versatile scoring and the constant mismatches he creates with the bal in his hands, [player_tooltip player_id='2917025' first='Prosper' last='Highlander'] delivered a strong performance that showcased so much of what his full offensive arsenal consists of. Utilizing his glaring foot speed and craftiness off the bounce, Highlander attacked the basket with aggression, generating significant rim pressure through a mix of swift dribble drives from the perimeter out of different sets Gill likes to run in the half court. Highlander also flashed his outside shooting ability, particularly off the catch, knocking down a number of open three point attempts as the game went on. Highlander plays with an extremely high motor and much of that energy also translates to the defensive end of the floor— pressuring the ball with energy and effort while leveraging his athleticism in the rebounding department.     [player_tooltip player_id='2397968' first='Connor' last='Junker'] delivered an eye catching shooting display, doing most of his damage from beyond the arc, once again showing why he commands constant and intense defensive attention. An exceptionally confident and reliable shooter, Junker knocked down multiple opportunistic looks with extended range, while showcasing his versatility as dangerous perimeter shot maker, staying in rhythm throughout Gill's matchup against CBA and asserting himself often.     Proving to be the catalyst for Roselle Catholic's offense, [player_tooltip player_id='1729825' first='Trey' last='Lewis'] brought pace, confidence, and creativity to Roselle Catholic's offense, consistently making his presence felt scoring the ball from multiple levels. A dynamic scorer with confidence and creativity, Lewis connected on outside shots while also finding ways to put pressure on the rim. In addition to his scoring and assuming slightly larger ball handling duties, he continued to flash developing playmaking instincts— making smart reads in transition by finding teammates in the dunker spot, hitting runners filling the lanes, locating baseline cutters in the secondary break, and kicking out to open shooters on the perimeter.     Continuing his upward trajectory as an extremely dependable and valuable piece in Rutgers Prep's group of guards with his consistent and efficient production, [player_tooltip player_id='3271441' first='Bryce' last='Williams'] demonstrated another more well rounded scoring performance. Reliantly productive as a threat off the ball, Williams exhibited his typical effectiveness as a spot up shooter— stepping into open attempts with clean and balanced footwork, strong elevation, and a quick and high release. Countering his shooting touch, Williams also attacked effectively off the bounce to exploit certain driving angles and convert on finishes around the basket.     A lethal and self assured shot making guard who not only impacts the game with his dangerous outside shooting touch but is also capable of making sound decisions as a reliable ball handler, [player_tooltip player_id='2504745' first='Chase' last='Bray'] put together bright moments that highlighted his full offensive arsenal. Bray is a poised and dangerous perimeter threat, displaying consistent deep range accuracy and routinely capitalizing on open catch and shoot opportunities beyond the arc. Operating as an additional ball handler capable of attacking off the bounce, Bray also demonstrated the ability to facilitate and create for teammates— attacking closeouts and driving angles to attract help defense and create clean scoring chances for his teammates, providing enough playmaking to keep the opposing defense honest.     A utility man who provides tremendous interior value with his high energy and ability to play much bigger than his on paper measurables, [player_tooltip player_id='1944384' first='Kahlik' last='Thomas'] delivered a strong performance that exhibited his ability to be a potent finisher around the basket. Ultimately thriving off activity and benefiting from a lot of the penetration that Roselle Catholic's guards produced off the bounce, Thomas converted on a number of quality looks— exploiting defensive help and rotations to receive dump offs from driving guards out of the dunker spot, taking advantage of Roselle Catholic's defensive pressure as a unit to force turnovers and get ahead of the defense for easy looks at the basket, cutting backdoor in half court actions against over zealous defenders.     A legitimate two way floor leader who combines confident ball handling and a commitment to getting his teammates involved with intensity and physicality as an on ball defender, [player_tooltip player_id='2344528' first='Jahmal' last='Dixon'] impressed in with his ability to impact the game on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. While remaining a threat to score, especially attacking the basket, Dixon also created a number of opportunistic scoring chances for his teammates— handling ball pressure while getting into the lane off the dribble with his head up and delivering precise and timely passes to perimeter shooters and teammates in the short corner. Dixon also pushed the tempo in transition, advancing the ball quickly to attempt early scoring opportunities. Defensively, he showed a strong commitment at the point of attack— displaying toughness and physicality pressuring the ball and disrupting opposing ball handlers.

The Big Jersey Basketball series came to a close this Saturday afternoon with the showcase hosting both its consolation and championship games this weekend at Caldwell University in Caldwell, NJ. Saturday's consolation games featured two matchups— battles between Roselle Catholic and Rutgers Prep as well as Gill St. Bernard's and Christian Brothers Academy. With a number of high profile prospects across both matchups, let's dive into some prospects who delivered standout performances.