Big Jersey Championship Notables

The Big Jersey Basketball series wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Caldwell University in Caldwell, NJ hosting both the consolation and championship games. Saturday's action saw two of New Jersey's top ranked teams go at it in a highly anticipated matchup that went wire to wire— a battle between Bergen Catholic and St. Peter's. With several high profile prospects on display across both programs, here's a closer look at the players who turned heads over the course of this year's Big Jersey championship.    A powerfully built forward with a strong frame and elite length who thrives off interior physicality, [player_tooltip player_id='1595675' first='Julius' last='Avent'] exhibited rugged and unyielding toughness around the basket. With the physicality he plays with and his willingness to invite contact, Avent excelled finishing around the basket— particularly with his potent back to the basket game, backing defenders down and with tough and timely offensive putbacks on the offensive glass, capitalizing off second chance opportunities. Although he lived around the basket and seemed to do most his production on the interior, Avent still flashed some of his guard skills— creating off the bounce in isolation from the perimeter to get in paint and finish in traffic around the basket. Highly effective on the defensive end of the floor as well, Avent leveraged his glaring physical tools to also be just as impactful on that side of the floor as well, winning battles on the boards and affecting shot attempts at the rim.     [player_tooltip player_id='1609109' first='Richie' last='Rosa'] is an experienced and high energy point guard who regularly handles the primary ball handling duties and often serves as the engine of St. Peter's offense, controlling the tempo of the game and possessing a glaring command of the offense. Remaining composed under pressure, Rosa adjusted well to the different defensive coverages Bergen Catholic threw up, particularly in ball screen actions, ultimately remaining a threat to score while looking to get his teammates the ball in the necessary spots to be successful— using his quickness and speed to push the tempo in transition, splitting ball screen blitzes for crafty finishes at the basket, spraying out to open shooters out on the perimeter, creating mid range pull ups for himself off the bounce, and even flashing his catch and shoot ability from three point range.     [player_tooltip player_id='2342638' first='Jaden' last='Brown'] is a cerebral lead guard who routinely demonstrates strong command of the offense— largely due to his overall dynamic playmaking ability coupled with his strong feel for the game as a balanced and savvy scorer and a facilitator. Possessing a unique ability to make things happen at any given moment, Brown remained a threat to score, with efficiency, while also being a decisive and reliable facilitator— attacking closeouts for physical drives and tough finishes in traffic at the basket while also demonstrating his feel in the PnR, particularly as a scorer in key moments down the stretch, converting on tough drives in the lane and showcasing his soft shooting touch, hitting smooth turn around fadeaways in the mid range area off the bounce.     Providing a legitimate scoring punch off the bench that gave Bergen Catholic a conscientious spark plug offensively in moments in which they attempted to find a nice rhythm as a unit and get into a real flow offensively, [player_tooltip player_id='2347952' first='Jahlil' last='Owusu'] stepped in tremendously and impressed with his ability to essentially operate as a microwave scorer in this wire to wire matchup against St. Peter's. Not shying away from the moment and looking to assert himself as a self assured guard capable of getting hot, Owusu was aggressive and confident as soon as he checked in while also scoring the basketball with enhanced efficiency— connecting on a pair of fadeaway jumpers in the mid range area off the bounce while also showcasing an ability to navigate ball screens with poise and patience, letting action(s) develop, for a mix of tough finishes at the basket and soft touch finishes around the rim.     Every bit of the definition of a versatile plug and play fit at the guard position who plays with a noticeable level of toughness and selflessness to consistently and reliantly aid his team, the experienced [player_tooltip player_id='1595680' first='Mason' last='Santiago'] was much of himself throughout the course of this grind it out matchup against Bergen Catholic— a fearless and versatile combo guard making difference making plays on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Highly effective at contributing wherever need be and doing whatever the flow of the game calls for, Santiago made sharp decisions with the ball in his hands with his confident handle and strong court vision while also remaining a threat to score with a mixture of strong finishes around the basket and soft touch finishes in the painted area. Pairing that poise as potent overall playmaker with a physical and stout presence on the defensive end of the floor as a versatile defender, Santiago was effective guarding multiple positions all over the floor and crashing the glass and coming down with timely rebounds for St. Peter's.     Continuing to cement himself as reliable and dependable contributor as a legitimate two way impact wing, [player_tooltip player_id='2858267' first='Oscar' last='Martinez'] impressed once again— particularly with his feel as a seamless offensive fit and with the physical tools and toughness to be extremely effective on the defensive end of the floor. Probably one of the more impressive parts of his game is Martinez's movement off the ball, as he seems to always be looking to cut to open space to generate and capitalized off easy looks at the basket. Martinez also flashed his catch and shoot ability, knocking down a timely open look in the second half for St. Peter's. Possessing the necessary length and noticeable physical toughness to be impactful in the rebounding department and as a versatile defender, Martinez found himself crashing the boards for second chance opportunities and securing possessions while also being technically sound at the point of attack.     Throughout the course of the season thus far, [player_tooltip player_id='3040469' first='Nick' last='Ferdinand'] has soundlessly emerged as an intricate and intriguing presence in the frontcourt for this St. Peter's group— showcasing his value with a versatile skillset highlighted by an overall strong all around performance in this narrow loss to Bergen Catholic. Developing into a real threat to knock down outside shots, Ferdinand flashed his floor spacing ability early on before countering his shooting touch with his physicality and bruising play on the interior— being impactful on the offensive glass for tough putbacks while also flashing his back to the basket game in the low post, particularly with his ability to both play make for others and create for himself out of touches on the block.     Emerging as the catalyst for Bergen Catholic's resilient fourth quarter comeback, the scrappy [player_tooltip player_id='2202019' first='Alex' last='Mazzella'] made a number of difference making plays down the stretch to help his team seal the resurgent victory over St. Peter's Prep. Proving to be a selfless and high impact player, Mazzella dug deep as Bergen Catholic faced an 11 point deficit, ultimately embracing doing a lot of the little things that impact winning— pressuring the ball coupled with keen defensive instincts and a tenacious effort to come up with a huge steal that led to an easy layup off an inbound turnover and launching a precise and on target length of the court in bound pass for an easy full court layup on the offensive end, all before knocking down a timely three from the perimeter that spark plugged this triumphant comeback for Bergen Catholic.     Emerging as a legitimately strong frontcourt depth piece for this Bergen Catholic, particularly in the spot minutes he's provided, [player_tooltip player_id='2833843' first='Owen' last='Wucherpfennig'] exhibited what his impact looks like, even in the early stages of his on court development, on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Wucherpfennig's intriguing combination of positional size, towering length, and extremely high motor allowed him to be a consistent presence on the interior— rim protection highlighted by strong wall ups against shot attempts at the rim, impactful offensive putbacks to capitalize off second chance opportunities on the glass, and crashing the boards on the defensive glass with purpose to secure rebounds.

The Big Jersey Basketball series wrapped up Saturday afternoon at Caldwell University in Caldwell, NJ hosting both the consolation and championship games. Saturday's action saw two of New Jersey's top ranked teams go at it in a highly anticipated matchup that went wire to wire— a battle between Bergen Catholic and St. Peter's. With several high profile prospects on display across both programs, here's a closer look at the players who turned heads over the course of this year's Big Jersey championship.