Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic Additional Eye Catchers

A staple on the New Jersey basketball calendar and one of the more highly anticipated events in the state, the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic once again brought together a compelling mix of talent—highlighted by many of New Jersey's most well established players along with several under the radar prospects. Hosted this year at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, the event was organized by The Hoop Group in partnership with the Team Hill Foundation. Each year, the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic provides a competitive platform for high level play across multiple days of intense action. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the some of the additional prospects who turned in standout performances over the weekend.    A rangy and high motor tweener with noticeable athleticism and legitimate two way impact, [player_tooltip player_id='2148602' first='Eric' last='Hillsman'] once again leveraged his physical tools into productive play, particularly thriving off activity around the basket on both ends of the floor. The lengthy southpaw's constant activity allowed him to be a true difference maker on the interior— being effective as both a rim runner and lane runner to punish the opposing defense for weak transition defense while also being effective as a timely and instinctive cutter in the half court, catching dump offs in the dunker spot from penetrating guards and even capitalizing off second chance opportunities on the offensive glass. Defensively, Hillsman dominated the rebounding department— consistently crashing the glass and coming down with rebounds to secure possessions.     In just a short time since migrating to the United States from Bulgaria, [player_tooltip player_id='3270146' first='Daniel' last='Hinkov'] has already developed a reputation as one of the state's most dangerous perimeter shooters. Extremely confident from three point range, Hinkov demonstrated a potent and versatile shooting ability—proving equally effective as a spot up shooter as he is a shooter off the bounce. Hinkov also impressed in his ability to allow his gravity as a shooter to open up additional offense for himself, particularly in the ways he was able to get to his spots in the mid range area off the bounce. With legitimate positional size paired with a strong frame and some toughness to him, Hinkov was also extremely impactful in the rebounding department, generating a number of impactful second chance points on the offensive glass.     [player_tooltip player_id='2508723' first='Michael' last='Postell Jr']. is an intriguing guard prospect who blends excellent positional size with legitimate ball skills and notable long term upside. Postell Jr turned in an impressive scoring performance, one that particularly highlighted his instinctual feel and ability to still be effective without the ball in his hands— moving well off the ball for backdoor cuts in Benedict's different half court actions. Postell Jr. was also effective creating offense for himself off the dribble— attacking certain driving angles off the bounce to convert on soft touch floaters and runners from different angles around the basket in traffic. With Benedict's guard rotation being a little thin in this matchup, Postell Jr. also impressed with his ability to shoulder some of the ball handling responsibilities for moments at time and initiate offense. Defensively, Postell Jr. made a handful of high impact plays as well— leveraging his glaring length to be disruptive at the point of attack to turn intense ball pressure into easy offense on the other end.     A key contributor for this Patrick School group largely due to his dynamic ability to shoulder most of the ball handling responsibilities and orchestrate offense while also remaining a scoring threat, [player_tooltip player_id='2421355' first='Kyle' last='Dixon'] stood out with his ability to keep the defense honest and maintain a healthy balance between scoring and facilitating. Dixon's scoring arsenal saw him contribute not only flashing his outside shooting ability but also getting to his spots in the mid range and baiting his defenders into contact in the paint for easy trips to the free throw line. Tasked with initiating a lot of Patrick School's different actions, Dixon was also effective creating open looks for his teammates and getting them the ball in the right spots.     A strong and powerfully built scoring guard who invites contact around the basket while also being extremely dangerous from beyond the three point arc, [player_tooltip player_id='2621316' first='Matthew' last='Kennedy'] turned in a standout performance that highlighted his ability to score the basketball from different areas on the floor. Often shouldering a lot of the offensive production and benefiting from St. Mary's different actions putting an emphasis on his amount of touches, Kennedy's diverse and aggressive consisted of him using his strong bodied frame to get to the basket off the bounce while also getting to his spots in the in between area for smooth mid range pull ups. As the game went on, Kennedy settled into a nice rhythm from three point range showcasing his lethal shooting ability— thriving as a catch and shoot option while also demonstrating his ability to be effective as a movement shooter, not only generating open looks as a screener himself but also utilizing different screens and pindowns to get open out around the perimeter.     [player_tooltip player_id='2628248' first='Terrance' last='Jamison'] is a high motor forward who possesses glaring athletic pop who in this matchup against St. Mary shined in his ability to consistently put pressure on the rim. Continuing to show increased growth and confidence in his game handling the basketball and attacking off the bounce, Jamison once again impressed with a downhill attacking approach— aggressive in attacking driving angles both in different half court actions and pushing the break in transition/ semi-transition opportunities to get to the basket and either absorb contact to get to the free throw line or finish around the basket in traffic.     [player_tooltip player_id='3434708' first='Malik' last='Sonko'] is a valuable interior presence for this St. Benedict's group whose constant activity around the rim makes him impactful on both ends of the floor. He consistently asserted himself as a difference maker in the paint, displaying strong finishing ability inside—particularly thriving in the dunker spot catching dump offs from penetrating guards who got deep in the paint while also generating second chance opportunities on the offensive glass, ultimately showing potent touch and footwork around the basket. Sonko was also extremely impactful on the defensive boards, fighting on the glass and coming down with rebounds to secure possessions.

A staple on the New Jersey basketball calendar and one of the more highly anticipated events in the state, the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic once again brought together a compelling mix of talent—highlighted by many of New Jersey's most well established players along with several under the radar prospects. Hosted this year at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ, the event was organized by The Hoop Group in partnership with the Team Hill Foundation. Each year, the Dennis Gregory Memorial Classic provides a competitive platform for high level play across multiple days of intense action. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the some of the additional prospects who turned in standout performances over the weekend.