Essexfest Eye Catchers

With holiday tournaments entirely in the rear view mirror and the high school season fully in the swing of things, attention now has shifted to the ongoing regular season action taking place all across the state of New Jersey. And with that comes highly anticipated and super competitive showcases on the weekends. New on the 2025-2026 season calendar is the Essexfest— a showcase that featured an interesting crop of intriguing prospects and some of Essex County's better programs. With that being said, let's dive into some prospects who stood out over the course of last weekend's action.    A fundamentally sound basketball player who possesses intriguing size and length, [player_tooltip player_id='3143809' first='Andrew' last='Barry'] was extremely impactful on the interior for Ridgewood— particularly in the rebounding department and as a finisher around the basket. Providing tremendous value in the paint, Barry consistently crashed the glass and came down with rebounds both on the offensive and defensive glass coupled with exhibiting a strong ability to fight for position from different angles in the low post and finish with sound touch around the basket.     Extremely crucial to his overall growth as a valuable guard and his long term development, [player_tooltip player_id='2344534' first='James' last='Roberts'] continues to show strides in his expanded skillset— a more polished floor game that features his expanded comfortability creating off the bounce. Roberts looked more natural attacking driving lanes and manipulating different PnR coverages to create for himself off the dribble and finish in traffic at the rim. Roberts impressed with not only his growing understanding and confidence attacking certain driving angles but also the poise he played with in certain PnR scenarios— setting up ball screens, splitting defenders, and playing off two feet. Roberts also showed good intangibles at the POA as an on ball defender as well as an off ball defender— forcing steals and turnovers to turn defense into easy offense in transition.     Thriving in a unique role that often requires him to shoulder responsibilities of being a confident spot up shooter and a reliable and sound facilitator, [player_tooltip player_id='2884521' first='Bryce' last='McCray'] delivered another standout performance that highlighted much of that skillset and what brings to Seton Hall Prep's offense. McCray flashed his passing feel paired with his impressive court vision— making a number of flashy passes, ultimately highlighting his ability to see plays develop before they actually happen. Drawing significant gravity as a shooter, McCray also impressed with how he attacked closeouts— consistently getting into the paint and finishing with soft touch floaters and crafty layups around the rim.     A dynamic and versatile shot maker with exceptionally smooth shooting mechanics, [player_tooltip player_id='2504780' first='Infinite' last='Sincere-AmenRa'] showcased his ability to make defenses pay for late closeouts and lazy shot contests. Sincere-AmenRa was highly effective from beyond the arc— excelling as a perimeter spot up shooter while also flashing his ability to be just as smooth a shot maker off the bounce from outside, ultimately showcasing accuracy and confidence off the catch. Sincere-AmenRa also flashed his mid range shooting ability, knocking down smooth in rhythm pull ups and even a tough turn around fadeaway. Sincere-AmenRa also showed intangibles that make him even more dangerous far beyond his shooting percentage— moving well without the ball and relocating, shooting it with extreme confidence, and consistency hunting his shot.     A table setting point guard who possesses a unique combination of blazing end to end speed, passing feel, and strong on court awareness, [player_tooltip player_id='2201947' first='Anthony' last='Gonzalez'] shined in his ability to control the tempo of the game and leverage his speed to be a high IQ playmaker— particularly in open floor scenarios and different half court actions. Gonzalez made a number of reads that highlighted his ability to be a difference maker with the ball in his hands— attacking the gaps against St. Mary's zone to force defenders out of position and collapse the defense, advancing the ball up the floor to teammates ahead, and even getting in the paint to attract help and generate open shots. Seton Hall Prep's defensive pressure also awarded Gonzalez plenty of opportunities to turn defense into easy offense and push in transition and ultimately get to the free throw line.     [player_tooltip player_id='2421371' first='Akeem' last='Paul'] is a long and energetic forward who makes his mark off activity on both the offensive and defensive sides of the floor. A little more advanced on the defensive end of the floor, Paul showcased his ability to hang his hat on timely shot blocking, strong rebounding, and disrupting passing lanes with his fluidity and mobility at his size. Offensively, although still developing, Paul was extremely active on the offensive glass, particularly generating second chance opportunities for his Payne Tech squa     A quick guard who excels in the open floor, [player_tooltip player_id='3300833' first='Ilijah' last='Adams'] impressed with his ability to affect the game in transition— using his speed to push the tempo in transition and take advantage of long rebounds and the defense not getting set to push in transition and semi transition opportunities to finish on the other end. Assuming the responsibilities of his typical playing duties, Adams was also impressive at getting in the paint off the bounce to collapse the defense and create clean advantageous scoring chances for his teammates.

With holiday tournaments entirely in the rear view mirror and the high school season fully in the swing of things, attention now has shifted to the ongoing regular season action taking place all across the state of New Jersey. And with that comes highly anticipated and super competitive showcases on the weekends. New on the 2025-2026 season calendar is the Essexfest— a showcase that featured an interesting crop of intriguing prospects and some of Essex County's better programs. With that being said, let's dive into some prospects who stood out over the course of last weekend's action.