Iverson Classic: Additional New Jersey Eye Catchers

High school basketball across New Jersey is in full swing, and as the season progresses, teams are beginning to establish their chemistry and find their rhythm. One of the more anticipated regular season showcases on the New Jersey high school basketball calendar is the Iverson Classic— where elite programs from Texas, Maryland, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania traveled to Paramus Catholic in Paramus, NJ for a weekend of competitive action. Among the many standout performances from Friday and Saturday's slate of games was an interesting group of New Jersey prospects. With that in mind, let's take another look at the players who caught attention and how they performed.    An extremely gritty and high powered forward who plays with a certain edge and an insane motor, [player_tooltip player_id='2201945' first='Andrew' last='Kretkowski'] continues to thrive as a legitimate plug and play fit on this St. Joe's Metuchen group with his versatile skillset at his position. In Saturday's matchup against Archbishop Carroll (PA), Kretkowski served as a formidable outlet in the middle against the zone, highlighting his sound feel for the game— turning and facing to convert on soft touch mid range jumpers and strong attacks off the bounce at the basket while also finding open shooters when the defense collapsed on him. Having no issue doing some of the dirty work, Kretkowski also was extremely impactful in the rebounding department consistently crashing the glass and coming down with boards while also showing that his skillset extends beyond the paint, flashing his ability as a reliable spot up shooter from three point range.     Largely responsible for a lot of the success Arts generates on the offensive end of the court, [player_tooltip player_id='1859563' first='Tyshaun' last='Boyd'] routinely serves as the engine that gets this offense going, particularly with his versatility and the different things the physical tools he possesses allow him to do on the floor. Possessing an interesting combination of glaring athleticism and explosive pop, Boyd shined in the different ways he was able to score the basketball— athletic above the rim finishes in transition, spot up shooting from the perimeter, knocking down fluid mid range jumpers, along side his ability to get downhill and convert on soft touch runners.     Fresh off committing to the Duke Blue Devils just a couple of weeks ago, the consensus five star point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1595679' first='Deron' last='Rippey Jr.'] continued to prove why he is amongst the elite guards in the entire country— particularly with the command of the offense he showed in Friday's action. Rippey Jr. is at his best when being aggressive downhill— leveraging his athleticism and quick change of pace to consistently apply pressure at the rim and convert on tough finishes in the paint. Throughout the course of this matchup against TPS, when the defense converged, Rippey Jr. showed strong feel and decision making ability— regularly finding teammates in advantageous scoring positions, and probably the part of his game that has seen tremendous growth over the course his overall development. His poise and confidence are evident and that continues to be proven true with each high level showing. Making a strong impact defensively, Rippey Jr. also brings consistent ball pressure— comfortable defending full court, navigating ball screens effectively, and excelling as a point of attack defender.     Having emerged as an intricate and reliable piece for Blair Academy's front court, particularly with the dynamic that his unique and versatile skillset brings, [player_tooltip player_id='2431506' first='Coleman' last='Elkins'] demonstrated much of that interesting layer his guard skills and mobility provide with a lot of the different actions Blair's offense gets into. Often times involved in a lot of offensive action, Elkins displayed his ability to attack certain driving angles off the bounce and get to the basket with confidence while also showing an ability to really stretch out the defense with his perimeter shooting ability, especially as a legitimate pick and pop threat.     [player_tooltip player_id='1581755' first='Al'Tariq' last='Reevey'] possesses an intriguing combination of elite length and rare fluidity and mobility at his size that allow him to be a dominant rim presence on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor, ultimately being a two way difference maker. Reevey routinely got to the free throw line and converted on a lot of those opportunities at the charity stripe, ultimately benefiting from College Achieve's emphasis to get the ball inside and his relentless ability to absorb contact on the bevy of low post hits he received over the course of this matchup against Faith Family Academy (TX).     Every bit of the definition of true seamless offensive fit at the guard position, [player_tooltip player_id='1865348' first='Jaen' last='Chatman'] continued to excel in a complementary guard role while showcasing his impact as an excellent perimeter threat. An extremely efficient spot up shooter from beyond the arc, Chatman repeatedly knocked down catch and shoot opportunities from three point range while also flashing his ability to be just as effective as a movement shooter. Chatman also showed a reliability to shoulder some of the ball handling responsibilities and orchestrate different actions at times when the offense called for it.

High school basketball across New Jersey is in full swing, and as the season progresses, teams are beginning to establish their chemistry and find their rhythm. One of the more anticipated regular season showcases on the New Jersey high school basketball calendar is the Iverson Classic— where elite programs from Texas, Maryland, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania traveled to Paramus Catholic in Paramus, NJ for a weekend of competitive action. Among the many standout performances from Friday and Saturday's slate of games was an interesting group of New Jersey prospects. With that in mind, let's take another look at the players who caught attention and how they performed.