Next Up BCL Prospects

New readers: Use code Proia30     The Baltimore Catholic league has quietly been performing as probably the second best league in the area, nipping at the heels of the WCAC as a conference with great depth as even the lower-to-middle of the league has exciting pieces in their core group of prospects. I watched Calvert Hall vs Spalding at both the JV and varsity level in addition to Mt Carmel hosting the varsity/JV groups from John Carroll. Nice mix of established underclassmen playing well in addition to some exciting young prospects. Let's dive in!    14p 7r 2a 2s vs Calvert Hall   -Busse had a red-hot finish to the end of the 1H, with the ETSU commit hitting 4/5 shots down the stretch of the 1H by chipping in on the glass and poking out steals. Busse got it going with a stop n pop in the paint, scored off a well-timed backdoor cut, hit a huge transition 3, and hit his defender with an up fake in the paint before stepping through to score at the rim. Loved the way that he used that shooting/scoring gravity in the 2H, dishing out several hockey assists within the Cavaliers' offense to maintain their lead.     Mo G 13p 4a 4r 2s vs Calvert Hall   -Lonergan performed well in a spot start as the Cavaliers deal with some injuries in their backcourt. We got to see the full range of his skillset but he had a great 1H especially to get Spalding out to an early lead. Lonergan scored off an AND1 layup after getting the step on his matchup, had a beautiful dime off the bounce to a cutter, drove it straight down the middle before he hit the AND1 layup with the left off the window, scored on a runout later in the quarter, then stole away his matchup's defensive rebound in the 3Q and forced up a shot to draw a hard foul that sidelined him for the rest of the night. A kicker on the gridiron this past fall and a captain on the soccer team, the leadership traits translate between each sport as he's a steady, confident play-maker in each setting.     6p 2a vs Mt. Carmel   -A standout running back with John Carroll's varsity group, like the 2-way impact that Shoffner makes as a leader for this group. Shoffner made a great read to hit his matchup with a double crossover to gain enough leverage to kick to a shooter for a wide open 3, hit a C+S 3 himself from the wing later in the 2Q, had a successful dig down to the post to force a turnover off the big man's leg, and had a huge drive and dish to a big late in the 2H to make it a 3-possession team for his team late. Hard to measure the impact that he has on this team because of how deep the rotation is, but loved his contributions in this one.     5p 12r 2a 1b vs Mt Carmel   -Loved the grit and lunch pail approach from Westervelt in a nice road win over the BCL's leading team. Westervelt was super valuable on the glass to close possessions in the 1H (8 rebounds, 6 defensive) for the Patriots to set the tone early in a matchup between two scrappy teams. Had a great string of plays where he grabbed a tough O board in traffic and found a shooter to put John Carroll ahead by 2 baskets in the 1H, scored off a backdoor cut and finish to start the 3Q, and continued to fly around defensively until he followed out with just under a minute left.     22p 8r 2a 1s 2b vs Calvert Hall   -Even on a night where the shot wasn't particularly falling, Avery still found a way to impact the game to finish with a near 20-point double double. Avery used his pivot to create better finishing angles off of offensive rebounds, jumped a passing lane for the steal and kicked ahead to a teammate for the runout, had a great cross court cut and duck-in for several buckets around the rim that either scored or drew a foul. His best sequence was midway through the 3Q as he recovered well on his matchup to glass a layup attempt, scored on a transition extension lay, and had an acrobatic 2-handed alley oop finish in transition. The blend of size, athleticism, and ball skills combine for a prospect with big-time upside.     16p 5r 1a 3s vs John Carroll   -Williams battled through some tough TOs in the 1H to still make a positive impact on the game as a dynamic 2-way slashing guard. Williams started things off with a stepback 3, curled around the big at the elbow to catch the pass to score off the face cut, hit a floater with the left, scored twice off of baseline drives from the corner, and applied a ton of ball pressure both on and off the ball for OLMC. Want to see him tighten his handle to allow him to find teammates off the bounce without turning it over to unlock another level of value as a prospect.     27p vs Calvert Hall   -First time seeing the 2-sport stud (starting QB on varsity) and Snowden really impressed in this one. His command of his team at both ends of the floor really stood out as a play-maker that can call his own number or create for a teammate. He hit his defender with a beautiful spin move into the baseline pull-up, turned several steals into points at the other end, followed his own miss to score off the putback before the defense could recover, executed middle drives before he found his bigs in the dunker's spot for easy buckets, and burst through tight gaps/double teams in the defense to find his way to the rim. The blend of paint touches, shooting off the bounce, free throws, and speed in the open floor should make him an impact player for the Cavaliers for years to come.     5p 10r vs Calvert Hall   -Thabeet is new to the game-- but I liked his approach and you can't teach his size. He finished with five points and probably had double-digit rebounds to go with at least 4 assists as an unselfish passer looking to make plays for his teammates when the double teams closed in on him. Thabeet had a high post dime to a cutter, scored off a good catch and finish in traffic, and rotated well from the weak side to block or contest shots throughout the game. More prospect than player right now, but definitely a name to keep tabs on over the next 3.5 years on New Cut Road.

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