Shooting Stars Basketball Showcase: More New Jersey Notables

The Shooting Stars Basketball Showcase made its return for a tenth consecutive year on Sunday at St. Francis Prep in Queens, NY, hosted by the Riverside Hawks AAU program. This year's event brought together a strong lineup of teams from New York, New Jersey, and New England— making it one of the most anticipated showcases in the NY area this season. In front of a packed gym and an impressive presence of college coaches and scouts, several New Jersey prospects made strong impressions throughout the day. With that in mind, let's take another look at the New Jersey standouts who drew attention on Sunday.    An excellent off ball threat, [player_tooltip player_id='3271441' first='Bryce' last='Williams'] continued his strong emergence as a reliable and productive guard out of Rutgers Prep's backcourt with the impact he brings providing optimal floor spacing in spite of facing a significant deficit what felt like the entire game versus St. Francis Prep (NY). Williams shined as a confident and efficient outside shot maker, particularly off the catch— stepping into shots with smooth and balanced footwork, getting good elevation on his jumper, and shooting the ball with a quick and high release.     Despite battling an immense deficit pretty much the entirety of the game against St. Francis Prep (NY), four star [player_tooltip player_id='2504896' first='William' last='Brunson'] still found ways to highlight much of the intrigue that surrounds the long term upside he possesses at his position. An impressive individual performance saw the left handed jumbo guard display the potential to develop into one of the premier two way wings in his entire class— smooth and confident spot up shooting with repeatable mechanics, crafty and smooth shot creation off the bounce, unselfish passing feel paired with impressive court vision, length to be an impactful and versatile defender, and high energy and effort to battle on the boards and rebound the basketball.     Emerging as a tremendously valuable depth piece for this unique St. Joe's Metuchen group of guards, [player_tooltip player_id='2887076' first='Jordan' last='Mason'] continued to thrive as a dangerous threat off the ball with his lethal and ultra confident outside shooting ability. Benefiting off the continuous ball reversals and the constant guard penetration that a lot of St. Joe's Metuchen offensive actions generate, Mason showcased his ability to be an excellent outside spot up shooting threat while also flashing his fluid perimeter shooting ability off the bounce.     Who's been a reliable and impressively productive guard to start the season for this St. Joe's Metuchen group, [player_tooltip player_id='2917859' first='Alijah' last='Murphy'] has thrived as a ferocious downhill attacking driver, and showed much of that during their matchup against Wings Academy (NY). Particularly in transition opportunities, Murphy took advantage of long rebounds and the opposing defense not being set coupled with St. Joe's Metuchen's emphasis to produce offense in the open floor to get ahead of the defense and convert on a number of easy looks at the basket on the offensive end.     A gritty and high octane forward who plays with a chip on his shoulder, four star [player_tooltip player_id='2201945' first='Andrew' last='Kretkowski'] continues to excel as a perfect complement to the makeup of this roster— benefiting from the opportunities St. Joe's Metuchen gets to speed up the tempo in games while also embracing doing a little bit of the dirty work. With St. Joe's Metuchen often times finding unique ways to speed up their opponents to force turnovers and get out in transition, Kretkowski often times finds himself generating a lot of offense in the open floor— much like he did during Sunday's action with a number of crafty, soft touch runners and floaters in transition. The workman like approach Kretkowski possesses also allowed him to be extremely impactful on the glass, constantly crashing the boards with purpose and grabbing rebounds.     A rare combination of glaring positional size coupled with legitimate ball skills and impressive feel for the game that translate to being a dynamic lead guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2202021' first='Aidan' last='Carter'] continued his impressive start to the season— showing poise as a ball handler and highlighting the allure that encompasses his long term potential as a jumbo playmaking guard. Although St. Joe's Metuchen got out to an extremely large lead early against Wings Academy (NY), Carter still stuffed the stat sheet, ultimately stringing together really bright moments that highlighted parts of his offensive skillset— bumping defenders for tough mid range pull ups, attacking driving angles for soft touch floaters in the paint, leveraging the unique size he possesses at his position to rebound the basketball at a highly effective rate, and attacking gaps to attract help defense and create clean scoring chances for his teammates demonstrating his sharp passing ability.     Consistently proving to be as lethal and confident an outside shooter as anybody in the entire state, [player_tooltip player_id='2202018' first='Rocco' last='Loomis'] continued to prove his reputation as a guard who defenses must actively locate and close out on at all times. Although Rutgers Prep faced a tough uphill deficit pretty much the entirety of the game against St. Francis (NY), Loomis still impressed as a spot up marksman— burying a number of open looks from three point range, with deep range accuracy as well. Beyond his shooting, Loomis also showed flashes of his ability to not only attack defensive closeouts and finish in the paint but also be an additional reliable ball handler for this offense.     Although still young and in the early stages of his development, [player_tooltip player_id='3354766' first='Holland' last='Johnson'] is already showing himself to be an immediate impact guard for Roselle Catholic so far this season and continued to prove that be true in Sunday's victory over Forest Hills (NY). A seamless fit with his ability to thrive off the ball particularly as a spot up shooter, Johnson showcased his ability to knock down opportunistic outside shots with confidence and efficiency, ultimately providing necessary shot making and floor spacing for this offense.

The Shooting Stars Basketball Showcase made its return for a tenth consecutive year on Sunday at St. Francis Prep in Queens, NY, hosted by the Riverside Hawks AAU program. This year's event brought together a strong lineup of teams from New York, New Jersey, and New England— making it one of the most anticipated showcases in the NY area this season. In front of a packed gym and an impressive presence of college coaches and scouts, several New Jersey prospects made strong impressions throughout the day. With that in mind, let's take another look at the New Jersey standouts who drew attention on Sunday.