Board 27 Comcast Tournament Monday Night Standouts

On Monday night, I attended the final two games of the Board 27 Comcast Tournament at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. In the championship game, Central Catholic High School defeated Masconomet Regional High School in a hard-fought game.   In a showcase game to round out the action, Charlestown High School defeated Abington High School is an overtime thriller.   Here are some standouts from the two games.    Lopez only scored 15 points in Central Catholic's win against a tough Masco squad, but that's only because the sole purpose of the opposition's defensive game plan was to make life tough on him. Even so, the Brandeis commit handled the double teams very well and did a great job making the simple play for his teammates when the scoring opportunities for himself were limited. He did a great job taking contact and getting to the foul line, and he was able to take advantage of defensive mishaps at the rim and on the perimeter when they happened. Lopez should be an impact player right away at Brandeis next season, especially as he finally won't have to play against a defense designed to stop him.     Central Catholic probably doesn't win yesterday's championship game without the contributions from Pena. The sophomore was more effective as a shooter than I've seen him before—he was flying off screens and using great footwork to get himself set before knocking down shots—but he also did his fair share of work in the paint and on the boards. He guarded a couple of upperclassmen forwards quite well, and his skillset is improving by the game. Pena is going to be ready to take the torch from Lopez by the time next season rolls around if I had to guess. There's a lot to be unlocked in his offensive game, and more opportunities will show that.     Farrell was pretty easily Marco's best player last night. After going down 17-3 after the first quarter, it was the senior guard's offensive punch that allowed them to get back into the game. He has an incredible knack for getting to his spots in the mid range and elevating over the defense for jumpers, and he also takes contact very well at the rim. He also does a great job finding teammates when the defense collapses on him in the paint—he made multiple impressive weak-side reads to find cutters for layups. Farrell is a high D3 player in my opinion, and some more explosive dribble moves going left would really take his game to the next level.     In the first half of Charlestown's game against Abington, Day was easily Ctown's most impactful offensive player. He hit a couple outside shots, and then he excelled as a closeout attacker once the defense started overplaying his three ball. He had multiple and-one finishes at the rim, and he also had a good number of defensive stands on the ball. His size will certainly limit his recruitment, but a more consistent outside shot would surely help him out there. Regardless, Day is a part of one of the best backcourts in the state and has a chance to develop into a college player when the time comes.     The offensive boards were the difference in Charlestown's win over Abington last night, and Baez was the clear leader in that department. The 6-foot-5 big man has lots of heft to him, and he was completely impossible for anyone to box out in the paint. It seemed like he got an offensive rebound on 50% of the shots that went up on the offensive end, and then he was able to finish a bunch of them with contact. His perimeter game is going to need some work if he wants to play at the next level, but Baez has some pretty special physical tools. I wonder what he looks like on a football field if he plays. Total specimen who would probably be great on either line.     Brown recently scored his thousandth point, and you can see how. Though he's undersized, the 5-foot-10 guard has incredible speed and quickness and is thus impossible to stay in front of at the MIAA level, especially on fast breaks. Yesterday, his outside shot wasn't falling, but he did a great job setting up teammates for easy threes and layups by way of one-handed live dribble assists. When the overtime period started, it was Brown's outside shooting that clinched the game, even though he hadn't been hitting for the first 4 quarters. Brown needs to improve his strength and shooting ability, but he can play at the next level if he does so.     Maxwell is one of the most physically dominant and imposing forces in the entire MIAA. Against Charlestown, he had TONS of drives to the rim and finishes with contact, even when the defense sent numerous help defenders to the rim. However, some improvements to his handle, left hand, and shooting ability would make him more difficult to defend and would force the defense to guard him in different ways. He needs to improve his feel for the game and passing ability, but Maxwell is an amazing athlete who will definitely have opportunities to play at the next level and will probably improve a lot by playing with and against better players.     Staiti probably took a total of 20 dribbles last night, but he still scored more than 20 points and showcased a really impressive offensive skillset (Klay Thompson vibes). The 6-foot guard won't wow you with speed or quickness, but he's a flamethrower from three and understands how to move without the ball in order to give himself the best chance at getting his shot off. He can shoot it from deep, but he can also nail mid range jumpers if you overplay his three ball. He's a smart passer, too, though some improvement physically would really open up everything for him. Staiti is a really nice piece for Abington, and I'll be very curious whether he ends up hooping at the next level.

On Monday night, I attended the final two games of the Board 27 Comcast Tournament at Emmanuel College in Boston, MA. In the championship game, Central Catholic High School defeated Masconomet Regional High School in a hard-fought game.