NEBL Regular Season Finale: First Team

This weekend, the New England Basketball League held its regular season finale at the New Balance facility, Newman's home court, in Brighton, MA. All eight teams played 2 games—one on Saturday and one on Sunday—and there was some intense and high-level basketball played all around.   Over the next few days, I'll be covering some players that stood out.   To start, let's look at my first team from the weekend.    Samuels was Putnam's most consistent offensive player this weekend, and their squad was clearly the biggest winner of the NEBL's regular season finale. The 6-foot-2 guard might be the quickest player in the NEBL, and he uses that burst—combined with his excellent handle and slippery agility—to dart into the lane effortlessly. Once he gets there, he shows off excellent finishing chops and the ability to make accurate and timely spray out passes. Furthermore, he really impressed with his three point shooting this weekend, which is something that could really improve his recruitment if he got it figured out consistently. Defensively, he's a pest and has a lot more physicality and strength than you think. He's probably being under-recruited, but this weekend should help that.     I have to give Bollin his flowers from this weekend. The 6-foot-6 wing doesn't shoot the ball well from three, but he still finds a way to impact the game offensively with his ability to be a ball mover and connector, as well as one of the better screeners at the wing position I've seen. He's a phenomenal offensive rebounder, and he's one of the toughest guys in the region when it comes to matching the physicality of ANYONE, even an incredibly big and strong Putnam team. He makes all the hustle plays, he doesn't care about his stats, and it's very clear that all he wants to do is help his team win. The Brown University commit is going to make his college coaches VERY happy with his understanding of his strengths and role on a team, even as a freshman.     I continue to be dumbfounded by Jones' lack of recruitment (at least per his social media). D1 programs should be all over the 6-foot-6, versatile wing who was clearly CATS' best player this weekend. The senior does a phenomenal job finishing at the hoop with both hands, and he takes contact in the air better than almost anyone in the NEBL. In a win against New Hampton, he showed the ability to knock down shots from the mid range and three, which would make him an unbelievably intriguing prospect if that shooting proves to be consistent. Jones has literally everything you're looking for in a wing for today's game, so I can't imagine his recruitment not picking up in short order, especially after the weekend he just had.     On a weekend where [player_tooltip player_id='2341362' first='Jayden' last='Harrington'] couldn't find his shooting touch (a total rarity), it was Merritt that picked up a big portion of the offensive load for New Hampton. He had a huge second half in a loss against CATS on Saturday, showcasing his ability to knock down shots with range off of the catch and the dribble, as well as the slippery and crafty dribble game he has been known to have in his bag. He's super quick, super athletic, long and wiry, and he still has another year to figure it out. Merritt is a total stud who should continue to get lots of looks at the D1 level. Some added strength would be huge for him, too.     Moesch didn't put up insane stats this weekend, but the box score doesn't tell the story of how impactful he was for Cushing. Against CATS, the 6-foot guard handled the blitz and double team out of the pick and roll  beautifully, consistently making timely and accurate passes to the short roller. Even though he didn't get an assist on many of these plays, he moved the defense and made the correct, yet simple, offensive play every time. He was also, of course, able to beat the blitz on a number of possessions for amazing finishes and dump downs at the rim. Moesch was calm, cool and collected under pressure all weekend, and it was just another piece of evidence that he'll be an awesome college player next year at Siena.

This weekend, the New England Basketball League held its regular season finale at the New Balance facility, Newman's home court, in Brighton, MA. All eight teams played 2 games—one on Saturday and one on Sunday—and there was some intense and high-level basketball played all around.