National Prep Championships First Team

This week, I attended the National Prep Championships at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. 16 of the best teams from all over the country attended, and the Newman School came out on top. I'll have a first team, second team, and honorable mentions from the event over the next few days.   To begin, let's look at my first team.    Morillo was the National Prep Championship's most dominant player. He was the best team's best player all week, and it was pretty remarkable how consistently he produced on the offensive end. Against Putnam's feisty backcourt, the 6-foot-7 point-forward was able to handle 94 feet of pressure and then use his size and ball handling ability to get to the front of the rim for finishes. He excelled in the post against smaller players all weekend as well, and he was incredible as a passer in every matchup Newman had. Whether the defense was switching, top locking, or over-helping, the Illinois commit had all the answers to the test. Special performance from Morillo this week.     This was my first time seeing Rippey Jr. in person, and you can totally see why he has the national attention he does. Every time he lowers his center of gravity and makes a move towards the rim, it looks like he was shot out of a cannon. The explosiveness and first-step quickness is out of this world, and he does a good job leveraging those tools to get paint touches. Once he gets into the lane, he makes smart decisions and reads the floor well. His three-point shot looked solid all week, too, which will be a key skill for him to continue developing if he wants to have the sort of long-term career some expect of him.     Egbiremolen was a stud for IMG this weekend and seemed to be the guy they turned too when they really needed a bucket. The 6-foot-5 guard/wing is a freak athlete, so he's able to muscle his way into the paint and is stronger than basically any wing that he faces—he's already built like a D1 player. But the uncommitted senior also has some pace and patience in his dribble game, which allows him to wiggle through small spaces and slow the game down to make decisions. I was super impressed by the ways in which he picked his spots to lean into his physical gifts rather than over utilizing them. Egbiremolen looks college ready right now.     Geremia shot the leather off the ball this week. The 6-foot-2 guard confirmed my thoughts that he's the best shooter in New England—he made threes again and again on a national level against some of the best teams in the country. He's able to fly off screens and hit movement shots, but he also knows how to handle the ball and relocate once he gives it up. He doesn't take too many off the dribble shots, but whenever he looks to create, I'm pretty shocked by how comfortable and confident he looks despite that not being a big part of Newman's offensive attack. At Penn, I could definitely see him having more playmaking responsibilities, which I think he proved he can handle this week. His defense is also wildly underrated—great hands.     Ross is beyond intriguing. This week at the National Prep Championships, the athletic and long 6-foot-10 center was blocking shots, finishing lobs and rebounding up the wazoo. His combination of size, length and athleticism is special, and he can get to a higher vertical point than 99% of centers. What's incredible, though, is that he has a budding skillset that should only continue to improve—his shot is really nice and compact, and he showcased some really impressive touch finishes around the rim with both hands. The two-way vertical rim presence is already there for Ross, but some more skills would make him an unbelievable NBA prospect. He'll be at VCU next year and will have a chance to play right away.

This week, I attended the National Prep Championships at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut. 16 of the best teams from all over the country attended, and the Newman School came out on top. I'll have a first team, second team, and honorable mentions from the event over the next few days.