NEPSAC End-Of-Season Superlatives Part 1

The NEPSAC season has come to an end, and I got a chance to watch tons of games throughout the year. Over the next few days, I'll be rolling out my end-of-season superlatives, aimed at giving various players from a wide array of classes and teams some love for their performances this season. Each award will have a first, second, and third place.   As always, it's impossible to see every team and player, so I will always miss some things. Coaches—always feel free to reach out with thoughts or things I missed!   Let's look at my first 5 awards.   Most Valuable Player: 1) [player_tooltip player_id='2638999' first='Lucas' last='Morillo'] 2) [player_tooltip player_id='2465117' first='Ryan' last='Moesch'] 3) [player_tooltip player_id='2568339' first='Kamari' last='Whyte']   [player_tooltip player_id='2638999' first='Lucas' last='Morillo'] just has to be the answer here. Sure, he has an incredible supporting cast and his teammates' ability to shoot the ball (and therefore space the floor) is helpful to his scoring and passing numbers. But beyond the stat sheet, Morillo is the best player on the best team and in my opinion, the most talented and well-rounded player in the region. He's ridiculously strong in the post and as a ball handler, so he can effortlessly get to the front of the rim and physically punish the defense on the way there. He's also patient in the paint and does an amazing job reading the floor and finding open cutters and shooters. Morillo was easily Newman's most important offensive player this season and was consistently the place they would go when (rarely) teams could defend their complicated offensive sets.   Moesch, Whyte, and many others also have an argument. Moesch because he led Cushing to a dominant season as their overwhelming offensive engine, and Whyte because he handled perhaps the largest offensive load in the NEPSAC. Each of these guys had the ball in their hands an unprecedented amount and consistently created offense for their squads while holding their own on the defensive end.   Defensive Player Of The Year: 1) [player_tooltip player_id='2470882' first='Theo' last='Edema'] 2) [player_tooltip player_id='1532411' first='Timmy' last='Bollin'] 3) [player_tooltip player_id='1866230' first='Markus' last='Maxwell-Grimes']   In terms of defensive player of the year, it's difficult to compete with the importance of a center, especially one the level of Edema. The 7-footer has good perimeter defenders around him, but he's always there whenever they give someone a driving lane; he has good discipline when it comes to not fouling and he uses his size and length to contest lots of shots and get lots of blocks. Additionally, whenever Edema gets switched out onto a a guard, I'm always impressed with the pride he takes and how he holds his own. There's probably no better rim protector in the NEPSAC, and that makes him the defensive player of the year.   Bollin isn't a big, so it's tough for him to have the value of someone like Edema. But he comes close, because of his toughness, versatility, and willingness to guard whoever the opposing team's best player is. He walls up in the post, he slides his feet well, and he has great hands. Maxwell-Grimes makes waves defensively with his playmaking. He beats offensive players to the spot and has unbelievable hands, so he's constantly in the mix for steals. You can't dribble when you're near him.   Coach Of The Year: 1) Jackson Johnson, Newman 2) Jim McCarthy, Cheshire 3) Alex Giangregorio, Beaver   I had a pretty hard time with this one. Admittedly, Johnson has the best roster in the NEPSAC and therefore has perhaps an easier time constructing offensive and defensive schemes. That being said, he has still done an unbelievable job getting the team to buy-in to their roles—they have multiple D1 players coming off the bench who don't try to do more than they're able to. Offensively, Newman runs an impressive system with loads of screening, cutting, and ball movement that really leans into all of their players' individual skill sets. For example, they run a set to get Morillo a deep post-touch (I don't know the numbers, but they probably score 1.4ppp on those plays), but they'll also run complex elevator and flare sets for Geremia and Costello. Newman also plays incredibly hard defensively and on the boards and doesn't lack toughness or physicality, which is partly a testament to Jackson and the rest of their coaching staff.   McCarthy needs his flowers. His Cheshire squad plays better offensive basketball in terms of ball movement and unselfishness than any other NEPSAC team; they have a phenomenal understanding of when to slip, curl, and refuse screens, and they make on-time, on-target passes to cutters and shooters. Giangregorio also did an unbelievable job at Beaver this season, turning the exact same roster they had from a losing team last year into a 19-win season and a lot of heads turned. He unlocked Luke Spellman's shooting ability and put [player_tooltip player_id='2875588' first='Lino' last='Sanchez'] in great positions to take advantage of his ridiculous speed and quickness.   Best Shooter: 1) [player_tooltip player_id='2341371' first='Chase' last='Geremia'] 2) [player_tooltip player_id='2341362' first='Jayden' last='Harrington'] 3) [player_tooltip player_id='2571907' first='Jackson' last='Perri']   Geremia is the guy who I feel most confident in making a wide open three, but he's also the guy I want running off of screens and shooting on the move. His release is quick and pretty, and he knows how to get his shot off. More importantly, he doesn't get discouraged by misses or overconfident with makes—he just sticks to his guns and takes good shots when they're presented to him. He's going to surprise the Ivy League next season with his shotmaking ability.   Harrington also has one of the prettier releases in the region and can get hot in an instant. He probably takes more shots from the mid range than Geremia and gets more elevation on his shot, but they both have the ability to come off screens and shoot. And Perri is a sleeper here but in my opinion has one of the best off the dribble three-balls in the NEPSAC. To be clear, TONS of other guys could've been considered here.   Best Feel For The Game: 1) [player_tooltip player_id='2874981' first='John' last='Spinoso'] 2) [player_tooltip player_id='2638999' first='Lucas' last='Morillo'] 3) [player_tooltip player_id='2874986' first='Shawn' last='O'Neil']   Spinoso seems like the obvious answer here as he has almost single handedly built Cheshire's offense with his ability to play dribble hand-off game and thread the needle on backdoor passes. He has a special understanding of angles and consistently throws his teammates open, but he also has a great knack for spinning off of defenders for layups and floaters. It has been amazing to watch him this season and as I've already said to many people, Spinoso has one of the highest IQ's I've ever seen at the high school level.   I already discussed Morillo's ability to pass the ball in the MVP section, but it can't be overstated enough how well he reads the floor at his size. His height and length allows him to see over the defense, but he also has a great understanding of defensive tendencies. And [player_tooltip player_id='2874986' first='Shawn' last='O'Neil'] also deserves some credit for how much of a well-oiled machine Phillips Exeter was towards the end of the year. He's less flashy than Morillo and Spinoso, but he always makes the right decision and doesn't turn the ball over.

The NEPSAC season has come to an end, and I got a chance to watch tons of games throughout the year. Over the next few days, I'll be rolling out my end-of-season superlatives, aimed at giving various players from a wide array of classes and teams some love for their performances this season. Each award will have a first, second, and third place.