May Live Period Preview: 10 Additional Names To Know

One of the most anticipated weekends of the spring AAU season is just a day away as the May live period nears— providing college coaches with an extremely valuable opportunity to get back in the gym and evaluate prospects in person. With players continuing to distinguish themselves through strong spring performances and generate momentum in their recruitment, here's a closer look at several additional prospects looking to separate themselves during this year's May live period.    Emerging as a legitimate high impact glue piece on the wing over the last several months, [player_tooltip player_id='2895818' first='Imaad' last='Johnson'] has continually proved to be an essential piece through his ability to seamlessly blend into the offense while setting the tone defensively with toughness and energy. Offensively, Johnson carved out an efficient role within the flow of the game, showing comfort as a spot-up perimeter shooter while also attacking hard closeouts and finishing effectively around the basket. Defensively is where Johnson is most impressive— making his presence was consistently felt applying pressure full court, navigating screens, or staying disciplined at the point of attack.   Earlier in the high school season, [player_tooltip player_id='2895818' first='Imaad' last='Johnson'] earned an offer from Monmouth and if his breakout junior season is an indication of his things to come in his recruitment, look for Johnson to generate further interest from other scholarship programs.     Emerging as a legitimate quality depth piece for this extremely loaded and talented PSA Cardinals 17U group, [player_tooltip player_id='2234403' first='Ray' last='Fernandez'] has proven to provide value as an off ball shot maker through the first few weeks of the spring, benefiting from heavy help in gaps that a few of PSA's other ball handlers tend to often see on dribble drives. Waiting patient for kick outs and ball reversals while being just as effective coming off different screens and pin downs, Fernandez has posed as a repeatable threat from three point range, showcasing a compact and repeatable shooting form paired with a soft outside touch.    Possessing a skillset that translates from day one at the next level with ideal positional size, look for Fernandez to garner interest from those of scholarship level programs in the coming weeks and going forward on top of the Penn offer he earned last summer.      Dating back to around this time last spring, very few prospects in New Jersey regardless of class have elevated their stocks the way [player_tooltip player_id='2858267' first='Oscar' last='Martinez'] has— firmly established him as a legitimate two way 3&D wing with strong connective value. Martinez's development has, within the flow of the offense, seen him display a natural scoring instinct without forcing the action, consistently knocking down in rhythm C+S threes with both confidence and high efficiency. While also thriving moving without the ball as a cutter, capitalizing on easy scoring opportunities, while attacking closeouts with quick and decisive reads and making a major impact on the offensive glass. Equally as impactful on the defensive end of the floor, Martinez's length, toughness, and versatility allow him to affect the game in multiple ways, both as a reliable rebounder and a versatile multi positional defender capable of guarding several positions on the floor.   At the start of this past HS season, Martinez earned an offer from Wagner and if his development over the last calendar year or so is indicative of things to come, plenty of other scholarship programs are set to show interest in translatable skillset.     After making major progress in his development over the past year and earning increased exposure, [player_tooltip player_id='2628254' first='Sebastian' last='Rogers'] is coming off the heels an impressive junior campaign highlighted particularly by his combination of length and nonstop motor. His activity around the rim allow him to make a significant impact on both ends of the floor. Shining as a defensive anchor, he consistently controls the paint, using his physical tools to disrupt opponents through well timed vertical contests and emphatic shot blocking at the rim. All while also established himself as a strong rebounder, regularly winning physical battles on the glass. Offensively, Rogers has displayed many intriguing traits you look for in a player with his size—finishing efficiently inside, attacking open driving lanes from the elbow and high post areas, and converting on dump off passes from penetrating guards in the dunker spot. While further boosting his value by crashing the offensive boards and turning second chance opportunities into productive putbacks.   With Rogers being such a productive forward who consistently brings a reliable presence on the interior, it wouldn't be surprising to see plant of programs at the next level continue showing interest.     An excellent complimentary piece in the backcourt who's at his best as a complimentary and steady shot maker and a fundamentally sound decision maker, [player_tooltip player_id='2203815' first='Ryan' last='Rust'] has demonstrated his ability to provide productive and reliable guard play— spacing the floor and knocking down outside shots with impressive efficiency and versatility while also showing flashes of his ability to handle the ball and make quality decisions.    With a skill that translates immediately to the next level coupled with his ability to provide steady ball handling and decision making, look for Rust to continue to generate interest from a plethora of high academic programs.       Possessing a very intriguing combination of explosive athleticism and a glaringly lengthy frame, [player_tooltip player_id='2201954' first='Jkhai' last='Singletary'] has the necessary physical tools to impact the game in different areas. An aggressive slasher with a quick first step that helps him get downhill and generate constant pressure on the rim, Singletary thrives both as a high energy ball handler who could accelerate the tempo himself and as a powerful lane runner who finishsd effectively at and above the basket. Equally as impactful on the defensive end of the floor, Singletary often uses his length, athleticism, and nonstop motor to great effect— consistently making plays by attacking the offensive boards and contesting shots around the rim.   With a little bit of interest from scholarship programs at the next level, look for Singletary to continue to showcase his high level athleticism in combination with his growing perimeter skillset to attract further interest of college coaches going forward.     The start of the spring AAU season has seen [player_tooltip player_id='2958183' first='Marcel' last='Carr'] flourish in a more featured role offensively than he was typically used to during his sophomore season at St. Joe's Metuchen. Tasked with a lot of on ball duties that require offensive initiation as a primary ball handler and scoring from different areas on the floor, Carr's looked a little more comfortable generating offense for himself— creating separation off the bounce and knocking down perimeter looks while also attacking driving angles to get in the paint and finish around the basket.   With excellent positional size and fluid movement skills, Carr has the necessary physical tools to continue expanding and sharpening his overall skill set moving forward and if continuing on the right track could later down the line garner attention from scholarship level coaches at the next level.     Thriving in a slightly different role than the more high usage rate he's accustomed to at Elizabeth High, [player_tooltip player_id='2201953' first='Jayden' last='Johnson'] has carved out a role that highlights perimeter shot making and versatile playmaking. Through the first few weeks of the spring, Johnson has proved to be tremendously valuable with his quality guard play— stepping into in rhythm looks as a spot up shooter off the catch while also excelling as a playmaker on both ends of the floor, using solid anticipation skills as a defender and poking the ball out from opposing bal handlers and forcing turnovers while also keeping his court vision when attacking to find guys up the floor in transition and collapsing the defense to find open outside shooters.    With a handful of Division 1 offers from the likes of Fordham, LIU, Quinnipiac, Monmouth and High Point already on the table and starting the spring AAU season with solid and dependable guard play, look for Johnson to reinforce that notion of some of his skillset translating to the next level.     Dating back to this past high school season, [player_tooltip player_id='3243511' first='Finn' last='Marah'] firmly established himself as an exceptionally reliable and highly productive combo guard. From that point up until the first few weeks of the spring, he's consistently delivered standout performances that highlighted his all around impact as a dynamic playmaker — effectively balancing facilitation, offensive initiation, and floor orchestration with poised, confident ball handling and strong decision making instincts. At the same time, he remains a consistent scoring threat, particularly within the flow of the offense, showing the ability to finish craftily at the rim when driving opportunities open up while also knocking down perimeter shots both on spot up opportunities and as a movement shooter.   Tasked with handling a large portion of the ball handling responsibilities for this year's 17U NJ Panthers Academic group, look for Marah to continue to showcase his reliable productivity at the guard spot in front of college coaches.     A scrappy and gritty point guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2202019' first='Alex' last='Mazzella'] has shown over the past few weeks that he's more than capable of taking on an expanded primary ball handler role. He consistently flashes the kind of intangibles you want in a primary ball handler— confidently initiating offense, getting teammates in the right spots, and maintaining poise and composure as both a half court facilitator and an effective playmaker in transition, all while remaining a legitimate scoring threat. Mazzella's perimeter shooting is what almost always stands out right away, particularly when he's stepping into shots in rhythm with polished footwork as a movement shooter. All while also showing strong decision making in PnR situations— reading defensive coverages well to create smooth pull up jumpers from beyond the arc and capitalize in the mid-range against sagging big defenders.   With plenty of LM and high academic programs having shown early interest dating back to as far as last summer, look for Mazzella to continue to cement himself on the radar of those college programs.

One of the most anticipated weekends of the spring AAU season is just a day away as the May live period nears— providing college coaches with an extremely valuable opportunity to get back in the gym and evaluate prospects in person. With players continuing to distinguish themselves through strong spring performances and generate momentum in their recruitment, here's a closer look at several additional prospects looking to separate themselves during this year's May live period.