NERR Elite 75 College Showcase Central Edition: First Team

Yesterday, I attended the NERR Elite 75 College Showcase Central Edition. There were 110 players present, and they competed in a few drills before running 5 on 5 full court for about 2.5 hours. Plenty of college prospects were present.   Below is my first-team from the event.    Johnson is in a class of his own when it comes to skillset and feel. The 5-foot-10 guard is undersized, but there was probably no better ball handler and pure point guard in the gym yesterday. The Winchendon rising senior makes unbelievable decisions once he touches the paint—which he does WHENEVER he wants because of his quickness and shiftiness—and he's the type of guy you want to facilitate your system. He can hit threes off the dribble, but he's most effective in transition when he can read the defense and manipulate them with his eyes and change of speed dribbling moves. Defensively, he gets up under you and has ridiculously active hands—steals machine when he's engaged and active. Size is going to be Johnson's limiting factor when it comes to recruitment, but I think scholarship schools should be intrigued by his ability to play on both ends. A good year for Winchendon would do wonders for him—the starting PG spot should be open with [player_tooltip player_id='3407594' first='Treddy' last='Faison'] on his way to Putnam.     Cruz has some Tyrese Haliburton in him. The 6-foot-2 guard doesn't necessarily exude athleticism or quickness, but he's extremely smart and makes the simple/correct play again and again. He has a knack for using his eyes and pass fakes to manipulate the defense, but he can also use his strength to bully his way into the rim if you don't collapse on him with multiple defenders. Yesterday, I was especially impressed by his perimeter shooting—he made tons of shots from three and was even able to create space in the midrange by getting his body into defenders and being stronger before elevating for easy looks. Cruz should be Nobles' starting point guard this season and will be an awesome D3 player if I had to guess. I want to go back to my playing days so I can lace them up with him, because he looks like a fun teammate.     Brown wow'd me yesterday with his combination of size, strength, length, and skill. The 6-foot-7 forward has a plus wingspan and is an above the rim athlete, but he also has a face-up game and ball handling skills that intrigue me quite a bit. He's a threat from the mid-post as a passer and finisher, but he can even step out beyond the perimeter and knock down a three if you don't get a hand up. Defensively, he's quite impressive when he's putting in effort and energy. Brown has some D1 scholarships and would probably move to a mid-major prospect if he has a big year for MacDuffie.     I can't get enough of Adegbite. He doesn't show emotion and clearly has a reserved personality, but he lets his playing do the talking on both ends. The 6-foot-6 wing is an absolute workhorse defensively—he guards all positions and wants to compete at all times, no matter who he's facing or what the score is. Offensively, he does an amazing job keeping his line to the rim and is a great finisher with both hands. When the defense collapses on him, he consistently gets to two feet and makes under-control, smart decisions as a passer. The rising senior even showed off some impressive three-point shooting yesterday, which would lock him in as a scholarship prospect if he can keep it up. He also does all the little things, though, like crashing the glass and making extra and kick-ahead passes. Adegbite does all the right things on both ends and is a total dream from a coach's perspective.     Whiting was super impressive yesterday and was arguably the most physically imposing player in the entire gym. The 6-foot-8 forward has good athleticism and length, and he's a really solid finisher at the rim with contact—he was impossible to keep off the offensive boards and had tons of putbacks. He moves fluidly and comfortably for his size, and he's able to handle the ball like a wing on the perimeter or in the mid-post, too. Defensively, his athleticism and size allow him to switch onto guard while also protecting the rim. Whiting strikes me as a guy who's still developing, but he looks like he should get some scholarship interest.

Yesterday, I attended the NERR Elite 75 College Showcase Central Edition. There were 110 players present, and they competed in a few drills before running 5 on 5 full court for about 2.5 hours. Plenty of college prospects were present.