MADE Hoops Summer Live Finale: New Jersey 16U Standouts

The second and final July live period officially wrapped up a couple weeks, bringing another important evaluation window to a close. After college coaches spent the previous week traveling the country to scout prospects, they once again filled gyms nationwide for one last opportunity to evaluate talent in person. MADE Hoops capped off the live period with its Summer Live Finale in Baltimore, MD, featuring a loaded slate of marquee matchups and many of the region's top prospects. Several New Jersey standouts took full advantage of the stage, delivering strong performances that further elevated their recruitment and boosted their stock. With that in mind, here's another look at some of New Jersey's top performers from MADE Hoops' final event of the summer.    Having made significant strides in his overall on court development over the last several months, [player_tooltip player_id='2833843' first='Owen' last='Wucherpfennig'] has continued to string together more consistent flashes of his ability, reflective of him continuing to unlock more of his athleticism and further development in his physical tools. Wucherpfennig once again established himself as a high impact and highly valuable interior paint presence, highlighted by his ability to consistently make an impact through activity and efficiency without requiring a high volume of touches— converting on short corner area and dunker spot dump offs for a mixture of above the rim and soft touch finishes, impact on the offensive glass to capitalize off second chance opportunities, while even flashing some of the growth in his guard skills attacking closeouts off the bounce and finishing around the rim in traffic.     Given a substantial offensive role that's entrusted him with heavy on ball responsibilities as a primary offensive initiator, [player_tooltip player_id='2958183' first='Marcel' last='Carr'] has continued his progression with an increased level of poise creating scoring opportunities from multiple areas on the floor. The speed of the game slowing down and playing at his own pace has remained an intricate part of his development these last several months and Carr seems to be showing stronger glimpses in that aspect— making quicker decisions attacking closeouts using pump fakes to get in the lane for two foot finishes and swiftly attacking gaps off a lot of those same closeouts to finish in traffic at the basket, low post scoring out of designed actions leveraging his bigger frame against smaller guards, and even under control creativity off the bounce against flat footed defenders in isolation as he settled into a rhythm.     A lead guard who possesses an innate ability to impact the game as an overall decisive playmaker capable of controlling the pace and tempo of a game coupled with some impressive ball skills, [player_tooltip player_id='2763609' first='Jake' last='Ellis']' performances over the final July live period ultimately reflected his high level understanding of the game and his ability to make smart, dependable decisions under pressure. Savvy in his scoring approach, Ellis converted on looks from multiple different areas on the floor— pull ups off the bounce in the mid range area and all the way out on the perimeter, putting pressure on the rim in transition for tough in traffic finishes, and even half court rim pressure whether it was rejecting ball screens or attacking straight line driving angles for strong finishes at the basket.     An exceptional perimeter shooter with a deft outside shooting touch, [player_tooltip player_id='2759010' first='Connor' last='Marcoullier'] provided extremely valuable and super impactful floor spacing. Settling into a nice rhythm and stepping into open looks with glaring confidence, Marcoullier displayed efficiency across all shooting categories— movement shooting sprinting to the corner in transition, spot up shooting in different half court sets, with deep range accuracy as well, and even proving he can shoot it off the bounce taking in rhythm dribbles before knocking down off the dribble perimeter looks.     A versatile combo guard proven capable of thriving at either backcourt position, [player_tooltip player_id='2631499' first='Julian' last='Hall'] offers far more than traditional playmaking responsibilities. He consistently impacts the game as a multi dimensional offensive weapon, blending floor leadership with multi level scoring ability. Keeping it simple throughout the course of these last few showings of the July live period, Hall stretched defenses with confident and reliable perimeter shooting as a spot up shooter, with deep range accuracy as well while mixing in some different footed floaters when he got in the lane off the bounce coupled with some strong finishes through contact at the basket in transition.     An instinctive and crafty ball handler with overall good feel for the game, [player_tooltip player_id='2967445' first='Sean' last='Bilodeau'] has consistently shown that his impact extends well beyond orchestrating the offense. In addition to his playmaking and bal handling responsibilities, Bilodeau proved to be capable affecting the game as a shot maker— extending the defense with deep range accuracy as a spot up shooter and even showcasing hints of his off the dribble shot making mixed with dribble penetration to generate offense and converting crafty finishes from multiple angles in the paint out of ball screens and straight line drives.     A talented outside shooting wing with legitimate positional size and lengthy arms, [player_tooltip player_id='2427984' first='James' last='Maida'] impressed in with the efficiency he shot the three ball with. Highlighted by repeatable mechanics coupled with a super soft outside shooting touch and confidence to rarely let misses rattle him, Maida showcased so much of what his impact looks like, particularly off the ball, with his floor spacing— stepping into in rhythm spot up looks out on the perimeter and making defenses pay for late contests and lazy closeouts.     One of the more rarer cases of a prospect playing up an age group for actually a couple of years now, [player_tooltip player_id='3593213' first='Dylan' last='Gauda'] is a young and talented guard with legitimate ball skills who is wired to score, and can find a rhythm from multiple different spots on the floor. Excelling at picking his spots within the flow of the offense yet still remaining aggressive, Gauda impressed with his efficiency, not only in his field goal percentage(s) but in his ability to not necessarily be over zealous off the bounce— stepping into in rhythm looks with confidence from three point range, not shying away from contact when pushing the break in transition for strong finishes in traffic, and understanding what angles to exploit when attacking closeouts off the bounce.     Another case of a young freshman playing up an age group on 16U while also contributing in a major way and providing high level impact, [player_tooltip player_id='3711931' first='Rico' last='Negron'] shined as a dangerous perimeter shot maker who settled into a nice rhythm offensively. Reflective of his extremely high competitive spirit and ability to rattle off makes in a hurry and in bunches, the left handed sniper showed impressive flashes of his perimeter shot making ability— burying countless open looks off the catch, highlighted by his super soft outside shooting touch paired with clean and repeatable mechanics that feature a quick shooting release. Far beyond his percentages, Negron also demonstrated some intangibles that make him far more dangerous past what his efficiency looks like— the confidence to pull it from anywhere on the floor and the consistent aggression to not let misses knock him off his game all while routinely hunting out opportunities.

The second and final July live period officially wrapped up a couple weeks, bringing another important evaluation window to a close. After college coaches spent the previous week traveling the country to scout prospects, they once again filled gyms nationwide for one last opportunity to evaluate talent in person. MADE Hoops capped off the live period with its Summer Live Finale in Baltimore, MD, featuring a loaded slate of marquee matchups and many of the region's top prospects. Several New Jersey standouts took full advantage of the stage, delivering strong performances that further elevated their recruitment and boosted their stock. With that in mind, here's another look at some of New Jersey's top performers from MADE Hoops' final event of the summer.