Transfer Watch: Old Faces In New Places

The New Jersey high school basketball offseason, particularly over the last couple of weeks to close out the summer, has brought its fair share of roster shakeups. With fall ball just around the corner, the landscape is firmly taking shape with a number of prospects transferring schools and having found new homes. With a number of late summer transfers having recently rolled in, let's take a look at some underclassmen who some may not be familiar with looking to make an impact with new programs this fall.    Part of a select group of freshman that were legitimate instant impact freshman a year ago, [player_tooltip player_id='3536400' first='Braelen' last='Blackmon'] emerged as a reliable contributor amongst Morristown Beard's rotation and will look to carry much of that momentum into his sophomore year, following Coach Marquis Webb to St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, NJ. A seamless offensive fit with his versatile skillset, Blackmon is slotted to provide value at both guard spots— excelling as an off ball floor spacer consistently being a threat to knock down open three point looks while also demonstrating instinctive decision making as a ball handler initiating offense in the half court and in the open floor and creating scoring chances for his teammates. Look for Blackmon to play a pivotal in not only a lot of the success Coach Webb and Saint Joseph Regional are aiming to endure on the court but also in a lot of key principles and intangibles in establishing a new culture transitioning over to SJR.     A long term intriguing prospect who's excused flashes of his legitimate ball skills and is new to this Roselle Catholic program who should relish at plenty of increased volume and an opportunity to emerge as a legitimate contributor as a sophomore, Mike Okeoma blends intriguing size for his position with quick twitch movement skills and natural scoring instincts both on and off the ball, a skillset that should be a seamless fit in the backcourt amongst Roselle Catholic's rotation— creating shots for himself in isolation situations with simple but effective creativity off the bounce and off the ball, excelling as an instinctive cutter to open space and a reliable spot up outside shooter, stepping into in rhythm looks from three point range with repeatable mechanics and confidence from the perimeter.     Another prospect who's making the transition alongside his head coach joining a new program, [player_tooltip player_id='2709454' first='Brooklyn' last='Jelinsky'] is following his Head Coach Kevin Grimes from Wayne Hills to Hudson Catholic. Jelinsky should provide instant impact adjusting to new program and different level of competition, particularly with his dangerous three point shooting remaining the foundation of his offensive value— with plenty of opportunity to convert on a number of perimeter looks with dynamic versatility and efficiency shooting percentages, proving him to be the extremely dependable floor spacer he developed and maintained a reputation for being throughout his breakout spring and summer with NYC Honor.     A young guard with a wiry frame who in recent memory, although it has been in limited minutes, [player_tooltip player_id='3759309' first='Dylan' last='Brunson'] has shown some encouraging moments of what his impact could look like, dating back to the start of his freshman season a year ago. Brunson's skillset as a complimentary guard in the backcourt is intriguing— particularly with his ability to knock down outside shots as a spot up shooter, understanding driving angles and attacking closeouts to finish at the rim, and being an instinctive decision maker in the open floor. Transferring to Roselle Catholic under newly appointed head coach and Roselle Catholic alum CJ Wilcher should present Brunson with an opportunity to emerge as a legitimate contributor in Roselle Catholic's rotation, especially in the backcourt, heading into his sophomore year, particularly with his ability to provide seamless offensive production.     A lengthy and fundamentally sound forward with plenty of two way value that figures to provide much of that 3&D impact you like to see in prospects at both his size and position, [player_tooltip player_id='3759311' first='Jayden' last='Chapman']'s skillset projects to be an easy transition to Roselle Catholic's rotation, particularly in the frontcourt— reliable three point shooting as a spot up shooter coupled with a keen understanding of reading angles and attacking closeouts off bounce along side the physical profile and defensive versatility to match up and be disruptive across multiple positions.

The New Jersey high school basketball offseason, particularly over the last couple of weeks to close out the summer, has brought its fair share of roster shakeups. With fall ball just around the corner, the landscape is firmly taking shape with a number of prospects transferring schools and having found new homes. With a number of late summer transfers having recently rolled in, let's take a look at some underclassmen who some may not be familiar with looking to make an impact with new programs this fall.