Moody Park Summer League: 2026 Central NJ Players to Watch

<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Moody Park Summer League, one of the premier basketball leagues in the Central Jersey area just kicked off its 42nd season. Some of the most promising players in the area were on display and these rising freshmen were impressed on opening night.</span></p> <p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span class="s1"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Eshan Kulkarni</strong></span>,<span style="font-size: 18pt;"> 2026, PG, Red Raiders </span></span></p> [caption id="attachment_1480831" align="alignleft" width="250"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image1-2-rotated-crop-3025x1986-1654877531.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1480831" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image1-2-rotated-crop-3025x1986-1654877531-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="250" height="164" /></a> 2026 Eshan Kulkarni[/caption] <p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-size-adjust: 100%;">Ran the pick and roll, collapsed the defense with his slashing ability, and knocked down jumpers from the mid-range and Three. His high motor created </span><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">extra possessions for his team by hustling to almost every loose ball.</span> </span></p> [caption id="attachment_1480913" align="alignright" width="155"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image4-2.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1480913" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image4-2-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="155" height="207" /></a> 2026 Kristian Thomas[/caption] <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong>Kristian Thomas</strong>, 2026,PG, YBS Elite </span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Floor general. Got his teammates the ball and ran the team, at a point had to take over the scoring load and cut a 25-point deficit down to 8. His tight ballhandling made it easy to get to his spots and float runners over bigs or knock down jump shots. Showed off extended shooting range and great mechanics knocking down multiple contested threes from deep.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="s1"><strong>Javion Cesar-Jones</strong>,2026,PG, </span><span class="s1">TCPA/Rivals</span></span></p> [caption id="attachment_1480918" align="alignright" width="169"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image2-rotated.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1480918" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image2-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="169" height="226" /></a> 2026 Javion Cesar-Jones[/caption] <p class="p1" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><span style="text-size-adjust: 100%;">The 6’0 Guard used his quick first step and strong ball-handling to get downhill finish at the rim and create offense for his teammates. He also generated offense with his defensive intensity by forcing</span><span style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"> multiple turnovers, resulting</span><span style="text-size-adjust: 100%;"> in easy layups.</span></span></p> <p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 18pt; text-size-adjust: 100%;"><strong>Azir Bethea</strong>, 2026,CG, Rivals</span></p> [caption id="attachment_1480808" align="alignleft" width="225"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image3-rotated-crop-2571x1688-1654876601.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1480808" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image3-rotated-crop-2571x1688-1654876601-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="148" /></a> 2026 Azir Bethea[/caption] <p class="p1"><span class="s1" style="font-size: 18pt;">Bethea’s Quickness and athleticism made it easy for him to blow by, elevate over defenders and finish through contact. <span style="font-size: 18pt;">He gets into the lane at will and makes smart decisions when the defense is out of position, also drew multiple fouls on his aggressive drives to the basket.        </span> </span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Terrance Traylor </strong>2026, PG, Ewing/Made Different</span></p> [caption id="attachment_1480798" align="alignleft" width="250"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image0-5-rotated-crop-3025x1986-1654876360.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1480798" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/06/image0-5-rotated-crop-3025x1986-1654876360-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="250" height="164" /></a> 2026 Terrance Traylor[/caption] <p><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Traylor was disruptive to opposing ballhandlers with his suffocating defense causing multiple turnovers in the open court as well as a couple of blocks. He controlled the pace of the game, making sure to balance the floor and reset when his team started to get out of control. Traylor also had multiple acrobatic finishes at the rim over bigs which is a display of his concentration when driving the lane.</span></p>