NEBL Championship Weekend: 1st Team

The New England Basketball League held its championship weekend at New Balance Headquarters in Brighton, MA on Saturday and Sunday (2/15 and 2/16). I'll be doing three top teams as well as some honorable mentions.   To be clear, being included in previous NEBL articles does not mean you can't be included in these ones. There are many players who will be written about multiple times.   Here is my 1st Team from this weekend.    It was another weekend of dominant defensive play for Onyejiaka, who's one of the best rim protecting bigs I've seen at the high-school level. He has excellent strength, which allows him to hold his ground against other bigs, but he's also a very solid leaper which allows him to contest basically anything that enters the paint. He brings it all together with excellent positioning and shot-blocking instincts. I was also impressed with Onyejiaka's ability to carve out space in the post and finish with both hands on some little turn-around shots. Another year of improvement in the quickness and agility areas would serve him quite well at the next level.     Ahmed is a 6-foot-10 center with A LOT of meat on his bones, making him virtually impossible to move off the block when he gets his feet there (which he gets quite often as a result of the plethora of actions PSA runs to get him into the post). Once he gets the ball, the lefty has incredible strength and is able to overpower smaller bigs, even if they have some inches on him vertically. He can finish with his left and right, and he's also adept at finding cutters and shooters when the double team comes. Defensively, Ahmed slides his feet much better than you'd expect given his body, and he has active hands – very, very impressive.     Tillery was a big time scorer in the last NEBL session I went to, but this weekend he also showcased some great facilitation and feel. He sees the floor at a very high level and is able to read the weak side of the defense even while being hounded on the ball and being undersized for the point guard position. It's sometimes shocking how unselfish he is when he could seemingly penetrate the paint at will, especially when he's so adept at getting defenders on his back. Defensively, Tillery can really slide his feet when he's locked in; with lateral quickness like he has, the Cincinnati commit should be able to cause problems for guards at the next level on that end.     Moesch continues to impress me with his all-around offensive game and ridiculous quickness with the ball in his hands. This weekend, it was his passing – especially his pocket passes out of the pick and roll – that really caught my eye. He can throw live-dribble passes in his sleep and it allows him to catch the defense off guard and eliminate the threat of defenders in the passing lanes – you might have your hands up, but he'll just whiz it by your head. Tillery defended him very well on Saturday, but Moesch still found ways to get his three off and create for others. There's a different kind of buzz in the gym when he's playing.     Blackwood, as I said after the last NEBL session, is basically the archetype of a high level D1 wing. He's 6-foot-7 and incredibly strong, but this weekend his shooting really popped. It seemed like whenever New Hampton needed a bucket, Blackwood made a big shot, especially from the three-point line. He's also an amazing athlete, which bodes well for his ability to attack the offensive glass and cause chaos on drives, and he even showed some decent passing chops once he got into the paint. Defensively, he might be New Hampton's best individual defender and is so versatile on that end as a result of his body and athletic tools. Sky's the limit for him – nothing is off the table for the Penn State commit.

The New England Basketball League held its championship weekend at New Balance Headquarters in Brighton, MA on Saturday and Sunday (2/15 and 2/16). I'll be doing three top teams as well as some honorable mentions.