June Scholastic Live Period: NJ's Biggest Stock Risers

The first scholastic live period of the 2025 recruiting calendar came this weekend and without a doubt did not disappoint. Behind a handful of explosive performances between the NJBCA Jersey Live and Philly Live showcases, we saw a few prospects from the state of New Jersey continue their strong starts to the summer and see their recruitment pick up a little bit of steam. In this article, let's dive into some prospects that delivered standout performances and picked up offers and/ or generated interest from college coaches over this past weekend.    A dynamic lead guard that possesses an intriguing combination of positional size and offensive skill, [player_tooltip player_id='2202021' first='Aidan' last='Carter'] had a strong weekend where he demonstrated his poise as a ball handler and creativity off the dribble as a scorer. Smooth and often under control with the ball in his hands, Carter got to his spots both in the mid range and utilized different types of floaters around the basket— showcasing his soft touch. Carter also displayed his ability to be a reliable decision maker— often times making the right read and creating advantageous scoring opportunities for his teammates. Possessing elite length, Carter also showed improvements on the defensive end as a disruptive on ball defender.   Carter picked up his first D1 offer from La Salle over the weekend. With a handful of other programs beginning to also show interest, Carter's recruitment is definitely about to explode.     Behind strong scoring performances all weekend, [player_tooltip player_id='2107943' first='JP' last='Skoric'] showcased an interesting combination of a polished offensive skillset and mobility at his size. Skoric demonstrated his ability to consistently knock down outside shots, bully smaller defenders in the low post, and put the ball on the floor and get to the basket. Skoric also flashed his playmaking ability— making the right reads out of low post double teams and DHO's. With impressive length, Skoric also got busy on both the offensive and defensive glass and displayed good instincts as a shot blocker.   Skoric picked up his first D1 offer from Albany over the weekend. With a laundry list of D1 programs having already showed interest, look for Skoric's recruitment to skyrocket over the rest of the summer.     An interesting prospect just off the initial eye test, Will Brunson had a strong weekend that backed up the intrigue that surrounds him. A smooth and lanky guard, Brunson demonstrated his ability to score it from multiple spots on the floor— creating off the dribble and getting to his mid range, scoring against smaller defenders in the low post, and finishing with touch around the basket. Brunson has obvious upside and it was easy to see that over the course of this weekend's initial scholastic live period.   Brunson picked up offers from the likes of Rutgers, La Salle, and Syracuse over the weekend. Possessing the necessary physical tools, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a handful of other D1 programs get involved in Brunson's recruitment going forward.     Slated to assume larger on ball responsibilities this upcoming winter for TPS, [player_tooltip player_id='2628166' first='Santonio' last='Waide'] showed us much of what to expect later this season. Waide's shot making prowess was on full display— knocking down an array of catch and shoot threes and mid range pull ups. Quick with the ball in his hands, Waide thrived at not only getting in the paint and finishing with craftiness around the basket but also in his ability to be a trustworthy decision maker and facilitate the basketball, creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. Waide also shined on the defensive end as a pesky on ball defender that consistently pressured the ball and forced turnovers against opposing ball handlers.   Waide picked up an offer from Canisius over the weekend. With plans to take an official visit to Rider in the near future and a handful of other D1 programs showing interest, look for Waide to continue having a stock rising summer.     A skilled big man with tremendous upside, [player_tooltip player_id='2202029' first='Luka' last='Kuqo'] showcased his unique skillset over the course of the weekend. Effective on both sides of the floor, Kuqo displayed an impressive shooting touch particularly off the catch from three point range while also being an anchor defensively both rebounding the basketball and blocking and altering shot attempts at the rim.   Kuqo received an offer from Hampton over the initial scholastic live period. Continuing to get stronger while refining his skillset, look for Kuqo's recruitment to pick up a little bit of steam going forward.     An overall fruitful weekend for the MacDuffie guard, Patrick Sagna showcased a balanced skillset that saw him produce as an on ball scorer as well as a reliable decision maker. Sagna has elite quickness and he often times used that ability to get in the paint and finish around the basket with good touch and craftiness while also being a reliable decision maker, hitting dump offs out the dunker spot or spraying the ball to open shooters out on the perimeter. Sagna also shined on the defensive end of the floor, pressuring the ball and being disruptive at the point of attack.   Sagna has garnered interest from the likes of St. Peter's, Air Force, Navy, and Georgia Southern with a handful of other high academic Division I programs set to be on hand during the second scholastic live period next weekend.     An aggressive downhill attacking guard that lives at the rim, [player_tooltip player_id='2201947' first='Anthony' last='Gonzalez'] had a strong showing this weekend during the first scholastic live period. In his consistent aggressive pursuit of the basket, Gonzalez demonstrated his ability to play through contact and get to the free throw line. Gonzalez also proved to not only be a reliable shot maker from three point range but also a trustworthy distributor of the basketball in offensive sets.   Gonzalez picked up an offer from East Carolina over the weekend and with more strong showings, should see more continue to come in throughout the course of the summer.     Stepping into what is expected to be a larger role for this year's Bergen Catholic squad, [player_tooltip player_id='2504891' first='Sean' last='Forbes'] demonstrated his ability to be an additional strong and reliable ball handler and another source of dependable offense. Whether it initiating offense or and setting the table at times for the offense or scoring within the flow of Bergen's offense, Forbes proved to be a guard capable of shouldering more offensive responsibility as we head into the second scholastic live period next weekend.   Forbes received an offer from Fairfield after strong showings this weekend and could rack in a few more throughout the rest of the summer.     What's been an ascending rise the last 12 months or so for the Bergen combo guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2342638' first='Jaden' last='Brown'] continued to showcase what's got him on the eyes of a handful of D1 coaches. Over the course of the initial live period, Brown demonstrated his ability to be a reliable decision maker— mixing it up between steady scoring off the dribble at the basket and in the mid range area and decisive distributing of the basketball and finding his open teammates. Brown also continued to show he can be a more than reliable spot up shooter off the ball.   After strong performances over the weekend, [player_tooltip player_id='2342638' first='Jaden' last='Brown'] received an offer from NJIT. With a couple D1 offers already in hand, look for Brown to garner some more interest from additional D1 programs.

The first scholastic live period of the 2025 recruiting calendar came this weekend and without a doubt did not disappoint. Behind a handful of explosive performances between the NJBCA Jersey Live and Philly Live showcases, we saw a few prospects from the state of New Jersey continue their strong starts to the summer and see their recruitment pick up a little bit of steam. In this article, let's dive into some prospects that delivered standout performances and picked up offers and/ or generated interest from college coaches over this past weekend.