by Alex Schwartz

I recently posted an article with some quotes from Oak Hill Academy (VA) players that I got at the Prime Time Shootout over the weekend. Now here is the article with some information from other players not on OHA:

- The colleges that I saw represented or that I know were in attendance on Saturday were West Virginia, St. John’s, Miami, Seton Hall, Siena, Villanova, Virginia Tech, and the University of Sciences in Philly.

- The colleges that I saw represented or that I know were in attendance on Sunday were La Salle, Virginia Tech, University of Sciences in Philly, Merrimack, NJIT, Quinnipiac, Adelphi, Fairfield, Maryland, Auburn, UMass, Villanova, and Columbia.

- Almost as soon as Lance Stephenson ’09 of Lincoln (NY) walked into the Sovereign Bank Arena on Saturday afternoon, he was bombarded by young kids, teenagers, and even some adults who wanted “Born Ready” to sign something, whether it was a sweatshirt, event packet, etc. What does all that mean to the superstar wing? “It means I’m working hard and that everybody sees that I’m a good player.” Lincoln came into the season with major expectations, but has for the most part been a flop, losing almost all of its games against nationally ranked teams, and having 10 losses. Why is that? “We aren’t coming out strong, we [are] coming out weak, but we [have] been playing [well] as a team [and] I think we [have]got a good chance of winning [the] city championship,” said Lance a few hours before the Railsplitters’ loss to Westchester (CA). Sunday, Lincoln defeated Thomas Jefferson (NY) to win the Brooklyn Borough title.

- Branden Frazier ’10 of Bishop Loughlin (NY) had the second highest scoring output of the weekend, dropping 36 points on Union (NJ). I asked the junior guard how the team reacted to Doron Lamb ’10 transferring to Oak Hill Academy (VA) over the summer, and he said, “The reaction was [that] we had to make sure the guards stepped up. . . . We [are] trying [to do that] right now.”

- “It just felt like home. Coach Martelli [and I] built up a great relationship and I just felt like St. Joe’s was the right place for me,” is what Life Center Academy’s Daryus Quarles ’10 told me regarding how he decided to commit to St. Joseph’s.  The wing player said he also considered Maryland, West Virginia, Villanova, and Rutgers, all of whom he claimed offers from. “Honestly, I was going to wait until after my AAU summer [to commit], but I just felt like getting it done with,” said Quarles, who will run with the Metro Hawks this summer. This is Quarles’ first year at LCA, so what went into his decision to transfer to the independent school? “The main reason was academics. If I came to Life Center, my academic [standing] would go up. . . . [Also], just playing good competition every day.”

- Nkereuwem Okoro ’12 of St. Raymond’s (NY) is regarded as one of the top freshman in America, and played with the U-14 AAU national champion Long Island Lightning last season, along with kids such as Kyle Anderson ’12. Okoro told me that the team is sticking together, so that machine will be back intact. Okoro came to St. Ray’s with a lot of fanfare, and I asked him how he feels he’s living up to the hype, and how he feels he’s been doing: “As a freshman, I’m learning a lot from my seniors . . . [and] my coaches. . . . I’m just trying to play my role, I’m a team player.”

- I caught up with Deniz Kilicli ’09 of Mountain State Academy (WV), a Turkish big man who will be playing for Bob Huggins at WVU next year. Kilicli said the following when I asked him how he picked the Mountaineers: “First of all, [Coach] Huggins was always there [and] . . . was always trying to come here. . . . [The] Big East [is] a good conference for me. . . . [It is the] best conference for big guys. . . . I love the guy [Bob Huggins].” Deniz said the other school he really considered was UConn, but UCLA and Oklahoma were in play too. Kilicli’s younger teammate, guard Noah Cottrill ’10, at Mountain State is also bound for WVU. What is it like playing with him now, and knowing they will be together again in a couple of years? “Noah is a good guard. Guards and big men should have a conversation without talking, so we [are] building. . . . We just started understanding each other. . . . It will be perfect when Noah comes to West Virginia.”

- Binghamton-bound Dylan Talley ’09 of Life Center Academy (NJ) had a great game against Our Savior New American (NY) on Saturday morning, and after the game I discussed his college decision and some topics regarding himself and LCA. “It’s a good education, and I think by going there, if I work hard, I can play right away,” said Talley on why he picked Binghamton. So what other schools were Talley considering? “Mainly it just came down to UTEP and Binghamton. [They] were my final schools.” Life Center is currently playing without Syracuse-pledge Dion Waiters ’10, the team’s best player, so I asked Talley how he feels he helps to fill the void left by the 6’2 comb guard, to which he responded, “I think I help by picking up more of a leadership role, . . . [and playing the] point guard position, facilitating everything.” His play earned him MVP honors versus OSNA at the PTS. What did it mean to Dylan to win the award? “It meant a lot because I wanted to play in the Prime Time Shootout since I transferred over to Life Center.” Talley told me he came to LCA and repeated his sophomore year.

Note- photos are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/