by Alex Schwartz

The 2009 Providence Hoop Group Jam Fest had some of the top players from the Northeast and beyond, including many players who will end up at high-major DI schools. Yet, in addition to these players, there were a number of other ballers who made their mark in the Bay State. Here's a list of some of the premiere performers in the U17 and U16 age divisions, separated into a few different categories, with notes on the ballers (players are in no particular order):

Committed Players
Taran Buie '10, Bishop Maginn (NY), Albany City Rocks, Penn State- shot the ball well and played well as a PG; a steal for PSU
Dimitri Batton '10, Heritage (VA), Boo Williams, Old Dominion- fantastic off the bench for loaded AAU team; great get for ODU
Kendall Marshall '10, Bishop O'Connell (VA), Boo Williams, North Carolina- not his best weekend, but he showed the talent
Andre Dawkins '10, Atlantic Shores Christian (VA), Boo Williams, Duke- up and down, but showed why he is headed to Duke
Joel "Air Jamaica" Wright '10, Thomas Jefferson (NY), LI Lightning, Fordham- was key in team's run to Silver Bracket finals
Evan Smotrycz '10, New Hampton Prep (NH), Mass Rivals, Michigan- team had a great weekend, and he was a major reason why
Nate Lubick '10, St. Mark's (MA), NE Playaz, Georgetown- hard worker who rebounds the ball well; needs to go 100% at all times
Note- Travis McKie (Wake Forest) would have been on this list, but he is listed under Elite Performers instead

Surprises
Alex Kershaw '09, Oliver Ames (MA), Boston Warriors North- senior did a nice job for his time; did a good job shooting the rock
Malik Thomas '10, Wadleigh (NY), New Heights White- was fantastic each time I saw him; extremely thin, but quite talented
Kevin Seabrook '10, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- did not seem intimidated at all, despite being a JV player this year
Jerrell Scott '11, Bishop Maginn (NY), Albany City Rocks- led his team to the finals of the U16 bracket; great athlete

Non-Household Names with Nice Games
Tyler Olander '11, Worcester Academy (MA), Expressions- big sophomore has some skill
Andre Drummond '11, Capital Prep (CT), CBC- long and lanky with great size; probably a high-major kid
Dominique Langston '09, Kolbe Cathedral (CT), CBC- put the ball in the hole
Billy Baron '10, Worcester Academy (MA), Expressions- big-time shooter with a sturdy frame
Ryan Canty '10, St. John's (DC), Mass Rivals- great size and frame on the junior
Javae King-Gilchrist '09, Teaneck (NJ), New Heights White- a long PG who can get to the cup
Kerry Weldon '10, St. Agnes HS for Boys (NY), New Heights White- great at the Northstar Basketball Showcase, and has kept it up
Xavier Pollard '10, Suffield Academy (CT), New Heights White- got to the basket and scored
Will Bartlett '10, Collegiate School (NY), New Heights White- big body in the post
Riley Maye '09, Stroudsburg (PA), New Heights White- another big body for this New Heights team that had a nice showing
Josh Daniell '10, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- has improved since last summer; still has a long and lanky frame
Tyler Strange '11, Notre Dame Prep (MA), Expressions- built like a linebacker, but plays the point
Khem Birch '12, unknown (CAN), Expressions (likely transferring to South Kent in CT)- a likely future high-major player
Kaleb Tarczewski '11, Stevens (NH), Expressions (transferring to St. Mark's and reclassifying)- huge kid with a nice game

Elite Performers
James McAdoo '11, Norfolk Christian (VA), Boo Williams- a physical specimen who will become a great player one day
Denzel Brito '10, Lawrence Academy (MA), NE Playaz- out shined more highly touted ballers on the NE Playaz
Kyrie Irving '10, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- the best performer there, hands down; hit threes, distributed, got to the hole
Michael Gilchrist '11, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- just behind Irving performance-wise; got the better of matchup with McAdoo
Matt Brown '10, Northfield Mt. Hermon School (MA), Mass Rivals- dual sport star can stroke it from deep and has a great frame
Alex Murphy '12, St. Mark's (MA), Expressions - Erik's younger brother shouldn't have much trouble meeting expectations
Travis McKie '10, John Marshall (VA), Boo Williams, Wake Forest- amazing athlete was great all weekend for Boo
Lamont Samuell '09, Boys & Girls (NY), Brooklyn Ballers- almost singlehandedly led team to an upset win over Boo, but lost in OT

Others
Luke Cothron '10, Flora MacDonald Academy (NC), Boo Williams- wasn't great, but had some flashes here and there
Will Regan '10, Nichols School (NY), Albany City Rocks- big man can run the floor and shoot it
Brian Richardson '10, Greenfield School (NC), Boo Williams- team didn't lose much when he entered the game
John Manning '11, Chantilly (VA), Boo Williams- 6'10 sophomore didn't play much but was good when he did; has a nice hook shot
Anthony Taylor '10, Living Faith (NJ), Dajuan Wagner Rising Stars- former middle school phenom still has talent
Carson Desrosiers '10, Central Catholic (MA), Mass Rivals- big man needs to play in the post a bit more, but is quite skilled
Kevin Boyle, Jr. '10, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- had a very good weekend at the point; rarely left the floor
Dennis Green '12, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- one of the key pieces of the future for St. Pat's
Chase Plummer '10, St. Patrick's (NJ), NJ Celtics- it wasn't his best weekend, but he worked hard down low