by Alex Schwartz

I woke up bright and early today so that I could make it out to The Hoop Group Headquarters in Neptune, New Jersey for The Hoop Group HBC Metro Summer Showcase. A high school event featuring teams from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, the field was led by defending champ St. Patrick's (NJ), Neumann-Goretti (PA), Paterson Catholic (NJ), Lincoln (NY), and Seton Hall Prep (NJ). Here's how the first day's action went:

In the top left bracket, Middletown South (NJ) beat defending Non-Public A state champ Immaculata (NJ), and then nearly knocked off Paterson Catholic (NJ), but fell by six. Seton Hall-bound Fuquan Edwin '10 led all scorers with 31 points, while Pat O'Connell '10 had 23 for Middletown South and Rob Callori '10 added 18. Paterson Catholic will face Lakewood (NJ) in the Elite 8 tomorrow, as Jarrod Davis '11 and Co. narrowly beat Teaneck (NJ) in the first round and then topped Newark Eastside (NJ) in OT.

In the bottom left bracket, Neumann-Goretti (PA) easily ran through Amistad Academy (CT)—the showcase's only squad from CT—and Shawnee (NJ) to make the quarterfinals, while Christian Brothers Academy (NJ) upended Hillside (NJ) and Winslow Township (NJ) to make the quarters as well. Neumann was without Wake Forest-pledge Tony Chenault '10 today, but he is expected to be in attendance tomorrow.

In the top right bracket, Lincoln (NY)—the lone Empire State team in the event—cruised by Pascack Valley (NJ) and hometown Neptune (NJ) to make the Elite 8. Seton Hall Prep (NJ) beat Winslow Township (NJ)—the team filled an open spot and played again, despite losing—in the first round and then knocked off Gill St. Bernard's (NJ) in the Sweet 16. Sterling Gibbs '11 was the key to SHP's success. Despite losing in the second round, 6'6 power forward Dominic Hoffman '12 of Gill has got to be proud of his play today.

St. Patrick's (NJ) won this event last year, and although the Celtics are without their two best players in Kyrie Irving '10 and Michael Gilchrist '11, many expect the defending NJSIAA TOC champs to win again. The squad fought off a tough Westhampton Tech (NJ) team in the first round, and then defeated Newark Central (NJ)—which made it to the second round after scoring at the buzzer to upset Monmouth Regional (NJ) in round one—in a contest that ended in controversy. Although I left right before it happened, near the end of the game, apparently the two teams got into a brawl that included some punches. The contest was called with about 1:30 to play and St. Pat's up by 25+. The Celtics will take on Westtown (PA) in the quarters, as the Keystone State team defeated CBA #2 and St. Joseph's Metuchen (NJ).

Here's the rundown of the remaining squads and the matchups:
Paterson Catholic (NJ) vs. Lakewood (NJ)
Neumann-Goretti (PA) vs. Christian Brothers Academy (NJ)
Lincoln (NY) vs. Seton Hall Prep (NJ)
St. Patrick's (NJ) vs. Westtown (PA)

The Lincoln/SHP game should be the best of the four, though they all have the potential to be good contests. Five of the eight remaining teams are from the Garden State, which makes sense considering that 27 of the 32 teams entered are from NJ.

During the day I also had a chance to catch up with some of the players participating. Have a look:

Tyreek Duren '10, Neumann-Goretti (PA): Miami, UMass, La Salle, Temple, St. Bonaventure, Robert Morris, Virginia Tech, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia, and Houston
                            Offers: UMass, La Salle, Temple, St. Bonaventure, Virginia Commonwealth, and Houston
                            Favorites: "I like VCU, La Salle, Temple, [and] UMass."
                            Note- Duren stated, "I think Miami is going to offer later this summer. . . . The assistant coach said the head coach has to see me play."

Pat O'Connell '10, Middletown South (NJ): Stonehill (DII), Vermont, Lehigh, and Davidson
                              Offers: None
                              Favorites: "I'd like to see Vermont because I've heard it's a real nice school. Lehigh would be great too because it [offers] a great education."
                              Notes- O'Connell, who said he has a GPA "probably a little higher than 3.0," stated that he "wants to go to a school that [will be a good stepping stone] for after basketball where I can be successful, [with a] nice campus [and] nice basketball atmosphere." Pat told me that there are other schools showing interest in him at the DI, DII, and DIII levels, but that he could not remember them off the top of his head.

Jarrod Davis '11, Lakewood (NJ): Kentucky, Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's, La Salle, Rutgers, Penn State, Villanova, Georgetown, Maryland, Houston, UAB, St. John's, Marist, Rice, Texas, Syracuse, Indiana, and UConn
                           Offers: Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's, Rice, Texas, and Syracuse
                           Favorites: "No, I'm wide open."
                           Note- Davis said he "plans to visit probably Virginia Tech, Maryland, and Villanova," and stated that he "doesn't have a problem going away" for college.

Jarelle Reischel '11, Pt. Pleasant Beach (NJ): Maryland, West Virginia, Providence, Seton Hall, Kansas, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Monmouth, and Penn State
                                 Offers: Rutgers and Monmouth
                                 Favorites: None
                                 Notes- Reischel said the followingwhen I asked him if he had a dream school: "No, not really. I wouldlove to play in a high conference like [the] A-10 [or] Big East."Jarelle played just three minutes in the game I watched because hepulled his groin on Thursday. He told me he would out for about two tothree weeks.

Justin Harris '11, Paramus Catholic (NJ): St. John's, Indiana, Notre Dame, and Penn State
                          Offers: None
                          Favorites: None
                          Note- When asked if he has a dream school, Harris replied, "I want to go to UConn, but I got to wait. I got to start performing better [and] . . . I got to work on a couple things before I get to that level."

Tariq Carey '12, Newark Eastside (NJ): SMU, St. Joseph's, and Siena
                          Offers: "No, not as of yet, but I believe by the end of the summer I may have offers."
                          Favorites: "I like all three schools [and] . . . I just want to leave my options open."
                          Note- Carey, who listed Wake Forest as his dream school, informed me that he "took an unofficial [visit] to SMU" about a week ago when he was in Texas for a camp, adding that "it was really nice."

Derrick Stewart '12, Neumann-Goretti (PA): as of now, Stewart said no one is actively recruiting him, but told me has gotten mail—presumably a questionnaire—from St. Joseph's, Temple, and Oregon
                               Offers: n/a
                               Favorites: n/a
                               Note- When I asked Stewart if he had a dream school, he replied, "Not really. I'm still looking, but I'd probably like to play with my [older] brother [Danny '10]."

Aaron Bodie '12, Newark Eastside (NJ): Bodie said he thought some colleges were showing some interest, but he wasn't sure, as his father handles all of that
                            Offers: n/a
                            Favorites: n/a
                            Note- Bodie, who used the word "aggressive" to sum up his game, listed Wake Forest as his dream school, just like teammate Tariq Carey did.

While at the event, I also took down a few scouting reports. Check them out:

Derrick Randall '11, Paterson Catholic (NJ)
A long power forward standing about 6'7.5, Randall is a very intriguing prospect who has a chance to be very special one day. Right now he is still raw, but he does a good job of manning the low post on D. Derrick does run into problems with fouls though, as he tries to block most shots down there, so he is prone to body-to-body contact while a player is going up. There were a number of times that he was called for a foul in the paint, including back-to-back possessions where the opponent was awarded an and-one. Even when he does not block a shot, the rising junior does a nice job of altering attempts. Randall has a good frame, yet it is one that he can definitely add some bulk to.

Dominic Hoffman '12, Gill St. Bernard's (NJ)
He is that well-known just yet, but Hoffman might be one day. At around 6'6, he has good size for a rising sophomore, though he will need to hit 6'8 or 6'9 to reach his full potential. Hoffman's frame is not bad, but he needs to become more chiseled. The young big man works hard in the paint at both ends of the floor, and runs hard to get up and down the court. Dominic is a stellar passer and a good rebounder. He is solid when it comes to athleticism, but needs to improve on his finishing ability. Hoffman utilizes some nice low post moves at times and is tough down low when he has the rock.

Check the Northstar Basketball Twitter page for updates from today's games and stayed tuned tomorrow for coverage of the rest of the games. Also check back here for a recap of day two's action tomorrow night.