by Alex Schwartz

Saturday at the Prime Time Shootout was filled with action and big-time games from big-time players. With Jordan Brand Classic All-American ad Syracuse-signee Dion Waiters ’10 putting on the first show oft he day and McDonald’s All-American Doron Lamb ’10 capping it off, the 13th was a fantastic day at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Below is a recap of the first four games of the day.

LifeCenter Academy (NJ) vs. Our Savior New American (NY)
Dion Waiters (pictured) did it all on Saturday afternoon in his team’s convincing win over Our Savior New American. The 6’2 Syracuse-bound combo guard put on a show in Life Center Academy’s 74-58 victory, finishing with 34 points, which was good for 45.9% of the Warriors’ offensive total. Waiters shot 14/22 from the field(63.6%), including 2/5 beyond the arc. He was also 4/5 at the line and 4assists, 3 rebounds (all offensive), 3 steals, and 2 turnovers. Waiters threw down one or two extremely impressive dunks, and the offensive arsenal he displayed was fantastic. All said, Waiters showed why he was selected to the Jordan Brand Classic All-American Game, winning Most Outstanding Player honors.

Although Waiters was the star for LCA in its win, he was not the lone standout. UMass-Lowell-signee Chris Thompson ’10 showed once again why he is such a major steal for the DII program. A 6’3 combo guard who can score at the rim and also hit the outside J, Thompson has a shot to be a star at the DII level. He finished with 11 points on 4/8 shooting, including hitting3/5 on threes. He added 1 assist and 4 rebounds. Stojan Gjuroski ’10, a 6’7 small forward, started off the game with two three-pointers, but missed his final three and finished 4/9 from the field to score 10 points. Gjuroski also had 6 rebounds (2 offensive), 1 assist, and 1 steal. He had the look of a low-major plus to mid-major minus wing in the right system. Rashawn Cunningham’11 (3 points, 1 assist) and Daniel Pitter ’10 (1 rebound) were both quiet in the game, but did not need to do much, as Waiters carried the load.

As highly-touted as Dion Waiters is, he might not be the biggest name on the team; that might be LaQuinton Ross ’11, a 6’8 wing from Mississippi. Formerly considered a top three prospect in the class of 2011,Ross recently transferred to Life Center from Murrah (MS), and was quite up-and-down in this game. Although he had a nice stat line of 14 points (6/11FG, 2/5 3P), 8 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, there was another number that was alarming. Ross had 7 turnovers, something that he is going to have to work on to re-attain elite prospect status. Although he has great size and length for a 3, Ross needs to round out his full game, as he cannot rely on potential forever.

For Our Savior New American, it was basically a one-man show, but boy was it a great show. After starting slow, Wil Martinez ’11finished with 29 points, 7 rebounds (1 offensive), 5 steals, and 1 assist. The Puerto Rico native was an impressive 13/15 (86.7%) at the stripe, but had 4turnovers and missed on all 7 of his three-point attempts. The 6’1 combo guard did go 8/12 on twos and thus finished a respectable 8/19 (42.1%) from the floor en route to winning MOP. Martinez is undersized, but he has quality talent, so it will be interesting to see what level he ends up at. Right now, it looks like he could be a mid-major player.

The other two big names on OSNA, Franklin Milian ’10 and Jevon Thomas ’13, both struggled. Milian ended with 11 points, but was just3/14 (21.4%) from the field and 5/8 (62.5) at the line. A 6’4 wing, Milian added 6 rebounds (4 offensive) and 1 assist, but had 4 turnovers. Thomas is only a freshman and his talent is evident, but he was a pedestrian 1/11 (9.1%)on field goals, though he did make both of his free throw attempts. Thomas, who arrived late to the game, also had 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal to go along with 2 turnovers.

Lincoln(NY) vs. Middle Township (NJ)
This game was much closer than one would have expected. Lincoln, led by numerous Division I prospects, looked like it would roll all over MiddleTownship, but that was not at all the case. The boys from the Garden State kept it somewhat close throughout the game and limited the Railsplittersoffensively. Lincoln came away with a 61-47 victory, but Middle Township should be commended for not only not being intimidated, but also playing the Big Apple power tight.

Shaq Stokes ’11 (pictured) is undersized at 5’11, but the combo guard can really score the ball. Stokes had 18 points and garnered Most Outstanding Player honors on Saturday, showing that he can shoot the rock from beyond the arc. Stokes’ game has really developed since last year when he struggled on a loaded, underachieving Lincoln team. Any questions of Stokes being a DI player have all but been erased. Jordan Dickerson ’11, a 6’11center, may end up as a high-major player. Standing a touch under 7-feet and still a junior, Dickerson is surprising mobile and uses his body to his advantage. His overall game needs some work, but as they say, you can’t teach height. Kamari Murphy, a 6’7 small forward, struggled for Lincoln and really did not do much on this afternoon, but he is certainly a talent who may well end up at the high-major level. He has a long and lanky frame that will be worked with once he hits a college weight room.

Reuben King, Jr. ’11 was solid for the Railsplitters  as well. He did a good job on both ends of the floor and the 6’3 shooting guard was a nice role player for Dwayne “Tiny” Morton’s team. Speaking of Morton, Trevonn Morton ’13 had a nice game. A 6’0 guard, Morton—I have heard from somethat he is Tiny’s nephew and from others that he is the coach’s son—more than held his own and also hit a three. Ethan Telfair ’13 has big shoes to fill at Lincoln after his older brother, Sebastian, dominated the NYC scene for four years, but at just 5’8, people should compare Ethan to his brother, especially considering he just does not have that top-notch skill set. For MiddleT ownship, it was John Jefferson ’10 who picked up the MOP award, scoring 14points in the defeat.

TrentonCatholic (NJ) vs. Thomas Jefferson (NY)
On paper, this looked like it could be the matchup of the day, but that was not to be. The Iron Mikes of Trenton Catholic jumped on the Orange Wave from the get-go. Besides one or two runs from Thomas Jefferson, TCA had a solid double-digit lead for much of the game. A balanced scoring attack that saw all of the TCA “big four” end in double-digits, propelled the Garden State team to a 66-58 win.

Dondre Whitmore '10 (pictured), a 5’9 combo guard, was named Most Outstanding Player for the victors, scoring 13 points (4/14 FG, 5/7 FT), 1offensive rebound, and 1 steal. While the stat line was not gaudy, Whitmore got the job done and the hard-nosed, undersized scorer was vital in the Iron Mikes’ victory. The leading scorer in the win was Drexel-signee Frantz Massenat ’10,who had 14 points (4/9 FG, 6/9 FT), 5 rebounds (2 offensive), and 4 assists,was solid from start to finish. A 6’4 point guard, Massenat was the offensive facilitator for Fred Falchi’s team.

Khalid Lewis El ’11 had just 11 points, but it was a loud11 points. The 6’3 wing was 5/5 from the field (1/3 FT), adding 5 assists and 4rebounds (1 offensive) and played a great game. He did all the little things and was a great contributor in the TCA win. He looks like he could end up at a higher level mid-major program, but if he improves his jumper and/or grows another inch or two, Lewis El may see the big boys knocking on his door.

Markese Tucker ’10 might be at 6’5, but he can really play. The senior had 10 points (3/6 FG, 4/5 FT), 7 rebounds (3 offensive), and2 assists. A face-up 4 with a great frame, Tucker rebounds the ball and can hit the 16-foot jumper, which is becoming a lost art. Chris Lewis ’11, a 5’9 combo guard, scored 9 points for TCA, going 3/3 beyond the arc. Brandon Taylor ’12, a6’6 power forward, had 4 points and 4 rebounds.

At the other end, Jefferson’s two backcourt stars were quiet the whole game. St. John’s-commit Davontay Grace ’11, a 6’2 point guard, had just 10 points and 1 assist, shooting only 4/15 (26.7%) from the field,including 1/6 (16.7%) on threes. Grace struggled in this game, but he is a talented player. Stony Brook-bound Dave Coley ’10, a 6’1 point guard, also had an off day from the field. Coley was 3/10 from the field and also shot 1/6 beyond the arc. Coley finished up with 9 points and 3 assists.

The stars of the day for Jefferson were 6’6 power forward Shamel Williams ’11 and 6’4 shooting guard Thaddeus Hall ’12. Williams was superb in the paint, scoring 16 points on 7/9 shooting (77.8%) from the field in addition to hitting both of his free throws, winning MOP. Williams also had4 rebounds (1 offensive), and looked like a DI prospect on this day. Thaddeus Hall is only a sophomore and has the looks of a budding star. The shooter scored 14 points, hitting 2/5 beyond the arc (6/12 overall), to go along with 2rebounds and 2 blocks. His stats do not show just how well he played,especially as his more highly regarded backcourt mates did not play up to their usual level.

BOXSCORE (unofficial)

Team                                1          2         H          3         4          F    
Trenton Catholic           18        17       35       18       13        66
Thomas Jefferson        13       11       24        13       21       58

TrentonCatholic
Frantz Massenat- 14pts, 4/9 FG(44.4%), 0/1 3P, 6/9 FT (66.7%), 5rbs (2 off), 4ast, 2stl, 1blk, 2to
Dondre Whitmore- 13pts, 4/14 FG(28.6%), 0/4 3P, 5/7 FT (71.4%), 1reb (1 off), 1stl
Khalid Lewis El- 11pts, 5/5 FG, 1/2FT (50%), 4reb (1 off), 5ast, 1stl, 2to
Markese Tucker- 10pts, 3/6 FG (50%),4/5 FT (80%), 7reb (3 off), 2ast, 1stl, 1blk
Chris Lewis- 9pts, 3/3 FG, 3/3 3P,1reb, 3tp
Brandon Taylor- 4pts, 1/1 FG, 2/2FT, 4reb, 1blk
Ron Paden- 3pts, 1/5 FG (20%), 0/13P, 1/2 FT (50%), 2reb (1 off), 1blk, 1to
Chaz Patterson- 2pts, 1/1 FG, 1reb(1 off)
Melvin Welden- 1to
TEAM- 66pts, 22/44 FG (50%), 3/9 3P(33.3%), 19/29 FT (65.5%), 25reb (9 off), 11ast, 5stl, 4blk, 9to

ThomasJefferson
Shamel Williams- 16pts, 7/9 FT(77.8%), 2/2 FT, 4reb (1 off), 1stl
Thaddeus Hall- 14pts, 6/12 FG (50%),2/5 3P (40%), 2reb, 1stl, 2blk, 1to
Davontay Grace- 10pts, 4/15 FG(26.7%), 1/6 3P (16.7%), 1/2 FT, 2reb (1 off), 1ast, 1stl, 2to
Dave Coley- 9pts, 3/10 FG (30%), 1/63P (16.7%), 2/4 FT (50%), 1reb, 3ast, 1to
Edson Avila- 4pts, 2/7 FG (28.6%),0/1 FT, 4reb (3 off), 1blk, 2to
Eric Turpin- 3pts, 0/3 FG, 3/4 FT(75%), 3reb (3 off), 1ast, 2stl, 1to
Corwin Austin- 2pts, 1/3 FG (33.3%),3reb (1 off), 2ast, 1to
Branden Foreman- 1reb (1 off), 1to
TEAM- 58pts, 23/59 FG (39%), 4/17 3P(23.5%), 8/13 FT (61.5), 20reb (10 off), 7ast, 5stl, 3blk, 9to

FindlayPrep (NV) vs. Hotchkiss School (CT)
Besides the two early back-to-back threes from Georgia Tech-signee Jason Morris’10, this game was all Findlay Prep. Even without Texas-bound McDonald’s All-American Tristan Thompson ’10, the Pilots coasted to a 64-48 victory in a game that was almost never in question. Thompson, who was wearing a leg brace and told me that he would be out until February 22nd, watched him fellow McDonald’s All-American Cory Joseph ’10 (pictured) along with Nick Johnson ’11 lead the team to victory.

Joseph and Johnson, two of the top guards in their respective classes, were fantastic for the Michael Peck’s team. Both had 18+points and did a good job of leading the team. Joseph was named Most Outstanding Player, dropping 19 points (6/15 FG, 6/6 FT) to go along with 5rebounds (1 offensive), 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The uncommitted 6’3point guard was silky smooth and showed why he is so highly regarded. Whichever program—Minnesota, Texas, UConn, UNLV, or Villanova—gets him, will be landing a player who will be able to compete as a freshman. As for Nick Johnson, he is trigger-happy, but he still shot 6/13 (46.2%) from the field and 6/8 at the line en route to 18 points, 8 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 assists, and 2 steals.Johnson is a best suited at the 2 as he is mostly a scorer at this point.

In the absence of two main contributors—Tristan Thompson(injury) and Marko Petrovic ’10 (injury)—to go along with Jabari Brown ’11 having transferred out of Findlay about a month ago, Nigel Williams-Goss ’13 was forced to step up in the backcourt. A 6’3 combo guard, the freshman was superb for the Pilots. He had 11 points (4/7 FG, 3/6 FT) and 2 rebounds and more than held his own against a quality team. Another talented underclassmen, 6’7 combo forward Winston Shepard ’12, has the potential to be a superstar down the road.Shepard, who has great size and length, had 10 points, rebounds (4 offensive),and 2 assists. He will, without a doubt, be able to play at the absolute highest level. The other main contributor for Findlay was 6’8 post player Godwin Okonji ’10. He did not show that much on this day, but was effective when he got touches, going 2/2 from the field and 2/2 at the line, finishing with6 points and 4 rebounds (1 offensive).

For Hotchkiss School, it was all about Derrick Wilson ’11.A 6’1 point guard, Wilson was named MOP as he scored a game-high 24 points on9/19 (47.4%) shooting from the field and 6/11 shooting from the stripe. Wilson,who had 50% of his team’s points, also had 3 rebounds (all offensive) and 2assists. He carried the Constitution State team on his back, driving to the cup time after time and getting to the line repeatedly. Although he was not able to get the W for Hotchkiss, Wilson showed why he is a high-major recruit. A power guard with a sturdy frame, Wilson really knows how to use his body to his  advantage.

The other big name on Hotchkiss is Jason Morris, but he really struggled at the Prime Time Shootout. The 6’5 small forward had just 10points and 4 rebounds (3 offensive) to go along with 1 assist and 2 turnovers.He missed a number of layups and did not hit a three—he only took one more—after the aforementioned quick start. The future Yellow Jacket is a great athlete,but his skill set and shooting are not nearly at that same level yet, evidenced by the fact that he was just 4/15 (26.7%) from the field. His athleticism is quite intriguing and Morris will do well under Paul Hewitt’s tutelage, but he has a fair amount of work to do.

Monty Brown ’10, a 6’11 center, and Ronn Schruefer ’10, a6’7 power forward, were stellar for Hotchkiss in defeat. Although Brown had just 4 points on 2/4 shooting, he pulled down 10 boards, including 2 at the offensive end, to go along with 3 blocks, 2 assists, and 1 steal. He does not have an impressive offensive game and is not a great athlete, but Brown’s size,length, and rebounding ability should make him a fairly hot commodity down the stretch recruiting-wise. In the right system and at the proper level, he could be a very good college player. Much like Brown, Schruerfer did not score the ball (2 points, 1/2 FG, 0/2 FT), but helped out in other way. He had 5 rebounds(3 offensive), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers. Schurefer works hard and was a nice role player who has a shot to play at low Division I school. Clyde Smith’12, a highly-regarded 6’2 guard, really struggled for Hotchkiss. He scored 8points, but was 3/11 (27.2%) from the field. Smith went 1/4 beyond the arc and1/2 at the stripe, grabbing 2 rebounds (1 offensive), and turning the ball over3 times. He has potential and with two more years of high school left, Smith could turn into a nice player, but this was just not his day.

BOXSCORE (unofficial)

Team                              1         2          H          3          4          F    
Findlay Prep                 19        6         25        17        22       64
Hotchkiss School        12       10       22        13        13        48

FindlayPrep
Cory Joseph- 19pts, 6/15 FG (40%), 1/5 3P (20%), 6/6 FT,5reb (1 off), 2ast, 2stl, 2blk, 3to
Nick Johnson- 18pts, 6/13 FG(46.2%), 0/2 3P, 6/8 FT (75%), 8reb (3 off), 2ast, 1stl, 2blk, 2to
Nigel Williams-Goss- 11pts, 4/7 FG(57.1%), 0/2 3P, 3/6 FT (50%), 2reb (1 off), 2ast, 1blk, 1to
Winston Shepard- 10pts, 4/10 FG(40%), 0/1 3P, 2/4 FT (50%), 5reb (4 off), 2ast, 1stl, 1blk, 1to
Godwin Okonji- 6pts, 2/2 FG, 2/2 FT,4reb (1 off), 1stl
Thomas Laerke- 0/1 FG, 0/1 3P, 1reb(1 off), 3to
TEAM- 64pts, 22/48 FG (45.8%), 1/113P (9.1%), 19/26 FT (73.1%), 25reb (11 off), 8ast, 5stl, 6blk, 10to

HotchkissSchool
Derrick Wilson- 24pts, 9/19 FG (47.4%), 0/1 3P, 6/11 FT(54.5%), 3reb (3 off), 2ast, 2to
Jason Morris- 10pts, 4/15 FG(26.7%), 2/3 3P (66.7%), 4reb (3 off), 1ast, 2to
Clyde Smith- 8pts, 3/11 FG (27.2%), 1/43P (25%), 1/2 FT (50%), 2reb (1 off), 1stl, 1blk, 3to
Monty Brown- 4pts, 2/4 FG (50%), 10reb(2 off), 2ast, 1stl, 3blk
Ronn Schruefer- 2pts, 1/2 FG (50%),0/2 FT, 5reb (2 off), 1ast, 1to
Michael Rodgers- 0/1 FG
TEAM- 48pts, 19/52 FG (36.5%), 3/83P (37.5%), 7/15 FT (46.7%), 24reb (11 off), 6ast, 2stl, 4blk, 8to

The interviews/school lists from these four games will be up shortly. Also, the recaps and interviews/school lists from the three night games will be coming soon too.

Note- photos of Waiters and Joseph are from http://scouthoops.scout.com/, photo of Stokes is from http://www.nypost.com/, and photo of Whitmore is from http://www.nj.com/