Day1 Summary

The first day of The National Prep Showcase did not disappoint, seven games full of talented prospects getting after it on the hardwood. For some of these teams, this was their first game of the season. For others, they have a handful of games under their belt. Regardless of how prepared they were, all of these teams made the most of their trip to New Haven . Here are the results from Friday's action.

Northfield Mount Hermon – 80
Fork Union Military Academy – 73

NMH wing Armani Cotton (2011, 6'7”, 3, RR-8, Yale) was one of the highlights of the game. He is a hard-nosed defender with a great motor. Armani had 5 steals and a number of other deflections on the defensive end. His willingness to dive for loose balls and sacrifice his body was the difference for NMH. Yale is getting a tremendous player in Armani. He can shoot the three, score around the basket and finish on the break. Fork Union wing Ryan Canoy (2011, 6'5”, 2/3, RR-7) was very impressive today. He has a long frame and does a good job scoring in transition and in the halfcourt. Ryan scored 22 points in a variety of ways (two 3s, five 2s, 6/7 from the line) and he also played tough defense.

Notre Dame Prep – 75
Fishburne Military School – 66

Notre Dame combo guard Myles Davis (2012, 6'3”, 1/2, RR-10) was more impressive today than any other time I've seen him play. Contrary to with his AAU squad, Myles was able to be a creator with this team and he was great. He had 19 points, 4 assists and 0 turnovers in the game. Myles did a great job pushing the ball with the pass or bounce, he also got in the lane and created for others. He was his normal self from deep, 4/6 from three. Fishburne wing KC Whitaker (2011, 6'5”, 2, RR-8, UAB) played a great game against the best players he has ever faced. He had 24 points and 4 assists and almost single-handedly kept his squad in the game late. This lefty shooter (5/12 from three) has a high release and gets off the ground pretty well on his stroke. KC made good pass/shoot decisions in the open court and was successful against a very athletic team.

Westwind Prep – 83
Bridgton Academy – 78

Westwind forward John Green (2011, 6'6”, 3, RR-8, UC-Santa Barbara) was a force from start to finish. This high-motor forward started the game catching a lob dunk and played with the same level of intensity the 38+ minutes he was on the floor. He had 30 points and 11 rebounds, a similar performance from what I saw this summer when he played with Team 94 out of Oakland . He can get to the basket, hit the three and make the correct read in the halfcourt. He took two charges on the defensive end and contested a bunch of shots. Bridgton power forward Donnie Hale (2011, 6'8”, 4, RR-8, Purdue) was a warrior in the paint. The lefty had 15 points and 14 rebounds while also blocking 3 shots. His stroke wasn't great (0/4 from 3, 3/6 from the line), but he kept balls alive on the offensive glass and never stopped working.

Hargrave Military Academy – 115
South Kent School – 105

Hargrave runs a four guard offense and it is next to impossible to matchup with them on the perimeter. Wing player PJ Hairston (2011, 6'6”, 2/3, RR-10, North Carolina) was feeling it early and often from deep and ended up with 29 points and 11 rebounds. He was a threat anywhere inside halfcourt and was very efficient with the ball. PJ attempted to take two charges (one successful) on the defensive end which was impressive. South Kent tried to run with Hargrave which not many teams are able to do. A lot of credit has to go to their wing player Ricardo Ledo (2012, 6'6”, 2/3, RR-10) who stepped up to the challenge to compete with the Hargrave guards. Ricardo had 30 points and showed that he could score in a variety of ways. He is long on the defensive end which allowed him to block a shot and get a couple of steals.

St. Thomas More – 82
Lee Academy – 57

In the only lopsided game of the day, St. Thomas More ran their offense like it was mid-season already. Wing player Damion Lee (2011, 6'6”, 3, RR-9) was fantastic on both ends of the floor. He has great vision in the halfcourt and made the correct pass/shoot decision almost every time he had the ball. Damion hit the three, finished in the lane and above the rim. He was very active on the defensive end as well. Lee Academy had a balanced attack led by post player Keith Coleman (2011, 6'9”, 5/4, RR-9) . Keith is a monster in the paint and looks like he'd be a monster on the football field as well. He reminds me of a Thomas Gipson because he is so big, yet he has soft hands around the basket. Keith has a good motor and things seem to be coming together for him more and more.

Princeton Day Academy – 67
Winchendon School – 63

Princeton Day and Winchendon competed in a back-n-forth game that went all the way down to the last possession before it was finally decided. Donte Thomas (2011, 6'5”, 3, RR-6) led the way for Princeton Day. He was very effective on the interior (4/6 from the floor) and made a nice backdoor pass to a teammate in traffic. Donte struggled from the foul line (5/11), but he went hard on both ends. Winchendon has a new look with Coach Matt Quinn at the helm. Point guard Varun Ram (2011, 5'10”, 1, RR-4) played a solid game on both ends of the floor. He took what the defense gave him on offense and hit the open shot or got in the lane to create for himself or teammates. On the defensive end he was a worker, diving for loose balls and taking charges (two) to put his team in a position to win.

NIA Prep – 100
Maine Central Institute – 89

The most intense game of the day had to be the last one, an overtime thriller that made a long day of games…even longer. NIA Prep's Shaq Thomas (2011, 6'8”, 4/3, RR-9, Cincinnati) hit a running three point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Shaq was very efficient from the field on his way to 27 points on 9/16 shooting and 8/9 from the line. He can finish well around the rim on drives and putbacks. He has a long frame that makes him a force on the defensive end and on the glass at times when he's hungry. MCI combo forward Khristian Smith (2011, 6'6”, 4/3, RR-6) played a great inside/outside game and hit several big shots late in the contest. He wasn't afraid to take other posts off the dribble and he could hit the open jumper as well. Khristian doesn't have great athleticism, but he has good strength and good footwork.

Saturday's action starts at 9:00 with Bridgton and Fork Union getting after it. Stay tuned for the Day2 summary as well as the full report including more than 150 college prospects who are being evaluated at the event.