December was a good opportunity to watch some great high school events up and down the east coast. The following events were covered; FUMA Invitational (Fork Union Military Academy; Palmyra, VA), Gonzaga DC Classic (Gonzaga HS; Washington, DC), Times-Dispatch Invitational (Richmond, VA), National Jesuit Classic (Georgetown Prep, Rockville, MD), BCCC (Benedictine HS; Richmond, VA) and the Beach Ball Classic (Myrtle Beach, SC). The events were full of talented teams and talented players. Below are a few take-aways from each event. There were also a handful of high school games that were covered during the month. You can read the full report which includes information about all 254 college level players who were evaluated at these events.

Gonzaga DC Classic

The Gonzaga DC Classic was a great event. I watched Day1 action at the tournament and there were some studs on the floor. I was very impressed with the Chantilly HS team, the event's only public school team and they more than held their own. Chantilly has 6 college level players on their team, a blend of High Major prospects thru Division III role players. The focal point of the team is John Manning (2010, 7'0”, 5, RR-9) , but another player who put up big numbers was Kethan Savage (2011, 6'2”, 2, RR-6) , he scored 32 points against one of the nation's premier teams, Mater Dei, as Chantilly nearly knocked off the top team from California. I would bet that Chantilly is playing deep into the state tournament in Virginia this March. There are 43 players from this event in the full report.

FUMA Invitational

The FUMA Invitational didn't disappoint even though I had seen each team play at other times during the year. The field of Fork Union, Hargrave, New Hampton and Lee Academy have so many players on their rosters, a new prospect jumps out at you each time you watch. First round action was solid and the matchup between Fork Union and Lee Academy was back and forth the whole game. One whole side of the gym was full of cadets who had their weekly opportunity to get crazy and reckless as they cheered on their team. One impressive player for Fork Union was their point guard, Julian Ramirez (2010, 5'10”, 1, RR-5) . Ramirez played all but two minutes of the game and did a very good job of running the offense and directing traffic. On the other side, Lee Academy played well. Keith Coleman (2011, 6'9”, 5, RR-8) stuck out to me while I watched the game. Coleman is a tough post player who has a good stroke out to 15' and an array of moves with his back to the basket. There are 29 players from this event in the full report.

National Jesuit Classic

Day1 of the National Jesuit Classic featured four competitive games which usually isn't the case for the first round. With a few exceptions, this event was packed mostly full of Division III level players…great players with skill, but lacking either athleticism or size. Teams from New York, Florida, Maryland, Louisiana and Ohio represented the field. Canisius HS (Buffalo) and Loyola Prep (Baltimore) played a tough game in the afternoon set. Blair Helton (2010, 6'1”, 2, RR-4) from Canisius played a strong game on the wing. He was good off the dribble as well as moving without the ball. I really enjoyed watching the Loyola floor general play, Mike Fitzpatrick (2010, 5'9”, 1, RR-4). Fitzpatrick is a little undersized, but he controlled the game, made good decisions and hit all of his free throws. In the day's last game, Regis HS out of New York almost upset the host, Georgetown Prep. Georgetown Prep was led by Georgetown-bound Markel Starks (2010, 6'2”, 1/2, RR-10, Georgetown). Markel is a tremendous athlete who can shoot the ball off the catch or the bounce as well as put it on the floor to get to the rim. In the end, he was just too tough for Regis. The diamond of the day, though, was Regis's frontcourt player Rob Mohen (2010, 6'4”, 3, RR-5). Mohen was effective in the post and on the perimeter. He isn't the most athletic player on the floor, but he gets the job done and has a good skill set. There are 36 players from this event in the full report.

Times-Dispatch Invitational

After several delays due to a snowstorm, the event's first round of action was moved to the Siegel Center . Eight teams from the central Virginia area competed in this three day event. There was a good blend of talent, mostly players from the 2010 and 2011 classes. A few players stuck out over the course of the day. I have seen Mike Gbinije (2011, 6'7”, 3, RR-9) from Benedictine play five times this season and he has yet to live up to the hype that I hear from coaches around the country. On this day, though, he did deliver a high-major performance. He looked very good out on the break, catching and finishing above the rim. His shot was falling this game which allowed the rest of his game to fall into place. Another talent in the 2011 class is Jarvis Threatt (2011, 6'1”, 1, RR-6) from Highland Springs HS. Jarvis is a quick lead guard with long arms. He had a nice stroke and played with a confidence that was refreshing to see. The last player that stood out was Godwin High School 's combo guard Garrett Harvey (2010, 6'2”, 1/2, RR-4) . Garrett is a smooth guard with great vision on the floor. He was a capable scorer, but his best attribute was getting teammates involved and making good decisions in the halfcourt and on the break. There are 35 players from this event in the full report.

Benedictine Capital City Classic

As a high school senior (McQuaid Jesuit HS; Rochester , NY ), I was fortunate enough to play in this event. Year in and year out, it continues to be an event full of talented teams and individuals from all over the country. This year's field definitely didn't disappoint. The teams include; Ravenscroft (Raleigh, NC), Bishop Molloy (Briarwood, NY), Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia, PA), Benedictine (Richmond, VA), Deep Run HS (Glen Allen, VA), Bullis School (Potomac, MD), Pennsbury HS (Fairless Hills, PA) and Calvert Hall (Baltimore, MD). Day 2 action at the event included some great performances. Here are my “award winners” from watching the BCCC event. Best Lead Guard – Hands down, the best point guard was Ravencroft's Luke Davis (2010, 6'1”, 1, RR-7, Gardner Webb ), he is very quick with the ball and makes good decisions when to be a setup man and when his team needs him to be a scorer. Luke is going to be a solid lead guard at the next level. Best Scorer – Another obvious selection, Ernest Rouse (2010, 6'1”, 2, RR-7) from Bishop Molloy. Ernest scored 34 points in the game I saw and he was scoring these points even with the defense keying on him. Ernest was effective off the catch, off the dribble and attacking the rim. Best Defender - The day's best job on the defensive end went to Pat Connaghan (2010, 6'4”, 3, RR-4) from Chestnut Hill. Pat has a strong frame and he knows how to force players into doing things they don't want to do. Just ask Mike Gbinije who was held to 6 points (2-12 from the field with two dunks) and looked continuously frustrated by Pat's ability to body up and contest shots. There were plenty of other college prospects in action during the day, definitely an event I'd recommend to coaches looking for players over the Christmas break. There are 42 players from this event in the full report.

Beach Ball Classic

The Beach Ball Classic celebrated its 29 th year as being one of the nation's premier Christmas season high school tournaments. I was able to witness Day 4 action of the event, which to my surprise did not include Bishop O'Connell due to the fact that O'Connell lost their first three games of the event. I will see O'Connell later in the year so it wasn't a big deal, but it definitely made me more excited about how high the level of play must be if they were 0-3. Some of the teams that really impressed me over the course of the day included: Alexander Hamilton HS (Milwaukee, WI), Cedar Hill HS (Cedar Hill, TX), Mt. St . Joseph (Baltimore, MD) and Nichols (Buffalo, NY). Alexander Hamilton was lead by lightening quick point guard Chuck Lee (2011, 5'9”, 1, RR-5) . They also have a very raw post player, Elgin Cook (2011, 6'6”, 4, RR-7) , who has a lot of potential. Cedar Hill had a well-balanced attack lead by combo guard Tanner Milson (2010, 6'1”, 1/2, RR-6, UNC-Wilmington) . Tanner is the coach's son who has a high basketball IQ and a smooth stroke. They have a monster on the block, Thomas Gipson (2011, 6'7”, 4, RR-9) who has an NFL body right now, but he is also a power down low. Mt. St. Joseph had the best chemistry of any team I saw during the day of action. The backcourt of Eric Atkins (2010, 6'2”, 1/2, RR-9, Notre Dame) and Matt Miller (2010, 6'2”, 2/3, RR-5, Seton Hill ) provides plenty of IQ and scoring ability, while Ryley Beaumont (2010, 6'6”, 4/3, RR-6, Elon) gives them a forward who creates mismatches with his ability to post players up, take slower players off the dribble and hit the perimeter shot. This team takes pride in how hard they play and scrap; I was really impressed with what I saw. The Nichols School had a great battle against talent-laden Wheeler HS (Marietta, GA). Their entire starting five contributed in big ways, but their frontcourt was most impressive. Class of 2012 prospect Stan Weir (2012, 6'2”, 2/3, RR-7) showed an ability to score from the perimeter and take it strong to the rim. He gave a great effort slowing down Jelan Kendrick (2010, 6'6”, 3, RR-10, Memphis) from Wheeler. Their two post players, Connor Vandegriff (2010, 6'5”, 4, RR-4) and Will Regan (2010, 6'8”, 4, RR-9, Virginia) , did a great job of outworking the opposition while being very fundamental on both ends of the floor. Vandegriff is slightly undersized, but his footwork and touch around the rim is tremendous. Regan is a force around the basket as well, but he also has a nice stroke out to the three point line. Neither of these post players are very athletic, but they make up for it with their motors and footwork in the lane. This event was tremendous and there are 69 players from this event in the full report.

Click here for the full December Report.