Impressions of Jayden Pierre, Long Island Lutheran in a pair of elite showcases
Read about how Pierre fared in a matchup of top 20 teams, as well as at the prestigious HoopHall Classic in Springfield on Sunday.
Jayden Pierre, Providence’s point guard commit in the class of 2022, played in a pair of high profile events over the past week.
First, his Long Island Lutheran team took on New Jersey’s Roselle Catholic in a battle of two of the country’s top 20 high school programs. Roselle Catholic (RC) came into this game ranked 14th nationally by ESPN and 13th on MaxPreps, while Long Island Lutheran (LI) was 19th in ESPN’s rankings and 12th according to MaxPreps.
This matchup was part of The Metro Classic in Trenton, New Jersey — a night capped by two top five programs, Camden (NJ) and Montverde (FL), going head-to-head.
Long Island Lutheran and Roselle Catholic did not disappoint in their contest.
RC is loaded with talent, including a five star prospect in North Carolina commit Simeon Wilcher, a top 40 player in 2023 in power forward Akil Watson, and Nebraska pledge Jamarques Lawrence.
Roselle Catholic stormed out in the first quarter, and took a double digit lead early before Long Island Lutheran began chipping away. The RC lead was cut to 34-31 at the half, setting up a huge third quarter for Pierre and LuHi.
Pierre tied the game at 36 on what is seemingly a trademark shot for him — a midrange fadeaway that has been all but automatic in each of the first four games I have watched of Long Island Lutheran this season.
Pierre flashed his athleticism by throwing down a loud one-handed slam in transition to make it 39-36 LuHi, then he pulled up at the top of the key to knock down a transition 3-pointer to push his team ahead, 47-40.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen Pierre blazing down the court and then pulling up with enough balance to bury a pull-up three. Kyron Cartwright became really effective at using a similar shot from midrange in transition by the end of his career, and it would be quite a weapon for the future Friar to have in his repertoire.
Pierre scored nine of his 13 points on the night in the third — a quarter that saw LuHi outscore Roselle Catholic 20-10 to take a 51-44 lead into the final period. The third quarter scoring was capped by a Pierre dunk just before the buzzer sounded.
Long Island Lutheran had to have felt as though they let this one slip away, however. Pierre picked up four of his five fouls in the fourth quarter, and was blocked on a dunk attempt with just over two minutes to play in a one possession game.
Without Pierre, Long Island Lutheran had the ball down, 60-59, with 30 seconds to go and couldn’t convert. Then, their outstanding junior, Jayden Reid, missed what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded. Reid had 21 points through three quarters, but was held scoreless in the fourth.
Wilcher and Lawrence both scored 16 points to lead Roselle Catholic to a 62-59 victory in an outstanding game.
Over the weekend, it was off to The Hoophall Classic in Springfield, MA for Pierre and his teammates. This five-day event is annually the biggest of the high school season, featuring a ridiculous array of talent from across the country, including 15 of the top 20 players in the class of 2022.
LuHi took out all of their frustrations on Chaminade Prep out of Missouri (where David Lee, Bradley Beal, and Jayson Tatum are all graduates). Pierre sat the entire fourth quarter, as LuHi led by nearly 50 points after three quarters.
Unofficially, I had Pierre down for 16 points on 7-10 shooting (2-3 from three) and nine assists in 22 minutes. He capped his night by throwing down a vicious dunk on a retreating defender in transition, leading the play-by-play announcer to note, “Jayden Pierre, for those watching at home, is just 6’2 — but he can fly.”
LuHi was looking for their first win at Hoophall since they held Anthony Edwards to two points at this event in 2019. They raced out to a 20-4 lead and never looked back — leading, 53-19, at halftime.
Pierre hit another pull up three in transition in this game (this time from the wing) while his other made 3-pointer came on a catch and shoot opportunity to start the game. He sliced to the lane with relatively little resistance throughout the afternoon. His only miss from deep came when he front rimmed a shot coming off of a screen and roll.
Long Island Lutheran has not gotten the chance to defend its 2019 state championship due to the Covid-19 pandemic. They graduated five D1 players last spring, but still look to be one of the two best teams in the state of New York this year.
As far as Pierre’s future at Providence, he has the scoring potential to be a great bail out option late in the shot clock and a very good creator. He’s quick with the ball in his hands, can pull up, get to the rim, and has a very good feel when finishing and finding teammates.
he looks and sounds like the real deal