Summer Hoops Bonanza: Quante Berry, Friar Recruits, and a Whole Lot of Summer Basketball
Digging DEEP after a week of watching July hoops.
The middle of July means the height of high school summer hoops, and the past week offered me the opportunity to see a number of Providence targets, New England preps, and elite prospects.
Let’s start with Friar commit Quante Berry, the class of 2022 guard who plays for Bobby Maze Elite on the Under Armour Association (UAA) circuit.
When we last checked in on Berry his B-Maze team was in the midst of rebounding from an 0-4 start in UAA play. Things have certainly turned around, as Bobby Maze has won seven of their last eight games to improve to 7-5. That record is good for fifth in their pool of 13 teams. They will be favored when they return to court on Friday to take on the Houston Defenders (3-9 and 12th in their pool). The weekend will be filled with games, with the championship taking place on Sunday.
I caught Berry twice last week, with the first game coming against All Arkansas Red, and their potential five star center Kel’el Ware. Ware is a 6’11 shot blocking force who is among the most highly-coveted big men in the class of 2022. Ware is freakishly athletic.
Bobby Maze trailed 13-3 early, thanks in large part to the shot blocking prowess of Ware. Berry accounted for B-Maze’s first three points with a top of the key 3-pointer on their first possession. Berry finished the first quarter 1-3 from the field after back rimming another three and missing an attempt in the paint, but his team pulled to within 16-12 after one.
Bobby Maze caught fire in the second quarter behind the stellar play of Tennessee commit BJ Edwards. Edwards has elevated his game over the past week. He’s a strong guard with tremendous handles and blow by ability.
Berry missed both of his shots in the second (back rimming another 3 and getting blocked on a floater), but scored eight of his 11 points in the second half. I had him unofficially down for 3-9 shooting from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line. He demonstrated his athletic ability when he recovered to block a 3-point attempt.
Berry’s best sequence came in the third quarter when he finished a tough shot over All Arkansas Red’s center, then immediately stole the inbounds pass and went to the free throw line after going right up after the theft.
He is deceptively quick with the ball in his hands and possesses a very good crossover.
There wasn’t much to glean the next game, as Bobby Maze ran away from West Coast Elite early, leading 34-16 at the half, before sleep walking through a second half that saw their lead dwindle to six before they turned it around late.
A Look Around The EYBL
Nike’s EYBL had a free stream available on Twitch, which offered the opportunity to see New England clubs BABC and Expressions, as well as New York area teams with Friar prospects (not all prospects below are Providence targets):
Luke Hunger, BABC: Seemingly every summer BABC has a productive big man who gets overlooked because he doesn’t pass the eye test. This group includes undersized fours who turned into stars (Georges Niang, Bonzi Colson) or became productive bigs at the next level (Andrew Chrabascz, Kevin Marfo). Could Hunger be next on that list?
He plays for a terrific Northfield Mount Hermon team and is the son of a former Friar. Hunger really produced last week, kicking off EYBL play with 24 points and 11 boards against Indy Heat. A five point outing followed against the best frontline in summer hoops in Team Final, but he was in double figures the following five games, averaging 16.8 ppg over that stretch. He likely isn’t an elite rebounder or athlete at the next level, but Hunger is physical and can face up and pass.
Many of his offers have been at the mid-major level (Loyola, Towson, Northeastern, William & Mary, Richmond, East Carolina, BU, for example), but Miami has offered.
Dasonte Bowen, BABC: The Brewster Academy product and Iowa commit received interest from the Friars, and it is easy to see why. The 6’3 point guard shot the ball really well all week from distance. He has been considered among the best players in New England since starting high school.
Reid Ducharme, BABC: Another Brewster prep, this 6’6 wing has interest from Providence. The Friars offered in late June. He played likely his best game of the week when I caught him against Seattle Rotary (10 points, 4-6 shooting) and he will certainly be a player to monitor over the next year. Ducharme is part of the class of 2023 and is a Massachusetts native.
TJ Power, BABC: Terrific size and skill combination. Power is 6’8, and while he didn’t shoot it well last week, he demonstrated very good passing ability for his size and position. Power (also the class of 2023 and a Massachusetts kid) has a lot of upside.
Alex Karaban, Expressions: The Massachusetts native has transferred from New Hampton (where he won a NEPSAC title in 2020) to IMG. He is very familiar with the Friars, but his stock has taken off even further this spring and summer. He will be a really tough get. Karaban is as skilled as they come at 6’8. He struggled a bit with his jump shot early on, but settled in, making four 3-pointers in consecutive games. He went 21-21 at the free throw line for the week. Karaban has done nothing but produce at the high school level.
Desmond Claude, Expressions: This was my first look at Claude, whose stock exploded after the NEPSAC held a showcase event in June. Claude went from relative unknown to seemingly earning a Big East offer every other day. He’s 6’5, athletic and has a knack for scoring. Providence has offered.
Denver Anglin, NY Rens: Boy, wouldn’t this be a nice signing for Providence? Anglin has a beautiful jump shot and must be accounted for at all times when he’s beyond the arc. The New Jersey native is somewhat reminiscent of Bryce Cotton. He had an official visit to Providence in June, but has big time interest, including Stanford, UConn, Northwestern, and Georgetown. The Hoyas have been in pursuit for a while. When I watched the Rens against Boo Williams Anglin buried a 30 footer at the buzzer to win the game. Syracuse is trying to fight its way into his recruitment, but he reportedly will decide on his college destination after Peach Jam wraps up this month.
Dominick Barlow, NY Rens: Barlow, another player with a reported PC offer, was quiet when I saw the Rens against Boo Williams, but had big time scoring games against LivOn-Fleur De Lis (17 points, 8-10 shooting), Vegas Elite (21 points, 8-10), and JL3 (17 points). He was under the radar when PC offered in the spring, but he has added offers from Illinois and USC after a strong showing this month.
Kyle Filipowski, NY Rens: The ship has sailed for Providence on this one, as Filipowski (who preps in Massachusetts) is being talked about as a five star prospect. He’s 6’10 and can do everything on the floor. Duke is making a push. His brother, Matt, is a 6’11 center worth monitoring.
Brett Rumpbel, Albany City Rocks: Still far under the radar, there are no indications that Providence is making a push here, but Rumpbel is an explosive ball handler and finisher. 6’4 out of SPIRE Academy, it appears as though his only high major offer is from DePaul. He only attempted one 3-pointer in five games, but he was terrific when I saw him against Expressions (5-9 shooting) and The Family (5-8 shooting). He also added seven boards against The Family in an overtime thriller. He gets wherever he wants to off of the bounce. According to Jeff Sparrow, the head coach at SPIRE, Rumpbel has offers from DePaul, George Washington, and St. Bonaventure, with interest coming from Virginia Tech, South Carolina, New Mexico, Penn, and UIC.
Keyon Menifield, The Family: Talk about a guard making the most of the big stage, Menifield was an underrated prospect who is now leading the EYBL in scoring, going for 20+ in five straight games. His play last week earned him offers from the new staff at Boston College, as well as St. Bonaventure. Friar assistant LaDontae Henton is a former player for The Family, as were current freshman Legend Geeter and Henton’s old teammate Junior Lomomba (not to mention Draymond Green, EC Matthews, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Miles Bridges, and countless others). The slender guard aggressively sought out his offense last week.
Jalen Duren and Dereck Lively, Team Final: Kind of ridiculous having a pair of top ten players in the class of 2022 who both hover around (or over) seven feet. Kentucky is all over Duren, who is likely the top player in the class of 2022.
Corey Floyd, JR, Team Final: The son of former Friar Corey Floyd is committed to UConn. He was very good when I watched Team Final take on BABC.
Bronny James, Strive for Greatness: The son of The King was held to 0-6 shooting when I saw him against BABC. He really struggled from distance throughout the week (3-27) and shot 25% from the field for the week (11-43). He got some positive press from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, despite his struggles:
