KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. -- The Hoop Group’s annual Summer Classic East event kicked off the second week of the July evaluation period with a highly selective, invitation-only field of the top teams in the northeast. The loaded event featured a pair of ESPN 100 talents in point guard Kaleb Joseph (No. 51) and Pascal Chukwu (No. 58), No. 38 junior Moustapha Diagne and No. 21 sophomore Kassoum Yakwe, leading to a slew of college head coaches from all levels making sure their presence was noticed.
Here’s how things went down in the Keystone State.
Biggest Stock Riser
Dominique Uhl (Point Pleasant Beach, N.J./Point Pleasant Beach)
2014, PF, 6-7, 190 pounds
Travel Team: Jersey Shore Warriors
Status: Offers from Boston College, Temple, Iowa, and Penn State, among others.
The Jersey Shore Warriors captured their second consecutive championship of the evaluation period, and Uhl led the way, adding new offers from Iowa and Penn State in the process. He’s a perimeter forward who created constant mismatch problems with his ability to create off the dribble. Uhl is long, fluid, capable of attacking both sides off the dribble, and especially dangerous when allowed to go to his dominant right. An athletic and intelligent player who is now adding muscle to his frame at a consistent rate, Uhl’s best basketball is very clearly still in front of him.
Best Opening Night Performance
Kaleb Joseph (Nashua, N.H./Cushing Academy)
2014, PG, 6-3, 180 pounds
Travel Team: Mass Rivals
Status: Offers from Syracuse, Providence, Boston College, West Virginia and Marquette, among others.
The ESPN 100 point guard stole the show on Wednesday night, putting his Rivals team on his back and willing them to a come-from-behind overtime win. While he had his total offensive repertoire clicking to create for both himself and his teammates, what was most impressive was the leadership he showed down the stretch, infusing his squad with energy and imposing his will. The game came to a fitting conclusion when he beat the final buzzer with a smooth eight-foot runner. Providence coach Ed Cooley, Boston College’s Steve Donahue and West Virginia’s Bob Huggins were all on hand Wednesday, while Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim was front and center on Thursday.
Biggest Surprise
Obi Romeo (White Sulphur, W.Va./Greenbrier East)
2014, C, 6-9, 250 pounds
Travel Team: East Coast Fusion
Status: Receiving interest from Rutgers, Virginia, St. Joseph’s, Arkansas, Charleston, FIU and Longwood.
He reportedly came into this month’s evaluation period without a single Division I offer, which seems hard to believe given his size, physical upside and defensive impact. Romeo was dominant at times this week and more than held his own in an individual match-up against No. 4 center Goodluck Okonoboh. Romeo’s size is complemented by his massive shoulders and powerful upper body. While his offense is still a work in progress, he’s a rim-protector on the defensive end with a penchant for blocking or altering shots. With similar productivity on the glass and some flashes of offense, he’s a prospect who is strongly on the rise.
Best Shooter
Matt Ryan (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Iona Prep)
2015, SF, 6-5, 200 pounds
Travel Team: New Heights
Status: Claim offers from Notre Dame, BC, Arizona State, Providence and West Virginia.
We saw signs earlier this spring but Ryan’s size and lethal shooting range are starting to stand out to college coaches. This weekend, Ryan caught fire from various spots on the floor while doing double duty on both the U17 and U16 teams. Boston College, Providence and Arizona State recently became the first high-major programs to offer, while Notre Dame and West Virginia followed suit after Mike Brey and Bob Huggins both watched him in person Wednesday night. Steve Donahue and Ed Cooley also spent time trailing the sharp-shooter.
Best Stretch Forward
Tyler Lydon (Pine Plains, N.Y./New Hampton)
2015, PF, 6-8, 181 pounds
Travel Team: Albany City Rocks
Status Holds offers from the likes of Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Providence and Virginia Tech.
Coming off a starring performance at last week’s Reebok Breakout Classic, Lydon solidified his status as a high-major prospect on the rise. He continued to shoot the ball very well from the perimeter while also being very active on both ends of the floor: getting his hands on a lot of balls and showing a very solid motor. For as good as Lydon has been over the last two weeks, he’s still far from a finished product. He’s still growing into his body and in the beginning stages of learning to create his own shot.
Best Big Man
Paschal Chukwu (Westport, Conn./Fairfield Prep)
2014, C, 7-1, 210 pounds
Travel Team: Connecticut Basketball Club
Status: Offers from UConn, Providence, Boston College, Notre Dame and St. Joseph’s, among others.
It was almost a year to the day -- at this very event -- that Chukwu established himself as a clear high-major prospect. Since then, both his body and his game have continued to improve and evolve at a consistent rate. He’s blocking shots and rebounding the ball at a high clip and becoming much more assertive around the rim offensively, catching lobs and finishing with authority while also showing the soft hands to make tough catches in traffic. He’s opted not to say much publicly about his recruitment, but based on his following over the last two weeks, it appears safe to say he’s one of the most coveted prizes in the Northeast.
Best of the Underclassmen Big Men
Kassoum Yakwe (Centereach, N.Y./Our Savior New America)
2016, PF, 6-7, 190 pounds
Travel Team: Team Scan
Status: His list includes offers from Pittsburgh, St. John’s, UNLV and Villanova.
Despite his age, Yakwe played like a man among boys in a division full of rising juniors. His Team Scan squad ran away with the 16U championship, and he was a force in the middle of the paint throughout. While his high motor and ability to play above the rim continued to stand out on both ends of the floor -- as it has throughout the spring -- he distinguished this performance from others with the sheer force he showed on the interior. He pursued balls outside of his area, ripped them out of mid-air and just downright bullied other big men in the age group.
Moustapha Diagne (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII)
2015, C, 6-8, 230 pounds
Travel Team: Connecticut Basketball Club
Status: His list includes offers from Cincinnati, UConn, Oregon State, Rutgers and West Virginia.
Diagne was as impactful as any prospect in the field over the course of the last two days, dominating the paint scoring and rebounding. His game is a little reminiscent of former Pittsburgh star DeJuan Blair in that he’s slightly undersized for a high-major center but able to compensate by a wide and powerful build he uses effectively to carve out space inside the lane. While he excels in traffic, he rarely gets above the rim, yet finishes virtually everything inside the paint as opposing defenders bounce off him while he continued to make tough layups against contact.
Omari Spellman (Middletown, N.Y./North Royalton)
2016, C, 6-7, 200 pounds
Travel Team: Team Scan
While Team Scan took the U16 title behind Yakwe’s explosive live body in the middle, the program’s run to the U15 title was led by Spellman, a young post with a wide frame, soft hands and tremendous touch. Spellman plays primarily under the rim at this point and time, but he’s virtually immovable inside the paint with a soft touch that extends out to the perimeter. He shows a unique commitment to dominate the glass for a player his age and proved equally assertive on both ends of the floor.
Notes
• Goodluck Okonoboh (Boston/Wilbraham & Monson) was one of the biggest draws of the tournament and had Duke assistant Nate James keeping tabs on him throughout. He also had NC State’s Mark Gottfried, Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie and Indiana’s Tom Crean on hand Wednesday night and Florida’s Billy Donovan on Thursday.
• The Rhode Island Hawks played the role of spoiler this week, knocking off Cecil Kirk, New Jersey Playaz and New Heights before falling to the eventual champions, Jersey Shore Warriors, in the U17 semifinals. Center Sem Kroon (Greenwich, Conn./Northfield Mount Hermon), forward Mike LeBlanc (Dover, N.H./New Hampton) and point guard Kealen Ives (Providence, R.I./Classical) all attracted new attention along the way.
• Manhattan’s staff had a huge day on Wednesday, earning a trio of verbal commitments from local products Samson Usilo (Staten Island, N.Y./Nazareth), Samson Akilo (Bronx/Nazareth) and Calvin Crawford (Montgomery, N.Y./St. Thomas More), essentially putting together their frontline of the future.