By Bill Martin
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Paris Bennett

The third and final game of the day pitted New Jersey's seniors against a Philadelphia team comprised mostly of seniors but due to a couple no shows, some of the younger standout players from the other two games filled in.  Here are the player evaluations from the senior game, in which the Philadelphia team won on a last second shot.

New Jersey

Lance Brown (2009, 6-3 SG) committed to Fordham
One of the most impressive players on this day had to be Fordham commit Lance Brown.  He played well throughout the game but got out to a particularly fast start.  Right away he crossed his man over and left him standing still, then he hit a lay up while being fouled.  He did miss the free throw.  Lance then followed this up by hitting a mid range jumper.  It only got better from there, as Lance hit a pull up three pointer and then hit another three the next time he got the ball.  He also hit a turn around jumper in the lane a bit later in the game.  Lance even demonstrated his athletic ability when he had a dunk off an alley oop.  Late in the game when his team was down he picked up his defense.  He ripped the ball away from Nurideen Lindsey when Nurideen was driving to the hoop.  Lance also stole an inbounds pass right under the hoop and hit a lay up with only 9 seconds left in the game.  This put the NJ squad up 90-89.  They ended up losing the game but that did not take away from Lance’s performance.  He won MVP for his team and deservedly so after this spectacular performance.

Paris Bennett (2009, 6-6 SF) committed to George Mason
Right off the bat Paris grabbed a rebound and tried to get a fast break started with an outlet pass.  The pass was deflected though and resulted in a turnover.  Paris had another pass deflected later in the game that also fell into the hands of the other team.  From right around the foul line Paris caught a pass and proceeded to back his man down.  He then turned and hit a jump shot off the glass over the defender.  Paris attempted one shot from beyond the arc but it missed off the front of the rim.  Later in the game Paris looked to put the ball on the floor, driving to the hoop on multiple occasions.  On one take he missed the lay up but was fouled and converted both free throws.  Another time he drove the baseline and hit a lay up on the opposite side of the hoop.  Soon after this he had a nearly an identical drive along the baseline but this time was blocked.  Paris also showed some hustle by running down a loose ball.

Justin Crosgile (2009, 5-11 PG/SG) committed to St. Joe’s
This was an up and down game for Crosgile.  One play he hit a three pointer from beyond NBA range, and the next time he touched the ball he threw up an air ball off a pull up jumper.  He made a beautiful jump step to split two defenders but then failed to convert on a finger roll.  On another drive Crosgile got to the hoop but had his shot attempt partially blocked.  The ball came right back to him and he still managed to score.

Karon Abraham (2009, 5-10 PG) committed to Robert Morris
This was a good game for Karon.  He demonstrated the ability to get by his man using changes in speed and moves off the dribble.  One of his most effective moves was his crossover.  Karon crossed his man up on one possession but was still defended pretty well so he immediately crossed over in the other direction.  This time he got a step on his man and hit a pretty running floater.  He followed this up by hitting a three pointer. Later he had a strong take to the hoop, adjusted mid air to get his shot off but failed to convert.  After this he struggled some.  He missed a three and then a pull up jumper in the lane.  Karon made a great step under move to get by his man but again failed to convert.  He did however hit his last shot, which was from out beyond the arc.

Jamee Jackson (2009, 6-7 PF) committed to Quinnipiac
Jamee did a nice job on the boards but did very little offensively.  He missed a mid range jump shot and a put back.  He was however fouled on the put back attempt and knocked down both of the ensuing free throws.

Carl Baptiste (2009, 6-9 PF/C) committed to St. Joe’s
Baptiste barely got any touches in this game.  He did catch the ball once in the post and bulled his way to the hoop, but he went too far under and stepped out of bounds.

Tamir Jackson (2009, 6-2 PG) committed to Rice
At one point in this game Tamir just decided to take over.  He was getting to the hoop at will and was making some highly difficult lay ups despite a lot of contact.  Tamir also knocked down a couple threes.  He fired up the entire NJ squad and helped them pull ahead but in the end it was not enough.  He should prove to be an outstanding pick up for Rice.

Philadelphia

Maalik Wayns (2009, 6-1 PG) committed to Villanova
Maalik used his combination of size and strength to attack the hoop all throughout this game.  When he wants to drive to the hoop he is very difficult to stop because he is too strong for smaller guards and too quick for bigger player.  He played very unselfishly, making great passes after driving to the basket, but also scored around the hoop as well.  A couple times he just bulled his way into the lane and converted lay ups with contact.  There were multiple times where Maalik grabbed a rebound and took the ball the length of the court all by himself, then got fouled at the hoop but still managed to score.  On another possession he made a great jump step move that got him by two defenders for an easy lay up.  Maalik did struggle some from the free throw line and did not attempt many outside shots but still a strong performance as usual.

Dalton Pepper (2009, 6-6 SG/SF) committed to West Virginia
Dalton seemed to score somewhat quietly in this game but still ended up with 19.  He did however make a couple of stand out plays. After a steal he found himself on a one on one break.  He made a great dribble hesitation move and then crossed over to get by his man.  Dalton then showed off his athleticism by throwing down a one-hand slam.  Down 1 point and with only a few tics left on the clock, Dalton got the ball and put up a shot just as time ran out.  The ball bounced once off the rim but then dropped in, winning the game for Philly and completing the three game sweep.  This game winning shot helped propel Dalton to win the games MVP trophy.

Rahlir Jefferson (2009, 6-6 SF) committed to Temple
While this was not a huge game offensively for Rahlir he definitely showed that he could do a variety of things.  He knocked down a mid range jumper early.  Rahlir got up the court quickly and received a long pass but it was a little too far.  He ended up having to leap out of bounds to grab the ball but made a beautiful no look pass behind him that went right to an open man under the hoop for an easy bucket.  Rahlir made another great pass later in the game when he threw an outlet pass from under the hoop to across half court, which was right on the money.  He also demonstrated his athletic ability on a pair of dunks.  One of which was a tomahawk jam after he made a steal and got out on the break all by himself.

Nurideen Lindsey (2009, 6-2 SG) committed to La Salle
Nurideen had an alley oop dunk and scored a couple times out on the break.  He also made a few circus shots around the hoop.  He hit one lay up over his shoulder to avoid a block and it hit high off the glass and in.  Nurideen also had a beautiful reverse where he jumped up on one side of the rim, then brought the ball down under a defender, and brought it back up on the other side of the rim and banked it in.  On yet another spectacular play, Nurideen went behind his back and then got knocked into by a defender.  This knocked him back and was off balance, but he still managed to hit a shot off the glass.

Khalif Wyatt (2009, 6-4 PG/SG) committed to Temple
Khalif was quiet at first in this game but got more aggressive as the game wore on.  He made a tough lay up with his arm fully extended to avoid a block and banked in the attempt high off the glass.  After grabbing a rebound Khalif drove the length of the court made a spin move as he was closing in on the hoop.  He then hit an off balance lay up right out of the spin.  On one close range attempt he jumped to take a shot but released the ball just before he landed to avoid getting blocked