By Brian Crownover

{mosImage}As the spring AAU season opens, focus usually shifts toward the current underclassmen that will be looking to make their mark throughout the summer. There still some selective tournaments and all star games around though that provides a last glimpse of some seniors that might’ve been missed along the way. For CAA Insider, that was certainly the case with a few standout Patriot League prospects.

While we don’t specifically cover the Patriot League, it’s been hard not to notice some of their prospects that may have an impact next year and on into the future. Throughout the spring, Todd O' Brien (Bucknell), Rob Keefer (Lehigh), Darion Benbow (Lafayette) and Nick Hendra (American), have put together some outstanding games.

In a senior class with few talented big men, Todd O’ Brien is among the best in the region. Prior to committing to Bucknell, Todd was being courted by many mid major programs, including St. Joe’s. He blends a good mid range game with some pretty polished interior post skills. When CAA Insider caught him last spring, he looked to be more of a wing player than an interior player.

 This spring at the Donofrio Classic, Todd went toe to toe with another one of the better big men around in Sean Evans. In that game, Todd showed an array of post moves and really impressed us with his feel around the basket. He displays soft touch to go along with good hands. Todd looked to go inside a lot more in that game than we’ve seen before but he can still set outside as well. He has a solid mid range stroke and handles the ball better than most mid level big men. He could benefit from adding some weight to his frame. Todd scored 26 points on that day and added 13 rebounds. Look for him to play a fairly significant role in Lewisburg next season and beyond.

Rob Keefer is another future Patriot League player who was impressive at the Donofrio Classic. Rob is a very gifted shooting guard who can do a lot of things with the ball in his hands. He’s a stellar three point shooter. He is a surprisingly quick ball handler. Perhaps the most impressive part of his game though is his pull up jump shot. Rob can hit those types of shots from very difficult angles. He also has good vision and is adept at finding open teammates. Because of this, he may be able to play both guard positions at the next level. Rob also has good size for a mid level guard. He had quite a bit of interest from Drexel before ultimately choosing to take his game to Stabler.

New York City is certainly known for excellent high school basketball. The St. Raymond’s Ravens are among the traditional powers in the city. The Lafayette Leopards nabbed one of their top players when they picked up Darion Benbow over the winter. The more I’ve seen of this young man, the more impressed I’ve been. You don’t find too many athletes like him floating around in the Patriot League. He’s very long armed and can really elevate. He’s active around the hoop and can score facing the basket. Darion is strong on the glass on both ends of the floor. He can use his leaping ability to block shots as well. 

Darion had a standout performance at the famed Primetime Shootout in February. In that game, he was MVP for St. Raymond’s. He led them to victory with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Last month, he played at the Jordan Classic Regional Game at Madison Square Garden with many other mid major level or higher prospects from the New York metro area. What really stood out that day were his wing skills. With all the talented guards at St. Raymond’s, Darion usually plays around the hoop. At the Jordan Game, he displayed a smooth jumper as he even buried a three. He also showed the ability to get by defenders off the dribble. Right now, Darion’s strength is his face up game around the hoop. His game isn’t nearly as developed as O’ Brien’s is, but Darion has a fantastic upside. To take his game to the next level, he’ll need to refine his wing skills some more or develop a back to the basket post game. He’s got a ton of natural talent and should be able to help out some on College Hill next season.

American University tapped into New York City as well and pulled out Nick Hendra from Xavier High School. The talented guard was played with this past weekend at the prestigious iS8 tournament in Queens.  Playing on a New Heights team with several mid major level players (including two Siena signees); Nick led the way with 25 points. He was very impressive behind the arc, where he buried several threes. Although not explosive, Nick is a very fundamentally sound ball handler. He was able to recognize a mismatch when he was guarded by a taller player and thus took full advantage of it. He also passed the ball well. The most eye opening play from Nick was an alley oop throw down on an inbound play under the basket. His athleticism was quite extraordinary for a mid major guard. If he can added more athletic plays to go along with his skills, Nick will have an even brighter future. Even if that doesn’t occur, he still should be a very good pickup for American.

As someone who closely followed the Patriot League’s best team in the late 90’s (Lafayette), I’ve been quite impressed with the caliber of players entering the league next year. The addition of scholarships several years back seems to be having an impact throughout the league. Look for some of the Patriot League’s top teams to scare some more high major programs down the road.