By Brian Crownover
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Over this past weekend, the Hoop Group Fall Jam Fest took place at Rutgers University.  Teams from New York to North Carolina participated in the event.  Here are some of the players that stood out.

Andrew Beinert – LI Lightning (Chaminade, NY 2007 6-1)
Andrew is a solid all around combo guard.  He’s not flashy, but a solid ball handler and smart player.  He passes well and looks to get his teammates involved first.  He was relatively quiet in the scoring column, but Andrew did show that he can hit from three.  He just didn’t have many shot attempts.  Holy Cross is getting a nice pickup in the multi skilled Beinert. 

Malik Boothe – LI Lightning (Christ the King, NY 2007 5-9)
This undersized St. John’s signee was quite impressive.  He is super quick with an excellent crossover move.  He can go either direction.  Malik is definitely a pass first point guard and drove and dished time and time again.  He makes a lot of long passes and throws them with authority.  Malik was able to get to the hoop whenever he wanted, but seemed more content to get other involved.  When he did drive all the way to the basket, he was quite effective and got to the line frequently.  He has a solid shot off the dribble as well.  Although his size didn’t hurt him in this game, it could be a real problem on the defensive end in the Big East.  Malik is definitely a solid point guard.

Austin Carroll – Donyell Marshall (Worcester Academy, MA 2009 6-3)
Austin is an impressive young guard.  He is a very good spot up three point shooter and can shoot off the dribble as well.  This big guard can also put the ball on the floor.  Although he is a good ball handler, he struggled some with his decision making when driving to the basket.  He forced too many shots while doing that and also threw some bad passes.  Austin did make some really nice passes as well.  He just needs to be more consistent with putting them on the money and dishing to the right teammate.  He is versatile and can play either guard spot.  There are some areas where Austin could improve, but he’s a very talented player, especially for his age.

Sean Carter – D-One Sports (71^st, NC 2007 6-10)
Sean played a lot more with his back to the basket than I saw last week.  He made several plays in the post including a nice spin move.  He also caught the ball deep and was able to turn, drive and score.  He has soft touch around the basket and nimble feet.  Although he had a few nice plays, for the most part he was held in check by Alexis Wangmene (see below).  Alexis was able to block a few of Sean’s shots as well as making them more difficult.  Sean had a solid game and probably played as well as could be expected against a beast like Wangmene.

Michael Cavataio – LI Lightning (St. Francis Prep, NY 2007 6-4)
At first glance, Michael’s game looks awkward because he’s is not very fluid in his movements.  After a few minutes, it became clear he is a real player.  He has a long thin frame that he could add some weight to.  He makes up for it though by playing aggressive and hard.  Michael is very active on the boards at both ends of the court.  He ran the floor well and displayed the ability to finish.  He moves well without the ball and thus gets a lot of touches.  Although he doesn’t have great form, his perimeter shot is very good.  He knocked down the mid range jumper consistently and showed a decent handle that he used to get that shot.  Michael was a player that I was unfamiliar with, but he was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Travis DeShazlor – D-One Sports (Westover, NC 2007 5-10)
DeShazlor is a quick ball handling guard who likes to shoot off the dribble.  He can knock down that shot quite frequently although his form isn’t the best.

Jiovanny Fontan – Playaz (St. Anthony’s, NJ 2008 5-11)
Jiovanny played a great game much like the first time I caught him in action earlier this spring.  The talented guard was making play after play in transition.  He made a spectacular behind the back pass as well as a number of other beautiful passes.  He also used his quick crossover and other dribbling skills to get to the basket and finish.  Jiovanny hit a tough pull up jumper as well.  He was very aggressive attacking the hoop, which is something I haven’t seen out of him the last few times he’s played.  Jiovanny might be the third best guard on St. Anthony’s team, but he’d be the top player on a lot of other teams. 

Elton Frazier – Donyell Marshall (Corcoran, NY 2007 6-6)
Elton is an athletic forward with some size.  He runs the floor well and had several dunks.  He knocked down several mid range jumpers of the dribble.  He is a decent ball handler, but Elton could use some improvement in that area.

Andrew Gabriel – LI Lightning (Christ the King, NY 2007 6-5)
Andrew is a very active, athletic forward.  He has a solid build and long arms.  Most of his points came from the transition game.  He was active on the glass, including a one handed slam off of a rebound.  In the half court game, he played a lot with his back to the basket.  Andrew was doubled most times in the low post and showed he can pass out of there.  He did have a nice catch, turn and drive for a deep bucket.  He displayed good ball handling.  It appears that he might have good wing skills, but he didn’t really take any jumpers and was most needed by his team in the post.

Jeff Kennings – D-One Sports (71^st, NC 2008 5-10)
Jeff is a small, quick ball handling guard.  He has a good crossover and likes to go to his left (despite being right-handed).    He can drive and dish as well.  Much like many of the guards on his team, Jeff is a very good pull up jump shooter.

Nurideen Lindsey – Filly Sol (Overbrook, PA 2009 6-2)
I didn’t watch Nurideen’s team too closely but when I did look over, he was making a number of difficult plays.  He hit a very difficult fade away shot from just in front of the three point line.  A few minutes later, he took the same tough shot and missed it.

Dane Miller – Donyell Marshall (Rush Henrietta, NY 2009 6-7)
Dane is a long, athletic forward.  He is a face up player who can shoot from the perimeter.  He also passes well and is a good finisher.  Dane had a good game on the boards.  His ball handling needs some work though.

Malcolm Pope – Harlem’s Pride (Mt. Zion Academy, NC 2008 6-0)
Pope had a solid game scoring the basketball, particularly in transition.  This quick ball handling guard ran the floor well and finished in transition.  He did struggle with his jumper and seems to like shooting off the dribble.  This small guard is a pretty good scorer, but struggled some in this contest.

Mike Rosario – Playaz (St. Anthony’s, NJ 2008 6-1)
Mike did his usual damage from behind the arc as he buried several threes.  He also had a nasty dunk and surprised me a bit with his leaping ability.  It isn’t a part of his game that he displays often.

Brandon Triche – Donyell Marshall (Jamesville-Dewitt, NY 2009 6-3)
Brandon didn’t have a huge game, but was solid.  He ran the floor and finished at a high rate.  While he did hit a couple threes, he took a ton of them and was very inconsistent from behind the arc.

Alexis Wangmene – NJ Demons (Blair Academy, NJ 2007 6-8 235)
I was hoping to see Alexis’ high school teammate Patrick Hazel.  With Hazel off on a visit to Marquette, Alexis sure didn’t disappoint.  This Texas commit is a game changer on the defensive end.  He blocked shot after shot after shot with great leaping and timing.  He is the best defensive player that I’ve seen all spring/summer.  He also changes a lot of shots due to his length and intimidating presence.  While Alexis is a monster on defense, he is not slouch on the offensive end.  He is very strong, but also quite a skilled ball handler.  He combined these skills to get to the hoop time and time again.  He did most of his damage by catching the ball around the foul line, putting it on the floor and driving to the basket.  This led to numerous free throw attempts.  Alexis could use some improvement from the line.  He also had some trouble finishing within five feet of the hoop.  He also uses both hands when shooting the ball, this led to him throwing the ball off the backboard too hard.  He could certainly use a softer touch.  Alexis does have good hands.  Alexis is also a monster on the glass and plays with a lot of effort.  He is a big time player who will only get better.