Rakeem Brookins

Friday night saw a clash between two titans in Philadelphia's Catholic League in front of a packed house at North Catholic's "Pit."  The league's most historically accomplished program in Roman Catholic battled the defending league champions North Catholic.  It was a back and forth contest that Roman pulled out late to win 70-62.  The game was much closer than the final score indicated though.

Roman Catholic

Rakeem Brookins (2010, 5-11 PG/SG)
When they come to see Roman Catholic play, fans usually want to watch Villanova bound Maalik Wayns. And while that's certainly a good reason to attend, fellow backcourt mate Rakeem Brookins is making them take notice too. The junior guard left the crowd buzzing with his stellar performance in the big victory over the defending Catholic League Champions. Rakeem has established himself as one of the best shooters in the region. He has a very good pull up game and really loves to take that shot out beyond three point land. He runs the floor very well and can score in transition. Rakeem also moves well without the ball. He had a couple nice drives to the basket too, but could actually do that even more. He's also very active playing the passing lanes and had a number of steals in the contest. Rakeem was fouled on a jumper at the end of this seesaw game. He converted on a jumper and the following free throw. Rakeem led the way with 31 points in the big victory. With coaches from Drexel, Delaware and St. Joe's among the packed house, Brookins put on a show.

Maalik Wayns (2009, 6-1 PG) committed to Villanova 
Maalik actually played a supporting role in this one. The Villanova bound guard has actually done that several times this year. He made several terrific ball handling plays in traffic. He did a good job of running the floor and attacking the basket in half court sets. Maalik had several nice passes too. He likes the pull up jumper and hit a few of those in this one. He made a poor play when he drew a technical after a collision with a North Catholic player though. Maalik had a solid 19 points in this victory. 

Koron Reed (2009, 6-7 PF) 
Koron is a talented forward on the Roman frontline. In the post, he hit a pair of hook shots. He grabbed several rebounds and blocked a few shots as well. He was also blocked by Rakeem Christmas (see below) and had some trouble with the talented youngster's length. 

Anthony Mayo (2010, 6-7 PF) 
Anthony is a long and athletic post player. He blocked a shot and grabbed a few rebounds. He missed a hook shot on the inside. Otherwise he was rather quiet.  

Andre Horne (2012, 6-3 SG/SF)  
We didn't watch him closely, but this young freshman definitely has a lot of potential. The active guard can run the floor and drive to the hoop. He finished with 11 points. 

North Catholic 

Rakeem Christmas (2011, 6-9 C) 
Rakeem is one of the best sophomore's in the Philadelphia region. He was a highlight reel of dunks and blocks in this contest. He had seven blocks and a pair of dunks. Rakeem scored on a few lay-ups too. He struggled to convert on some of his back to the basket plays in the low post, including a hook shot. That's an area of his game that if he improves, will make him an elite player in the country.  Rakeem had a monster game on the boards too. He had a costly foul on a jumper by Brookins at the end of the contest. He finished with 9 points in the loss. 

Woody Redding (2010, 5-9 PG)
Woody is a really steady point guard. He does a good job running the offense and is very capable of picking his spots to score within that offense. He hit a pair of three pointers, banked home a shot after a drive and even putback his own miss. Even though he's small, Woody still did a fine job of rebounding. He dished out several assists in this game as well. 

Jaleel Mack (2010, 5-10 PG/SG) 
Jaleel is a guard who loves shooting from beyond the arc. He buried three from that area in this contest. He also had a nice drive and left handed bank finish on another play. He will have to show more in attacking the rim or setting up teammates though.  Jaleel had 11 points in this balanced attack. 

Michael Terry (2010, 5-10 PG/SG) 
Mike is the leading scorer for North Catholic, but he struggled to get going in this one. The slasher likes to attack off the dribble and gets into the lane quickly. He did score a couple times while attacking, but had a lot of trouble finishing too. His jumper wasn't falling either. Mike did hit quite a few free throws en route to 9 points. 

Jack O' Neill (2010, 6-6 SF/PF) 
Jack is another of North's top scorers who was quiet in this one. The versatile forward hit a deep jumper and banked home another shot from the outside for his only points. He didn't do too much else in this game either. He'll certainly have better days.