Huntington Prep Rolls Through Canada Undefeated!
NPH TOP PERFORMERS
Huntington Prep
- Javontae Hawkins- 26 points
- Andrew Wiggins– 20 points
- Xavier Rathan-Mayes– 16 points
Macnab
- Nolan Narain– 11 points
- Connor Crocker– 10 points
HAMILTON, ON–It was the Huntington Express’ first road trip to Canada, and it resulted into success for all parties involved. For Huntington, it was an opportunity for seven of the Canadians on the roster to compete on home soil in front of family and friends. And of course, ending the trip 2-0 doesn’t hurt either.
“They love it, and that’s why we did it. I told them early on that we were gonna play a few games up here. Obviously to play in front of family and friends is a big deal for them,” Express Head Coach, Rob Fulford told NPH in the post-game.
H-Prep deafeated Next Level 100-84 in game one, then shifted West from Mississauga to Hamilton where Macnab’s youth was evident as they dropped to the Express 94-49.
However, in the process it was also a big deal for the opposing team. Although Next Level Prep and MacNab both game up with losses, it was truly a learning experience for the teams to match up against one of the top-ranked programs in America.
MacNab head coach, Dwayne Washington explained, “When we made this game, we realized we had a young team, all freshman and sophomore who are trying to be the best they can be. The only way to do that is to play the best guys that are around.”
In other words, the Huntington Prep express feature some of the very best Canadian talent which have them among the top five teams in America.
For starters, there’s 2014 Andrew Wiggins, who some consider the #1 player in the world for his age group. Based off the dunk fest he displayed, those in attendance understood what the hype was all about.
2012 Missouri-bound Negus Webster-Chan (6’7) and Stefan Jankovic (6’10) were also mismatch problems due to their size and versatility.
Webster-Chan ran the point guard position and played the role of facilitator.
“Negus has done a great job for us running the point and he has taken it for the team. His scoring os down but hes averaging about eight assists and eight rebounds,” explained Fulford.
“We are as good as we are, because of Negus buying into that role. I owe a lot of the team’s success to everyone buying into their role.”
2013 Xavier Rathan-Mayes also displayed his scoring prowess, knocking down contested threes and attacking the lane.
For MacNab, it was difficult to cut into the lead due to a lack of energy, according to coach Washington.
“You have to play for 32 minutes..you have to finish the game and that’s one thing you can’t duplicate unless you play like this, is the intensity throughout the full game.”
A few bright spots early for the young Hamilton contingent, was 2013 6’4 G Connor Crocker who was hitting from deep and approached the game agressively. 2016 Nolan Narain also opened up the game hitting a nice baseline jumper over West Virginia commit Elijah Macon. However, was not able to get comfortable due to the size matched up with him.
Narain was the youngest player on the floor and currently NPH #2-ranked Canadian prospect in 2016.
Hamilton was the host of an electric, sold out crowd in support of both teams. However, in the end, Huntington Prep’s combination of talent and depth could not be matched as they head back to West Virginia with a 2-0 record in Canada.
