Gems Found Across the Board at Nova Scotia NPH Showcase
MVPs Show Out
The showcase circuit has officially kicked off with the Maritimes Acadia University in Wolfville Nova Scotia being the first stop. This camp introduced the first time that the NPH Showcase had all levels covered from female to male participants from grades 6-12.
Scotian talent was on full display this weekend!
• • •#NPHShowcase has officially begun and our national scouts @Elias_NPH @NikZefi_NPH are ready to search for gems coast to coast! 🇨🇦🏀
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Newfoundland up next! #GameSpeaks #maximizepotential @NorthPoleHoops pic.twitter.com/8Beo57b4jx— NorthPoleHoops (@NPHShowcase) April 10, 2018
As always Nova Scotia brought forth their strong guard contention with the Upperclassmen and Underclassmen MVPs both playing at the point.
For the Upperclassmen, C/O 2022 Romi Smith did a great job all weekend at showing his burst of speed, very strong handle, and leadership qualities.
Smith played a pivotal role in the top prospects game on both ends of the court getting into the lane with good pace and IQ, always having a plan in place all the while showing out on defense and taking on any challenge.
C/O 2022 Malik Brown was dominant on the underclassmen side claiming the MVP behind his 23 points.
Brown showed off his solid floor game, using ball screens to set himself up for easy mid range and paint jumper as well as feeding his teammates off of the pick and roll.
On the ladies side, Emma Wheeler walked away with the MVP after showing her leadership, good court sense, and overall floor game.Wheeler was in constant motion, made good fundamental passes and did not take any plays off through the three day camp.
For the junior boys, C/O 2023 Joel Williams stuck out from the beginning to end as he was able to show out in multiple areas. Williams showed a good shooting touch from beyond and also attacked the rim relentlessly with athletic finishing in the lane.
New Kids on the Block
Of all the new talent in the gym, C/O 2021 Ali Ragab stood out as the 6’10, 300 pounder was very hard to not take notice of. National Scout Elias Sbiet commented on Ragab saying, “he has a husky frame, and high upside due to his good touch and feel around the rim.”
Sbiet also added, “Traditionally Halifax hasn’t been known for bigs so it was a shocker to see 6’10 kid in the gym.”
“No one was able to handle him when we got him into a groove and was confident, he is raw as of right now, but moving forward is an awesome project to work with.”
C/O 2021 Cole Cotter is a 6 foot 5 inch forward that was extremely active throughout the three days, and had his hands in a little bit of everything that his teams did. Cotter displayed soft hands, good finishing ability and nice court sense and positional awareness on both ends.
Lathan Robinson showed out big time in the final prospect game, as the C/O 202 Digby native put up 20 points.
Robinson is a good athlete, with a high motor at 6 foot 3 inches. He also displayed a solid shooting touch from three point range, even hitting some from a few feet behind the line.
Returning Stock Risers
C/O 2021 Jonah Mosher also had a good showing finding his teammates time and time again as he distributed the ball with good focus and laser precession.
Mosher also made his outside shot with good consistency, and played in the low post a little, getting the ball deep against smaller guards and punishing them with turn around fade aways, and hook shots.
Nova Scotia in the HOUSE!
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C/O 2021 Jonah Mosher shows off some of his stuff from this past weekend at Acadia @AcadiaAthletics@acadiabball
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More to come from @NorthPoleHoops https://t.co/qI795BeQVo #GameSpeaks pic.twitter.com/GFlaV1gljP— NorthPoleHoops (@NPHShowcase) April 9, 2018
C/O 2020 Cairo Berry showed out very well in the final game putting up 22 points, a game high, as his black team narrowly defeated the white team 70-69.
Berry is lighting quick 5’7 point guard with good feel as he made multiple shots from the midrange area and paint, especially when attacking using a good lay up package to finish in multiple ways.
Counter to Berry, C/O 2019 Juluis McGee had 12 points in the final contest, using his polished footwork, and ball handling ability to get in the paint and probe for himself and teammates.
Berry and McGee look to be solid options at the USports level.
C/O 2021 Jaren Johnson was also a stud on the floor as he poured in 20 points in the final prospect game including 9 straight to end the 1sthalf and give his team a 40-39 lead.
Johnson has unlimited ammo in his arsenal as this smooth 6’1 point guard can attack his defender at will, shoot the ball with very high rate, and defends with intensity and focus.
One of the most improved campers at this years showcase was C/O 2021 Ethan Karabanow who now stands at 6 feet and is a knock down shooter with good play making ability. Karabanow also recently announced that he would be attending Fessenden Prep down south in New York.
