New England Championships set to heat up Wesleyan

April 19, 2012

The Hall of Fame New England Championships enters it's fourth year as part of the HOF championship series, which hosts tournaments in different parts of the country. The event has evolved into one of the largest tourneys in the northeast, and now that its a sanctioned event for college coaches, one of the best opportunities for exposure.

Game play kicks off Saturday morning at 8am with a 48-team bracket setting the stage to see if an ultimate champion can be crowned.

Let's take a look at some of the intriguing 1st round and potential matchups:

Lone Wolf (VT) and CBC - Donnelly square off in their first round matchup with Metro Boston waiting in the wings. Any of those three teams might be capable of coming out, but CBC is led by Kurt Steidl, who should have his share of college coaches following his every move. Tim Butala, Bernard Brantley, Pascahl Chuwku help form CBC into a very formidable group. Lone Wolf, meanwhile, is always well-coached and will look to Matt St. Amour, Marcus Willingham and Casey Tipson to pull off the win. Meanwhile, Metro has two teams in the tourney and hopes this group of new faces can gel and impress.

Bay St. Flash vs. BasketBull/CT Northstars - The Flash come loaded with size and have done a great job under Emerson assistant coach, BJ Dunne. Bobby Martin, David St. Peter, and Jared Neves help form a massive front line. BasketBull meanwhile boasts and athletic and quick backcourt in juniors Cornelius Tyson, Riyad Asad, and Lance Hill.

Middlesex Magic vs. CT Knights/Drive4Stardum - The Magic have put together one of the best teams in New England, shoe affiliation or not. They are led by 6'9 Peter Miller, 6'3 Chris Braley, 6'5 Marcus Faison, and 5'11 Harry Rafferty. Crotty's teams are always well coached and this should group should be no different. Ty Smith has rounded up a group that won't get quietly in Jayquan Starks at the point and 6'0 Geary Mcleod helping in the backcourt.

Dream Team 2 (NY) - The Nation/East Coast Elite - The Nation's 16s look to make some noise in the 17u division against East Coast Elite. Waiting in the wings for Dustin Cole and company is DreamTeam II out of upstate New York, formerly known as Mickey Walker All-Stars. Said to have a couple of young talents, as well as 6'9 center Chrisitian Ejiga, it will be interesting to see how this group shakes out.

Maine Mac vs. Jersey Hot Shots/CT Northstars - North - Maine legend, Carl Parker, has another talented group traveling south to take part in the event. Garret Beal, Garret Libby, Tanner Hyland and Zach Gilpin are just some of players Parker expects to impress. The Jersey Hot Shots come in touted as a tough, sweet-shooting group that is capable of knocking anyone off if they are connecting from deep.

Rhode Island Hawks Black vs. NYC Jags/Evolution - Jason Elliott has done a very good job of taking his 17u Hawks team one step closer to where he had it a few years back. Led by 6'0 Sam Donahue, 6'5 Harrison Taggert, 6'7 Skylar White, and 6'4 Matt Droney, the Hawks possess skill, toughness and size. Don't count out Kevin Hamilton and his NYC Jags team as they have never gone quietly at any of our tournaments.

Other Key Players to watch:

Jacquil Taylor, 6'9 Beaver Country Day, Prodigy
Maurice Taylor, 6'6 Beaver Country Day, Prodigy
Wesley Philip, 6'7, Albany HS, Albany City Rocks
Jonte Rutty, 6'5, Newburgh Free Academy, BC Eagles
Mabor Gabriel, 6'8, Trinity HS, Bishop Elite
Noah Daoust, 6'7, Hotchkiss, Brookwood Elite
Tre Preston, 5'9, Enfield HS, CT Select - MAC
Tre-Von Perry, 64, Holy Cross, CT Select - Will
Ebrahim Jallow, 6'7 Hartford Public, CT Elite - Reis
Zach Askew, 6'7, Cheshire Academy, CT Gold
Taji Owens, 6'6, Middletown, Drive4Stardum
Shawn Strickland, 5'10, Middletown HS, Drive4Stardum
Darren Payen, 6'8, Hamden Hall, East Coast Elite
Vic Joshua, 6'3, Hamden Hall, East Coast Elite
Ishaiah Coleman, 6'3, New Mission, Expressions
Kahari Beaufort, 6'4, St. Raymonds, LI Lightning
Kuran Iverson, 6'8, Northwest Catholic, LI Lightning
Zach Lewis, 6'3, Northwest Catholic, LI Lightning
Jamel Torrence, 6'0, Suffield Academy, LI Lightning
Rony Fernandez, 6'1, Charlestown, Metro Boston
KeAndre Stanton, 6'6, Lynn English, Metro Boston
Sayvonn Houston, 6'6, Brockton, Metro Boston
Leroy Fludd, 6'5, Boys and Girls HS, NYC Jayhawks
Bryce Jones, 5'11, Boys and Girls HS, NYC Jayhawks
DeShawn Suber, 6'3, Lincoln, NYC Jayhawks
Joey Meade, 6'6, Westfield, SECC All-Stars
Chris McCullough, 6'10, Salisbury School, Team Scan
Conrad Chambers, 6'1, Friends Central, Team Scan
Niam Thomas, 5'11, Stepinac, Team Scan