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Live: Mass Rivals at ZG Finals

W Gabriel

The Zero Gravity Finals in Hanover, MA offered a unique AAU experience this weekend, as the top local programs across sneaker circuits were not only in action, but went head-to-head with one another.

Friarbasketball.com’s last opportunity to see elite New England prospects live came during May’s Providence Jamfest, but drawing conclusions from that showcase was difficult, as the top programs were often paired against inferior opponents.

This wasn’t a problem this weekend, as the best New England programs across age groups and sneaker affiliations got after it during a competitive Sunday afternoon.

For this reporter that meant an opportunity watch the top New England programs (BABC and Expressions from the Nike circuit, Mass Rivals and the New England Playaz repping Adidas) in a highly competitive environment.

Today’s focus is on the Mass Rivals, who I saw in three close games on Sunday. The Rivals were too physical for a talented Playaz team featuring the outstanding Tremont Waters in the semis, before falling to BABC in the championship.

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The Rivals have had their share of stars over the past six years. Carson Desrosiers and Evan Smotrycz were cornerstones early, Noah Vonleh a high school All American turned lottery pick and Jalen Adams is a surefire star headed to Connecticut.

This year’s group could be special thanks to their depth. Wenyen Gabriel is now a top 100 recruit in the class of 2016 per ESPN and looks like he’s pushing 6’10. He is joined in the paint by the punishing Chris Baldwin, a physical, verbal big man who has a bit of Bill Laimbeer in him — he enjoys mixing it up inside and will let you know about it.

Saul Phiri is a wing with range who broke out at Worcester Academy last season and was recently offered by DePaul, while the backcourt is littered with underrated playmakers.

Readers of this site are familiar with Makai Ashton-Langford (featured in our Closer Look series in April), an utterly explosive guard off of the dribble who finishes well in traffic. The Cushing product could become a near-impossible player to stop if he develops a consistent jump shot. Against both the New England Playaz and BABC Ashton-Langford lived in the paint, often finishing on difficult scoop shots near the rim. His blinding speed and good size at point guard make him one of the highest upside prospects in the class of 2017.

PC offered North Andover (MA) point guard Wabissa Bede last week. Few had heard of Bede two months ago, but he carried the momentum of a monster season at North Andover High School (he’ll attend Cushing next year) into a terrific spring. Massachusetts has offered and PC became his first high major offer on a recent visit.

Bede is a sturdy guard — well built and capable of getting where he needs to thanks to his strength and shiftiness. Known as a knock down shooter, Bede has been inconsistent from deep in the two occasions I’ve seen him this spring (the Providence Jamfest and again on Sunday), but he’s handled lead guard responsibilities ably when called upon.

Looking for a sleeper? Azar Swain has shot the ball terrifically seemingly every time I’ve been in attendance on the prep or AAU circuit. My first look at him was when he and Rivers teammate Jermaine Samuels led an upset of Vermont Academy two years ago. The duo were freshmen new to the prep scene and made an early statement in taking down Bruce Brown and Co.

The six foot, class of 2017 Swain played mainly off of the ball on Sunday, but rarely missed when left open in the first two games before losing his legs a bit against BABC in the finale. If his legs were shot it’s for good reason — Swain attended the Boston University camp earlier in the weekend and also played with the 16u team. This is a very good shooter.

Of course, so much of the attention from Friartown has focused on Gabriel, the talented combo forward who received his first high major offer from PC in July 2014. His stock has exploded over the past three months, with offers coming from UConn, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Miami, Xavier, Kansas State, Rhode Island, Virginia, Boston College and others.

What stood out on Sunday was his shot blocking ability (a few loud ones) and his ability to glide into the paint from the arc off of one or two long strides. Gabriel seems to favor baseline drives and once he gets into the paint he’s capable of laying the ball in from difficult angles. He got himself into some trouble driving into traffic on Sunday, but he did a bit of everything in this tournament — hitting the glass, getting to the free throw line, blocking shots and putting the ball on the deck.

Baldwin’s recruitment will be interesting to track. He’s as physical as it gets, getting the attention of Bob Huggins this spring as West Virginia joined Massachusetts and LaSalle in offering the Springfield, MA native. He’s a throwback to the Big East of the 1990s and was slowed only by foul trouble and a turned ankle in the championship game.

Most impressive for the Rivals this weekend was their ability to take a highly skilled and long New England Playaz team completely out of their game. With Waters, Tomas Murphy and a number of D1 forwards in tow, the Playaz are skilled and lengthy, but the Rivals broke the game open in the second half by dominating the battle in the paint and taking the ball out of Waters’ hands by trapping him at halfcourt.

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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