Terrell & Abu
Jeff McDevitt (@JeffMcDev)
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At the Mary Kline Classic on Sunday night at Philadelphia University, high school players from all over the country invaded the East Falls section of Philadelphia to help raise money for cancer research. Many of these players only existed as only YouTube highlight videos or names on a list of top recruits in the country. Now, that CoBL got to take a look at them, here’s a few thoughts and recruiting tidbids on a pair of the MKC underclassmen.
(For more recruiting note from the Mary Kline Classic, read Andrew Koob’s notebook)
Look out below
After posting four points and four rebounds in the underclassmen game, Jamar Ergas (2015 G/22 Ft. Academy, Ky.) absolutely brought the house down during the slam dunk contest. Busting out a a 360 through-the-legs and using humans as props to leap over and throw down, Ergas displayed his leaping and finishing ability, all after playing in a 40-minute game against top-level competition.
The 6-foot-4 Canadian import attends 22 Feet Academy, a basketball academy that was located in Eastern Kentucky, but has now moved to Greenville, South Carolina. Playing alongside some top talent from around the globe, including Illinois State commit MiKyle McIntosh, Ergas took on the role of facilitator.
“When I get in the lane I am looking to pass. This year I have been more of a distributor because we had MiKyle McIntosh as our scorer to fill that role. I got used to that roll of trying to get other guys involved. I play athletic and I play hard,” Ergas told CoBL after his Team Inspiraation 119-114 win over Team Bravery in the underclassmen game.
As of now, Ergas only has one offer, but on the athleticism he showed in the dunk contest alone, those will begin to pile up, as he has been visiting some high major schools.
“I only have one offer, and that is Western Kentucky. Next year should be more as I talk to more schools. I’ve been on unofficial visits to NC State, UNC and Wake Forest. I really like the University of Florida, I like the warm, southern schools.”
Ergas also mentioned Kentucky and Ohio State as expressing interest. Originally a native of Toronto, it is no surprise schools with warmer climates appeal to him.
Boston Buddies, package deal?
Teammates on the Expressions Elite AAU squad based out of Boston, Jared Terrell (2014 G/Brewster Academy) and Abdul-Malik Abu (2015 F/Kimball Union Academy) were both very tough checks in the Mary Kline Classic on Sunday night.
Terrell, a 6-3 slasher from Brewster Academy (NH) resembling more of a linebacker, was a threat to put back any missed shots on offense with his explosive leaping ability. He was also a real threat coming off ball screens, with the ability to knock down a three, or use his strong frame to attack the lane. His pull up jumper is very polished, as he gets it off quickly.
While Abu is a 6-7 forward out of Kimball Union Academy (NH) with some really nice touch on his smooth turnaround jumper, who can also defend the interior well, handle the ball a little bit, and spot him from distance when his feet are set. In the Underclassmen Game, Abu had 18 points and eight rebounds.
“I am a slasher, an attacker. A mid-range defender, and most of all a hard defender,” Terrell said. ”I did play football when I was younger, and I do lift a lot now. The strength has stayed with me.”
Both players said they had basically the same list of schools coming after them, with offers from Kansas, Providence, Boston College, Florida, Kansas State and Cincinnati, and ESPN and other outlets have them both holding offers from Temple as well. The guard/forward duo expressed interest in playing together in college as a package deal, which would be enormous to whatever school they hypotheticlality would both commit to, but as of now they both claim their recruiting is “wide open.”
“We’d like to play together if it works, definitely. But, if there is a better fit for him somewhere else or a better fit for me, we’ll go with that,” Abu said.
http://cityofbasketballlove.com/2013/06/mary-kline-classic-recruiting-notebook-part-2/