Saint John's Pat Connaughton Is A Force
The Mass & NH High School Basetball Report visited Danvers tonight to catch a Catholic Conference matchup between Boston College High and Saint John's Prep. To be honest it was a dull game that saw #7 ranked Saint John's win 69 - 58 after leading 24 - 21 in a boring first half. Needless to say, Pat Connaughton (pictured left) scored most his 25 points in the second half to secure the win for the Prep as the Eagles moved to 12 - 0 on the season. Mackenzie Burt was also impressive for Saint John's tonight as he scored 13 points while making his presence known on the boards. The story tonight though was BC High's three freshmen. First, there was 6'2" guard Jameilen Jones. Jones started for BC and showed signs of brilliance as he used a great crossover on Connaugton to get to the rim on one occasion. Jones finished with 7 points and a handful of rebounds. He has good size, great quickness, and can finish around the basket. He's a talent and we expect to hear lots more about him. Jones convinced us that he is one of the best freshman in Mass. Freshman Malique Pierre-McLauren is only 5'4" but played much bigger tonight as he knocked down three treys and added a free throw for 10 points. 6'1" guard Ryan Tufts only had 2 points tonight but it was obvious in watching this young man that he has talent. The future looks good for BC High. Here is what we saw in our rated players tonight.
Class of 2011
#2 rated Pat Connaughton is a force at the high school level as he dominates games. Tonight was no different as he was a man amongst boys. It wasn't his best game tonight but he scored 25 points and had 20 rebounds. He had a sweet looking pullup off the glass and some nice finishes around the basket. He also had a steal for a thunderous dunk to start the third quarter. There is no doubt that Connaughton is a scholarship basketball player and right now is likely to earn a low major division 1 scholarship. He just needs to become more secure with the basketball and needs to extend his shooting range.
#15 rated 5'9" Bryan Hurley was clearly the best player on BC High tonight but he didn't have his best game. He spent much of the evening forcing shots that didn't go in. He also found himself caught in the air on a few occasions tonight and made several turnovers. Hurley did make a few nifty baskets today but most of the time we found him penetrating with his head down. At 5'9" tall, Hurley cannot afford these kind of mistakes if he plans to play at the college level.
#20 rated Connor Mahoney is 6'4" and has a nice touch away from the basket, especially from 15 feet in. He was able to convert a couple of those mid-range shots for BC High tonight and had a couple of put backs. Mahoney was a little passive and didn't seem to get after it enough. He needs to get more aggressive and needs to learn to put to the floor better if he wants to play away from the basket in college.
Class of 2012
#7 rated Stephen Haladyna has a knack for the basketball as he seems to be in the right place at the right time. Haladyna is a scorer and finds a way to put the ball in the basket. Although he did not have his best game tonight, he did show his scoring knack. Haladyna is 6'3" and also used his size to grab several rebounds. He needs to tighten up his dribble as we found him dribbling east to west tonight instead of north to south. Haladyna also needs to work on his jump shot which is released from the wrong spot.
Others who Impressed tonight
6'3" junior Mackenzie Burt was a force all night long getting to the rim and protecting the Saint John's basket. Burt scored 13 points including an old fashion three point play that put Saint John's up by 34 -25 in the third quarter.
6'4" BC freshman Jameilen Jones proved he's going to be the real deal. As stated above he showed some big time stuff when he went by Connaughton and finished. He also took on the challenge of covering Connaugton at times tonight. Jones is young and raw, but he's athletic, quick, and has a great crossover.
