John Carroll (MD)
John Carroll’s coach, John Zito, said of this year’s team “I would say Talented, very talented. Young and inexperienced”. The Saints are a dangerous crew.
Schemes: When scoring, Zito’s guys “want to play inside out”, shared the coach. Don’t presume that means simply dumping the ball into the post, as “having our guards drive” is as much the game plan.
The overall ethos for John Carroll’s defense: “We want to be very disruptive, take away what other teams are trying to do…We’ll get there”.
A few players of note: Immanuel Quickley, the 6’4”, 180 pound all-everything guard is JC’s top guy – capable of driving, shooting, passing and leading, he’s simply a Class of 2018 force.
Expectedly, Quickley has his choice of schools, and recently visited Georgetown, Maryland, UVA, Kentucky and Kansas. Washington has also been mentioned as a strong option. Academics are a strong allure for Quickley, in addition to hoops.
Zito revealed Quickley may/may not play Sunday, as he's a day by day decision, given a recently rolled his ankle.
Upon seeing Nate Roberts, basketball player comes immediately to mind, given his tall, long, lean (6’9”, 210 pound) physique. The ’18 budding star also plays above the rim and finishes, while attempting to define and hone his overall game.
Kansas State, Indiana, Clemson have offered him scholarships. He's visited UConn and Syracuse have been visited.
X-factor: Returning to his native Baltimore area from a year at Oak Hill, Montez Mathis is emerging as a definite yet unrecognized aspect to John Carroll winning ball games. Standing 6’4” and weighing 205 pounds, Mathis is still tough inside, while having worked on his shooting. In fact, Zito noted Mathis has “over the last three games he’s had 106 points maybe…30 plus each”.
Recruiting-wise “Mathis is kind of all over the place” shared Zito. California and Providence have been in contact with this Class of 2018 prospect, meanwhile “West Virginia came in and saw him” recently. Many high major schools are sniffing.
Paul VI (VA)
Glenn Farello, decorated head coach of Paul VI and elsewhere, is known for mobile, aggressive teams that take no quarter. This year should be no different.
“I would say we’re fast. I think we’re fast on the perimeter. We’ll be able to score in the open court” shared the coach. “We’ll be attacking offensively”.
Schemes: What does that mean and how will the Panthers achieve it?
Offensively they will deploy “A little bit of everything” said Farello, being somewhat coy. Historically PVI uses a lot of ball screens and four out, one in motion. This season should be no different.
In terms of stopping teams, the Panthers will also be versatile – a point Farello stressed on both sides of the ball – including “Our pressure will consist of different looks and come from different places”, including full, half and ¼ court schemes. “Mixing up our defenses is the biggest thing”.
A few players of note: “Brandon Slater is obviously playing at a very high level right now” first answered Farello when asked to provide a couple of standouts. Slater, a Class of 2018, 6’6”, 175 pound lefty swingman, is multifaceted, in that he defends, passes, drives, scraps and increasingly shoots well.
A multitude of schools are interested, including Villanova, Maryland, South Carolina and Miami, which have all tendered scholarship opportunities.
Pittsburgh-bound senior point guard Aaron Thompson is the hands down, on court leader of Panther Basketball; he’s a 6’2”, 175 pound, pass first floor general who is tough, competes and defends. Thompson is in many ways the heartbeat of PVI Hoops.
X-factor: “The contributions of Anthony Harris goes a long way to how good we play” admitted Farello. A sophomore guard standing 6’2 and a muscular 175 pounds, Harris can get into the lane, hit the open shot, find teammates and when dialed in, defend. He’s a player to track going forward.
West Virginia, Virginia Tech and others have offered Harris, a '19 guy, per his coach.
