The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Local players enjoy first day of NCAA camp at UConn
STORRS — The players went through drills in the morning, then played games in the afternoon and evening while numerous coaches watched from the sidelines.
No, those coaches weren’t named Krzyzewski, Calipari or Williams ... or even Hurley. Rather, their shirts and sweatsuits had names like Central Connecticut State, Quinnipiac and Farleigh Dickinson on them.
The inaugural NCAA College Basketball Academy kicked off on Tuesday, with UConn hosting one of four sites. The players weren’t necessarily the kind of kids fans wait for breathlessly to tweet out their topfive lists. But the competition was solid — and the event ran smoothly.
“It’s a long day, but it’s cool,” said Old Greenwich’s Jack Molloy, a 6foot7 forward who plays at Northfield Mount Hermon. “It’s interesting, because they’ve never done this before, and I’m surprised how organized it is. They’ve got our whole day scheduled out. I like it a lot.”
The drills ran from 8:30 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. and were overseen by event commissioner Al Skinner, the former Boston College and URI coach, along with guys like former Virginia and Providence coach Pete Gillen and exFairfield head man Sydney Johnson.
There were also life skills sessions that gave tips on utilizing social media, preparing for col
lege eligibility and other important things.
After that, the games ran from 3:15 p.m. to 10:35 p.m. inside the Werth Family Champions Center, Gampel Pavilion and Guyer Gym.
“The drills are much better than a lot of drills I’ve done at other camps,” said Wilton’s Ryan Biberon. “The games are fun so far. It’s a lot of fun. And the gear, too, is a good perk.”
Biberon, who graduated from Wilton High this past spring and will do a postgrad year at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, R.I. this season, played on a team with New Haven’s Jahkai Pettway. Neither player is being recruited by many Division 1 teams right now. Pettway, a solid, 6foot4 shooting guard who’s heading into his senior season at Hamden Hall, is hearing mostly from Division 2 and 3 schools, along with some Ivy League and Patriot League schools.
“That’s where my eyes are at most,” Pettway said of the Patriot League, “because of the balance of
basketball and academics.”
He added that Holy Cross, in particular, intrigues him.
“But I’m very open,” he quickly pointed out. “Right now, I’m not where I want to be in my recruitment. I’m open to any school that’s really interested in me.”
Biberon, a 67 power forward, has heard mostly from D3 schools like Middlebury College, Gordon College and the University of Rochester. He’s set his sights on a peak of playing at a midmajor, and figured the exposure he’ll get at St. Andrew’s will trump what he got at Wilton.
“It’s not a place that a lot of people recruit,” he said of Wilton. “I didn’t even start playing AAU until after my sophomore season. I didn’t have the right exposure. Doing a postgrad year, especially at a highcaliber school like St. Andrew’s, would definitely get me exposure.”
So will a camp like this, which is primarily for kids like Biberon and Pettway. Guys who aren’t necessarily going to be showcasing their skills at places like the Peach Jam Festival.
Though there are some of those guys at this camp. Guys like Molloy.
The class of 2021 small forward spent his first two years of high school at Brunswick before transferring to Northfield Mount Hermon up in northern Massachusetts, near the Vermont/New Hampshire border.
Like Biberon and Pettway, he wanted to get more exposure and play against better competition, while still thriving in a strong academic environment. Molloy is at a different level of recruitment, however, with nearly all the Ivies, along with high academic programs like Stanford and Marquette getting in touch with him. Schools like Williams and Amherst are still on him, as well, but he’d like to see how high he can go.
Molloy plays AAU ball for the PSA Cardinals, who advanced to the Final Four of the Peach Jam a few weeks ago.
“That was a crazy experience,” he noted. “The Peach Jam was nuts, I’ve never seen anything like it. It was cool.”
By all accounts, so was the first day of the College Basketball Academy — the NCAA’s attempt to wrest a little control away from AAU programs during the summer. It may not be for the Coach K’s of the world, but it’s off to a good start in its own way.
HUSKY HEARSAY
UConn may not have much representation from its staff at the event, which runs through Sunday, but the Huskies aren’t done recruiting. UConn is still looking to fill its 12th and final available scholarship — most likely a big man, and not necessarily a shortterm fix — at some point over the next month or so.
The Huskies will also likely finalize their nonconference schedule within the next week, though the final addition probably won’t be a highmajor opponent. With Florida, Villanova, Indiana and the Charleston Classic (where UConn will open against a good Buffalo team) on the docket, the Huskies are satisfied with their nonconference slate.