The Summit-ZGXL Report Part 2

* Any college coach seeking additional information on any players, including projected collegiate level, may make an inquiry at necorridorhoops@gmail.com

*All class of 2022 prospects unless noted

Justin Covington 6’5 Shooting Guard (New Haven Heat-Doc/St. Luke’s School): Covington hit a number of important shots in New Haven Heat’s win against Boys 2 Men. Has solid form on his shot with a quick release, making three-pointers at a very good rate when spotting up. Had a pair of treys from the top of the key when his big man found him after getting doubled in the paint. The second three was from NBA range. Also hit a long ball from near the corner on a drive and kick from a teammate in transition. Covington complements his potent shooting ability with a mid-range pull-up game. Scored a 15 foot two dribble pull-up on a drive from the wing, in addition to drawing a shooting foul on a pull-up attempt from the foul line. Had 20 points in the contest. While he did the majority of his damage in this game from beyond the arc, he showed during his last full high school season in 2019-20 the ability to get to the rim in spurts, finishing efficiently with crafty layups off the backboard. Covington also makes an impact on the glass, having a knack for being around the ball when it comes off the rim. Finished the game with five rebounds.

Malcolm Jefferson 6’4 Combo Guard 2023 (Boys 2 Men ZGXL-Kareem/The Phelps School): Jefferson filled up the stat sheet in Boys 2 Men’s loss to New Haven Heat. Is a very good playmaker, using his size to find teammates effectively for open three-pointers, as well as high percentage shots on baseline out of bounds plays and in transition. Had five assists in the contest. Hit a teammate for a trey in the corner when bringing the ball up quickly, in addition to throwing a nice cross court pass to a teammate spotting up for a three from the wing. He found a pair of teammates cutting to the hoop for a layup on baseline out of bounds plays, doing a good job on the second one getting the ball out fast to the teammate when realizing the opponents were not set. Jefferson pushed the ball on the break to find a teammate cutting to the hoop for a layup, while also throwing a beautiful outlet pass to a teammate who took one dribble for a runner off the glass. He has a nice mid-range game with his floater, runner, and mid-range pull-up. Scored a runner from 12 feet on a drive from the top of the key, in addition to hitting a floater from eight feet over an opposing big man when catching the ball at the foul line against the opponent’s 2-3 zone. Scored on a smooth one dribble pull-up from 12 feet off a crossover move in the first half. While Jefferson did not have his best day from beyond the arc, opponents cannot lay off him from this area when spotting up. He did make one trey in the second half on a spot up attempt near the wing. Finished the game with 14 points. In his last full high school season in 2019-20, he made 25 threes at a 34% rate. Defensively, he does a good job forcing opponents into lower percentage attempts, using his length and athleticism when they try to finish at the rim or shoot over the top of him. Jefferson has solid instincts when going for steals. Caused a theft in transition, breaking up a lob pass to an opposing big man. Had another steal when immediately getting possession of the ball after his matchup on defense dropped a pass.

Josh Morissette 6’3 Combo Guard (Middlesex Magic-Crotty/Phillips Exeter Academy): Morissette made a significant impact on the game despite not scoring a point in the first half with his playmaking and rebounding in Middlesex Magic’s win over Team Thrill UAA. He does a good job finding teammates cutting to the basket. Hit a teammate cutting down the lane for a layup when he got doubled after driving baseline, in addition to finding his big man rolling to the hoop for a dunk when opponents doubled a ball screen. Morissette also makes good decisions when throwing the ball in out of bounds. Threw a nice pass on a baseline out of bounds play to a teammate moving near the top of the key for a three-pointer. He corralled seven rebounds in the first half and 12 total for the game, using his strength, toughness, and instincts to come down with a number of crucial boards. Morissette showcased his scoring ability in the second half. Is a very good shooter who can hit threes effectively spotting up, on the move, or off the dribble. Hit a trey off one dribble on a handoff from the top of the key, as well as nailing a long ball near the corner when spotting up after an offensive rebound by a teammate. Morissette is much more than just a shooter when scoring the ball. He can also get to the rim effectively in transition as well as in the halfcourt. Provided a huge momentum boost for his team in the second half, pushing the ball after securing a rebound to get all the way to the basket for an and-1 layup. Had a nice play in the halfcourt, using a spin move to reject a ball screen and get all the way to the rim and finish with his inside hand. Had 13 points all in the second half.

Brady Cummins 6’6 Wing (Middlesex Magic-Crotty/Brooks School): Cummins made a nice impact defensively in Middlesex Magic’s win over Team Thrill UAA. He used his very good lateral quickness, leaping ability, and length to force Team Thrill’s wings into a number of tough mid-range shots against him. Cummins also rebounds the ball at a good rate, being able to get certain rebounds at the highest point off the rim because of his explosiveness. Had seven rebounds in the game. Offensively, he is an unselfish player who does a nice job of letting the game come to him. Had a pair of nice extra passes to teammates for open three-pointers from the wing and top of the key. Cummins showcased his leaping ability in the first half with a two hand alley-oop dunk in transition, along with getting rewarded for running the floor hard on the break after a teammate got a steal to finish above the rim with two hands. Uses his quick first step off the dribble to get to the rim effectively. Had a nice blow by drive on an opponent in transition to score an and-1 layup at the rim. While Cummins did not make any of his attempts from beyond the arc in this game, he has good mechanics on his shot and has proven in his time with Middlesex Magic to make spot up threes at a solid rate.

Justin Molen 6’6 Combo Forward (East Coast Cyclones/Salesianum School): Molen showed a lot of intrigue with his playmaking ability in East Coast Cyclones’ win over NOVA Cavaliers. He uses his size to see over the top of opponents and find open passing lanes. While he only had one assist in the contest on a drive and kick to a teammate for a three-pointer from the corner, he easily could have had four-five more assists had the good looks he created for teammates went down. Some of these examples were when he hit a teammate with a nice bounce pass from the elbow on a backdoor cut, finding an open teammate for a trey with a cross-court pass when posting up a smaller defender, and finding an opening between two opponents to hit a teammate with deep post position who drew a shooting foul. Molen also is effective at taking opposing forwards off the dribble with his first step. Had a nice play catching the ball in the mid-post and getting by an opponent with a straight line drive to finish a layup through contact. Scored another straight line drive layup when penetrating from near the wing, getting all the way to the rim off one dribble with a long stride. He has a nice stroke from long range, hitting threes effectively when spotting up. Drained a spot up trey in transition from the wing. Molen also showed this past high school season to be a good shooter from beyond the arc when coming off screens. He can take smaller defenders into the post to create high percentage shots for himself. Used a nice drop-step move when posting up a smaller opponent to score an and-1. Finished the game with 21 points. Defensively, Molen does a good job of challenging opponents shots both at the rim and when they try to score over the top of him. Blocked an opponent’s shot off the backboard when going for a reverse layup, in addition to having another rejection of an opponent when they tried to rise over him for a layup when posting up. Molen is a solid rebounder, making a good effort going for the ball when it comes off the rim. Pulled down seven rebounds in the game and averaged just under six per game this past high school season.

Trey Seigle 6’1 Combo Guard (NOVA Cavaliers/Lake Braddock HS): Seigle stretched the floor well for NOVA Cavaliers in their defeat to East Coast Cyclones. While he only shot 29% this past high school season from beyond the arc, he attempted three-pointers at a very high volume at just under eight per game. In a setting such as with NOVA Cavaliers where Seigle does not need to attempt as many treys for his team to be successful, he picks and chooses his spots better, which leads to higher efficiency from long range. Makes threes effectively when spotting up and coming off screens. Hit a trey spotting up from the wing on a pass from a teammate who caught the ball in the middle of the opponent’s 2-3 zone, in addition to hitting another spot up three from the top of the key when a teammate got an offensive rebound. Seigle nailed a long ball from the top of the key when coming off a screen from the foul line. When opponents close out hard on him to take away his three-point shot, he has a nice mid-range pull-up game. Hit a two dribble pull-up from 12 feet when going backdoor after an opponent overplayed the angle for Seigle to get a handoff from his teammate. Drained another pull-up at the foul line coming off a screen from the wing. Had 13 points in the contest. He is a good passer. While Seigle only had one assist in the game when immediately pushing the ball after an opponent’s make to find a teammate ahead of the defense for a layup, he easily could have had two-three more assists off good looks he created for teammates that just did not go down. Some of these examples were when he hit an open teammate for a three from the wing off a drive and kick, finding a teammate rolling to the basket off a screen with a nice bounce pass, and finding a teammate cutting to the rim for a seven foot pull-up jumper. Defensively, while Seigle did not have any steals in this game, he showed a very good understanding this past high school season on the right times to jump into passing lanes when going for steals, averaging two per game.

Florian Kuechen 6’6 Combo Forward (Mass Elite-Brewer/Newton North HS): Kuechen made his imprint on the game in a variety of ways during Mass Elite’s win over Unity Legends Elite. Has a nice stroke from long range with a high release point, showing the ability to make three-pointers spotting up and off the dribble at a solid rate. Hit a trey off one dribble from the top of the key when coming off a screen. Kuechen also has a smooth mid-range game with his pull-up and runner. Nailed a one dribble pull-up from the foul line after getting an opponent up with a ball fake, in addition to hitting a runner in the lane after getting by an opponent from the corner with a straight line drive. Opponents have a hard time keeping him in front of them with his agile first step. In addition to scoring the runner on a straight line drive, Kuechen also blew by an opponent from the wing to draw a shooting foul at the rim. Had eight points in the game. He makes good reads when opponents help on him in the lane to find teammates. Had a pair of assists in the contest, one of them coming in transition when he hit a cutting teammate for a layup when an opponent collapsed on him. Defensively, Kuechen does a nice job using his length and leaping ability to make it difficult for opponents to shoot over the top of him and corral tough rebounds. Pulled down four boards in the contest.

Max Grenert 6’4 Wing (Mass Elite-Brewer/Kimball Union Academy): Grenert was clutch in Mass Elite’s win over Unity Legends Elite. Makes three-pointers at a very good rate on the move or when spotting up. Made 43 threes in only 15 games this past high school season. Hit a trey from near the wing coming off a handoff from a teammate, in addition to draining a long ball from the corner on a drive and kick from a teammate. He hit the game winning three at the buzzer with his team down two when spotting up from the wing and getting a pass from a teammate after pushing the ball up the court. Finished the game with 13 points. Grenert is a good rebounder for his position, using his strong body to get advantageous position on opponents when boxing out. Averaged near eight rebounds per game this past high school season.

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