The National Prep Showcase took off on Friday morning where some of the top prep programs throughout the east coast and beyond hit the floor at the gym at Albert Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut. There were several standout senior commits along the lines of Bruce Brown and Deriante Jenkins, while there were a few other relative unknowns that are due to see their stock explode entering the winter months but no one had a better showing with his potential than Kellan Grady.

KELLAN GRADY, CG, NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERMON, 2017: Wow. Grady may not have had the box score of Bruce Brown or the highlight jams of Tyrique Jones, yet the long-term package of abilities might be the best out of anyone that laced up their shoes during the evening session. With a baby face, long arms, and now playing the lead guard spot for NMH, the upside from the Cape Cade native is outstanding. He isn’t super quick but plays with a great pace where he never gets pushed out of his comfort zone. Grady can score the ball with the rhythm jumper from deep but acts as an even better facilitator for his high-powered offense out top. What stands out most about him is his off-handed abilities in the lane where he can throw whip passes on the go and even hit on a lefty runner in the lane. Add it all up, along with intangibles and 18 points and four assists, while turning it over just once, and Grady backed up the 19 offers he currently carries and should receive even more in the coming weeks.

BRUCE BROWN, CG, VERMONT ACADEMY, 2016: Honestly, I can’t quite recall an outing that Brown has not produced on the hardwood. The chiseled, competitive senior guard does it all for his squad in the backcourt and while he has yet to add consistency on his outside jumper, the other facets to his game are already polished. Heading to Miami next fall, the Hurricanes should expect an alpha-male in the backcourt who can create for others on drive and kick out passes, a guy that scores on hard slices and highlight jams in traffic, and quite possibly one of the best perimeter rebounders of the basketball throughout the land. In the 17 point win over Spire Institute, Brown was exquisite as his box score displayed 29 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.

DERIANTE JENKINS, SF, HARGRAVE MILITARY ACADEMY, 2016: Just like Brown, Deriante Jenkin is a top of the line competitor. He has really knocked off the baby fat and really prolonged his body further with the proper weight training which has allowed for better quickness off of the attack. A fine athlete at the basket who can do all of the small things on the floor, the future VCU Ram has added some consistency to his jump shot and it enabled for the South Carolina native to score the ball with efficiency on Friday. Finishing with 32 points off of 13-of-24 from the floor, Jenkins corralled nine boards and was the catalyst for his group’s win over South Kent.

CHRISTIAN VITAL, SG, ST. THOMAS MORE, 2016: Another commit and signed recruit within the 2016 class, Christian Vital played with no fear in Connecticut as the 6-foot-2 guard never backs away from showing emotion or the will to win. More of a two-guard than a lead guard at this time, if Vital buys solely into being just that and he finds the right chemistry at his future home at UNLV alongside a facilitating lead guard, then watch out! The New York native displays an effortless, picture perfect release from deep as he hit 5-of-7 from beyond the arc en route to 25 points and throwing in eight rebounds shows the toughness and production that Vital can bring to the MWC program next winter.

MARCUS OTTEY, CG, SPIRE INSTITUTE, 2016: There aren’t many guys around that get to the basket faster or quicker than Marcus Ottey. The Canadian guard is still undecided on his future college home and while programs like UIC and Valparaiso are heavily involved, the list of suitors should grow some after his performance at Albert Magnus. Albeit more a smaller scoring guard, Ottey attacks the basket with fearless abandon and is capable of heating up the scoreboard in a hurry. Despite the loss, the Spire guard scored 22 points while shooting over 50-percent from the field, and with more showings like that in which he had on Friday, Ottey could become one hot name on the recruiting trail.

KAI TOEWS, PG, BRIDGTON ACADEMY, 2017: A native of Japan, Toews just entered the states this past fall but it seems like he is already comfortable at his new home at Bridgton Academy. The 6-foot guard is an excellent passer of the basketball where he can create for others off the bounce and in the open floor. He isn’t afraid to attack the basket against taller defenders and when pressured, shows no signs of an inability to handle the added defense. Despite the loss and a lackluster box score, Toews is due to become a commodity recruit for most of the northeast programs because of his unselfish yet impressive distributing abilities as a member of the junior class.

RECRUITING RUNDOWN

Northfield Mount Hermon guard Kellan Grady spoke on 19 separate offers but after visiting Davidson back in October, mentioned that the A10 bunch, along with Villanova, Butler, Richmond, ECU, Providence, and Northeastern were coming the hardest at him.

One of the best wing prospects in the event, 2017 Vermont Academy product Christian David recently visited Michigan State, Providence, and St. Bonaventure’s, while holding further offers from Oregon, Illinois, Creighton, ODU and DePaul.

A native of Alabama but taking a post-grad year at IMG Academy, Jacob Winston noted on offers from Western Kentucky, Tennessee State, Samford, Tennessee Tech, EKU, and Louisiana Tech.

WHO’S IN THE CROWD?

While there was a bevy of college games taking place across the land on Friday, there were still droves of college coaches that made their ways into gym at Albertus Magnus. Among those who were spotted included Old Dominion, UIC, UNC-Greensboro, Cincinnati, Florida, American, UTEP, St. Joe’s, UConn, St. Bonaventure, Quinnipiac, Maine, St. Peter’s, Purdue, Kent State, Brown, North Texas, and UMass.