 "Photo: Chelsi Baker/The Daily Athenaeum")
If you tried to work out at the Rec Center last week, you probably couldn’t find a parking spot.
That’s because the Triple S Harley-Davidson Jam Fest took over the Rec and other gyms in or near the Morgantown area, as thousands of high school basketball players put their talent on display.
The Jam Fest began July 14 and continued through Friday. A total of 265 teams played before more than 300 college coaches.
Among those coaches in Morgantown last week were Kentucky’s John Calipari, Florida’s Billy Donovan, Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon and West Virginia’s own Bob Huggins, among others.
Coaches or representatives from nearly every Big East Conference school were in attendance. They sat at the end of the court in a special seating section and watched prospects their respective programs were interested in.
Even some current Mountaineer players were in attendance to watch the action. Guards Dalton Pepper, Casey Mitchell, Truck Bryant and Joe Mazzulla were in attendance Wednesday evening. Forward John Flowers watched some of the action Friday.
Despite all the big names in attendance, the players were the stars.
Two of the most-coveted players for the 2011 class expected at the Jam Fest, forward Chane Behanan from Bowling Green, Ky., and forward Kadeem Jack from New York, did not attend the tournament.
Behanan, who will be a senior this fall, is the 24th overall prospect for 2011 according to Rivals.com. His list of potential schools include Texas, Kentucky, Louisville and WVU.
Jack is the 82nd overall prospect for 2011, and the Mountaineers are also eyeing him for next year’s recruiting class.
But, there was a strong group of Under-17 prospects that WVU is looking at, as well, for the 2012 class.
Out of the players who did show at last week’s Jam Fest, 7-foot center Kaleb Tarczewski was one of the most intriguing. In nearly every game his team, the New England Playaz, attended, coaches filled the seats and some had to stand to watch his team play. His teammate, 6-foot-9-inch forward Alex Murphy is also a highly rated prospect (28th overall for 2012) who has been offered by Duke.
While Murphy excelled last week, Tarczewski did struggle at times. In games Wednesday and Thursday, he failed to score consistently from the field and didn’t affect many shots.
Murphy was perhaps the most impressive player I saw.
The New England Playaz ended up winning the U-17 championship in the Gold bracket.
Outside of Murphy, the most impressive player was Amile Jefferson. West Virginia is also on the long list of teams courting the 6-foot-7-inch forward from Philadelphia alongside teams like Penn State, St. Joseph’s and Virginia Tech.
Also at Jam Fest was Daniel Ochefu, a 6-foot-10-inch center from Westtown, Pa. He is rated as the eighth-best player in the 2012 class. WVU is in the running for Ochefu, along with Georgetown, Kentucky, Villanova and others.
The top-rated player in the 2012 class, Andre Drummond, a 6-foot-9-inch center from Oakdale, Conn., was not at Jam Fest with his AAU team the Connecticut Basketball Club.
DaJuan Coleman, a 6-foot-8-inch forward from Dewitt, New York, hasn’t been offered by WVU, but he is the third-best player in the 2012 class according to Rivals.com. He was not at Jam Fest.
Truth be told, Jam Fest is one of the best-kept secrets in Morgantown – especially in the summer. It is one of the best AAU summer tournaments around. If you weren’t there, you truly missed out.
But at least there’s next year.
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