By CHRIS RUSSELL
NEW YORK— High School basketball was at center stage in Bronx Saturday night where some of the nations top young athletes dueled it out in the Regional Game of the Big Strick Classic at Gauchos Gymnasium.
In a matchup filled with fast break action and dunks, it was team Escalade that came away victorious over team Armoni 133-117.
Despite going down in defeat, rising sophomore sensation Naz Reid, who attends Roselle Catholic, showed big improvement since the end of last spring. The 6-foot-9 power forward finished with 17 points on the night.
Despite only being a sophomore, many of the nations top schools have been recruiting him hard for his services.
“St. John’s has been recruiting me the hardest,” Reid told SNY.tv after the game. “Duke and Kentucky have also been showing interest.”
Reid is one of the most heralded recruits in the class of ’18 and holds offers from Kansas, Maryland, Villanova, N.C. State and St. John’s, which offered him in April after Chris Mullin became head coach.
There is still plenty of time left before Reid sets foot on campus but make no mistake about it, the big man has been working hard to improve his game.
“I’ve been working very hard on my post game, shooting, passing and my agility.”
The hard work has paid dividends.
As for the winning side, team Escalade was led by Nate Wilson’s 20 points. Jalen Carey finished with 16 points.
On the losing end, it was sophomore Melo Eggleston that led all scorers with 23 points. The 6-foot-8 Eggleston holds offers from Baylor and Georgia Tech. Justin Winston posted 22 points.
