Cassidy's Takeaways: Final thoughts from NYC tournaments

NEW YORK – A pair of multi-team events in the Empire State were impacted by snow over the weekend, leaving some games canceled and others rescheduled. Even so, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy’s trip to cover the action wasn’t totally wasted.

The weekend’s Shooting Stars Classic in the Bronx still took place, be it with a modified schedule, and featured some star power we discussed earlier this week. Today, Cassidy empties his notebook from the weekend that was and shares some tidbits he learned during his snowy trip to the city.

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One of the more in-demand prospects at Sunday’s Shooting Stars Classic, Cardinal Hayes High School junior Adam Njie shined in a narrow loss to Roselle Catholic. The guard showed off one of the tightest handles in the state of New York and the ability to fill it up from both the mid-range and deep while also finishing multiple dribble drives at the rim.

His ball-handling and shooting are the reasons why he already holds a number of high-major scholarship offers that he is just now beginning to consider seriously.

“I’m planning on taking a visit to Ole Miss. I have (my cousin) Jaylen Murray there,” Njie said on Sunday. “That one that is coming up and we are setting the date right now. I’m looking forward to also visiting Temple, but Ole Miss is the one getting scheduled now. The Ole Miss coaches like my style of play and I like their style of play.”

According to Njie, The Rebels and Owls are the programs most involved in his recruitment at this juncture but that’s subject to change if new offers arrive before the end of his senior season. Seton hall and Temple are also involved with the class of 2024 guard.

“My recruitment is open to everyone and I’m just waiting to make a decision,” Njie said.

Snow in the area forced Friday’s game between Bishop Stepinac and Ion Prep to be moved to the afternoon and, in turn, caused me to miss the contest but after speaking to people that were kicking around the gym on Sunday, it seems my high opinion of 2026 prospect Jasiah Jervis is beginning to become common.

Friday wasn’t the sophomore's best day from a scoring standpoint, but his performance was enough to get New York basketball people talking about his versatility and potential the day after the contest. The class of 2026 prospect is unranked for the time being but is a lock to crack to the top 50 quite easily when the rankings update later this year.

Jervs already holds offers from St. John's, Fordham, Manhattan, Iona and others. He will almost certainly see a sharp increase in high-major opportunities this summer, however.

Iona Prep guard Lucas Morillo played two games in two days over the weekend, showing out against nationally ranked Archbishop Stepinac on Friday before taking the court for the Shooting Stars Classic on Sunday. His potential was evident on both occasions, as the thick-framed guard handles the ball well and uses his frame to get to spots and score in a number of ways from all over the floor.

On Sunday, the 6-foot-6 Morillo showed a reliable mid-range jumper as well as a reliable catch-and-shoot three-point stroke. Morillo is strong enough to impact games on the boards and defends multiple positions as well. And while he certainly isn’t a major national prospect just yet, he has the skill set to be in the discussion to crack the back end of the 2025 Rivals150 later this year.

Washington and High Point have offered Morillo, who will likely see his offer list expand again this year.