2018 Fordham Team Camp 1

By Emma Yavel

Early summer team camps are highly anticipated events for high school basketball coaches. It’s like Christmas morning to them, in that they are unwrapping the new toys that they will be getting to play with for the year. They get to see the type of talent mix that they have, and how the team dynamic is shaping up. It gets the wheels turning full speed in their coach’s brains.

The Forham Team camp is also great for RecruitTheBronx in that we get to jump in a see a bunch of teams from the very middle of our coverage area.  Below we profile some of the guys who caught our eye.

Alex Siapandes (2019) - 6’1” (guard) - Harrison HS. Excellent 3-point range shot. Great asset to the team both offensively and defensively. Not afraid to be aggressive in the paint. Excellent footwork and a great team leader.

Josh Cooper (2020) - 5’7” (guard) - Harrison HS. This guy is an up and coming player. Once he gets some more minutes you’ll start seeing him shine more. Great overall athlete, gritty and aggressive. Impressive raw talent.

Tyler Menniti (2018) - 5’11” (guard) - Harrison HS.This guy is no rookie to the game. Puts up great offensive numbers and holds his own on the defensive end. If this guy isn’t already recruited, he would be a great asset to any solid basketball roster in the fall. Great ball handles and mid-range shot.

Jack Shannon (2019) - 6’8” (forward) - Iona Prep.This tall powerhouse forward showed off his stardom this week at Fordham! Using his height to his advantage, Shannon was able to snag rebounds and show his athleticism to those on and off the court.

Spencer Curto (2019) - 6’4” (guard) - Iona Prep. Great team player on and off the court with a good attitude. Shows great ball handling skills all over the court. Strong assist game.

Jack Feeley (2018) - 6’4” (forward) - Iona Prep. Clutch veteran player getting in his last few games as a HS basketball player. Hopefully, the fall has college ball in store for him! Great down-low guy and good mid-range.

Ethan Renner (2019) - 5’10” (guard) - Mamaroneck HS. Tremendous athlete (plays 2 sports, basketball and baseball). Captain of the squad. Great leader on the court and sets a great example for the younger guys out there. Has range and his a lot of mid-range shots. Reliable player.

Tommy Martin (2019) - 5’11” (guard) - Mamaroneck HS. Top scorer on the squad. Excellent shot from all over the court. Tall and lean body type allows him to have good movement on the court. Martin is a great asset to the squad.

Shane Martinsen (2020) - 6’2” (guard, forward) - John Jay HS. One of top standouts this week at Fordham. Young guy who plays with maturity. One of the top scorers on his team - averaging over 10 ppg in the 2017-18 regular season. Martinsen is certainly a guy to watch out for in the next few years.

Dean Ford (2019) - 5’10” (guard) - John Jay HS. Another hot shooter for John Jay. Ford is a 3-sport athlete and it really shows on the court. Between his speed and his natural athletic ability it is hard to miss him on the court. His sheer basketball talent is fun to watch.

Avni Mustafaj (2019) - 6’1” (guard, wing) - Fordham Prep HS .Captain and leader on the court. Has great range and sheer defensive talent. Agile and quick on the court. Great dribbling technique and good at the free-throw line.

Niall McStay (2018) - 6’6” (forward) - Fordham Prep HS. Hot shooter that can play 1-4 if needed. Naturally down low player. Excellent athleticism.

Emmanuel Owusu (2019) - 6’3” (forward) - Palisades Prep HS . Has clearly put in tons of work on shot reps. Excellent shot accuracy and range. Good low post spin moves. Great potential to play at the next level.

Isaiah Bray (2021) - 5’10” (guard) - Palisades Prep HS. Tremendous young talent. Only freshman starter on the squad getting consistent work. Great range from all ends of the court. Excellent ball handling skills - it’s obvious he works on his dribbling. Bray is going to be something special in the upcoming years.

Jakye Oliver (2019) - 6’2” (guard) - Palisades Prep HS. Another great player on the Palisades Prep squad. Great offensive and defensive talent. Ability to nail down tough shots under pressure. Gritty and aggressive player all around.

Spencer McCann (2018) - 6’6” (forward) - Briarcliff HS. Spectacular athlete. Looks more serious about baseball, but is also a solid basketball player. Averaged 8 ppg and 6.5 rig in the 2017-18 season. Solid big man down low, plays his position well.

Jackson Gonseth (2018) - 6’5” (forward) - Briarcliff HS. Great down-low and on the free throw line. Will put up a lot of points just because he overpowers the guys who defend him in the box.

Jack Ryan (2018) - 6’3” (guard) - Briarcliff HS. Ryan is fun to watch. He shows off tremendous raw talent on the court - stuff you don’t see from the average 17 year old. He takes the ball to the rim, can shoot the 3, but will also pass to the open teammate.

Miles Jones (2019) - 6’1” (guard) - Briarcliff HS. Excellent gritty player who is excellent on both offense and defense. He’s out there with one sole purpose: to play and win. A natural leader of the team. Has excellent ball handling skills and can shoot an accurate mid-range shot.

Marc Nilaj (2019) - 6’4” (guard) - Salesian HS. Excellent leaper, good short range jump shot and very good rebounder. He is an excellent student and very coachable. Nilaj is a multi-sport athlete, an excellent volleyball player.

Breyson Reyes (2020) - 6’4” (guard) - Salesian HS. Reyes is 6’4” and still growing. Huge up side potential - only playing basketball for 2 years. Excellent attitude on the court. Also noteworthy is Reyes is ranked #1 in the U.S. in karate in his age group. Above average student.

Joel Garcia (2019) - 5’10” (guard) - Salesian HS. Starting point guard for the squad. Very good distributor of the basketball and gets to the rim really well. An excellent student and very positive attitude. Needs work on his outside shooting.

Nokio Kennedy (2020) - 5’8” (guard) - Salesian HS. Very coachable ‘2’ guard on the squad. One of the best defenders in the city. Very good stationary shooter and has quickness all around the court.

Steven Rice (2020) - 6’0” (guard) - Salesian HS . An excellent student and a very high basketball IQ. Very underated and a great team player. Has all the tools must work on scoring the basketball. Very unselfish - excellent defender. Very good leader on and off the court