UNION, N.J. — Many high-majors have already reached out to Roselle Catholic’s
Nate Pierre-Louis, with his list of suitors only growing larger as the Class of 2017, 6-foot-3 point guard continues to play like he did Wednesday night in the Union County Tournament semifinals.
Pierre-Louis, who said postgame that Kansas is the latest to express interest, scored 10 of his team-high 13 points after halftime in Roselle Catholic’s 56-46 win over Linden, advancing the Lions to the Union County final against The Patrick School on Saturday night back at Kean University.
It will be the third meeting this season between the two Non-Public B powerhouses, who have already split a pair of games and could meet a fourth time in the South Non-Public B semifinals in March. The Patrick School is ranked No. 2 in New Jersey by NJ.com, while Roselle Catholic is No. 4.
Head coaches in attendance at Kean consisted of Seton Hall’s
Kevin Willard, Rutgers’
Eddie Jordan, and St. Peter’s
John Dunne, with various other programs well represented by assistant coaches.
After Linden made it interesting late via a barrage of three-pointers from Class of 2017
Marcellus Livingston and Class of 2018
Tavon Jones, it was Pierre-Louis who put the game on ice by hitting the offensive glass hard and cashing in on a pair of tip-ins.
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“I thought Nate was good today,” said Roselle Catholic coach Dave Boff. “Defensively, he was solid. He always gives you great effort on every play. He gets two huge offensive rebounds, which is really probably two of the bigger plays of the game.”
Pierre-Louis, one of the best on-ball defenders in the junior ranks and a self-described “energy guy,” rattled off UConn, Louisville, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Cincinnati as the schools currently after him the hardest. He intends to spend spring break visiting some of those campuses and hopes to trim his list to 10 sometime around September.
As for Class of 2018 five-star power forward Naz Reid, he plans to look at Syracuse, Seton Hall, and St. John’s in the very near future. Syracuse associate head coach Mike Hopkins was on hand Tuesday at practice.
Reid, whose offers include Kansas, Louisville, Villanova, Maryland, and Iowa, was instrumental in crunch time on Wednesday, combining with still-uncommitted senior Matt Bullock to incite a 9-0 Roselle Catholic run to begin the fourth quarter, extending the Lions lead from two to eleven.
Reid finished with eight points, blocking and altering countless shots on the opposite end. He also dished out a major assist postgame in the form of a recruiting pitch for Bullock, who heavily impressed Rutgers’ Jordan.
“Matt’s a great all-around player,” Reid said of Bullock, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half. “He helps me out with class and basketball-wise. He’s a great teammate. He’s everything you want in a basketball player.”
Boff echoed Reid’s sentiments in regard to Bullock, who has been offered by Rutgers, Rider, Binghamton, and Monmouth.
“Matt’s really the guy who takes us to the next level,” Boff said. “When he plays well, we normally play well. It’s getting to the end of his senior year. I think he’s taking a very serious approach in practice recently, in terms of understanding that this is something that he wants. He wants to try to win a [Union County Tournament] championship, he wants to try to win his fourth [Non-Public B Championship], and he’s been practicing and leading that way.”
Livingston led Linden with 19 points, while Jones chipped in 16. Jones recently picked up an offer from St. Joe’s and has heard from Marquette, Stanford, and Seton Hall.
RICHARDS GARNERING INTEREST FROM ALMOST EVERY BLUE BLOOD
Nick Richards, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound Class of 2017 big man, remains a work in progress offensively, and understandably so. Ranked as the No. 13 overall player in the Class of 2017 per Rivals, he hails from Jamaica and is still getting acclimated to organized basketball.
“When [Richards] keeps things simple [offensively], he’s really good,” said Patrick School head coach Mike Rice, who works with his center on slowing the game down.
The offense will come. For now, Richards’ calling card is as a super athletic, game-changing presence in the paint, particularly on defense. His ability to run the floor, send shots into the stands, and high IQ has every national blue blood in hot pursuit.
“It’s not fair to the rest of people playing basketball that someone that size and that strong can move that well,” Rice said. “And it’s not maybe just running up-and-down. It’s how quickly he gets off his feet. He brings such a dimension-you’re going to get by our perimeter defenders, and now you have a 6-11 kid who has such control of his body and understands the timing of blocking shots and defending.”
Richards hold offers from the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, UConn, Villanova, Indiana, Syracuse, and UCLA. Syracuse assistant Adrian Autry watched him at practice on Tuesday.
“In my eyes, he’s the best big man in the country,” said senior teammate Bryce Aiken, a four-star Harvard commit who dropped a team-high 16 points in a 66-58 win over Union Catholic. “He obviously has a lot to work on. But I believe that he’ll eventually be a pro one day.”
The Patrick School, the top seed in the Union County Tournament, now faces second-seeded Roselle Catholic in the UCT final on Saturday at 6 p.m. That means a showdown between Richards and Naz Reid for a third time this year.
“We need a big night from him on Saturday if we’re going to compete,” Rice said of Richards.
“It’s going to be an exciting game, probably a sold-out game,” Richards added. “The crowd is going to be crazy. I can’t wait for it.”
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