Nick J Lewis has been at St Thomas More Prep school this season

Nick J Lewis is a name a lot of ballers recognise, and a guy I have had a lot of people asking about on the site.  When he was last in the UK, the 6’2 guard averaged 31 and 12 assists per game in U18 National League and had a number of pretty big games that made the basketball community take notice, including dropping 51 and 14 assists in a British Colleges semi final game and a 76 point game in secondary school (yeah I know it’s secondary school, but still, 76?!).

Nick first went out to the US in the summer of 2008 to attending the Reebok-Invitational Basketball Camp in New Jersey. He turned a lot of heads with his play, resulting in him attending South Plainfield High School (NJ). In his only season there (08/09) he was named High School player of the week twice, made the All-State Junior Team and was ranked by Scout.com and NjHoops.com as one of the top 250 players in the country (232) whilst averaging a nice 17 points and 9 assists per game.

On completing the season, in the summer of ’09 he played for the New Jersey Demons on the AUU circuit, Luol Deng’s former team, before committing to St Thomas More Prep in Connecticut on a scholarship, to play under Jerry Quinn, the 2nd best ranked High School coach in the nation, where he has just finished.

At St Thomas More, his team finished 3rd in the Reebok National Prep Championships, losing to Brewster Academy in the semi finals. Nick received a lot of High Division 1 interest during the live recruiting period from August till October, but unfortunately got injured before the 09-10 season began, sustaining a minor menisci tear in the knee. As a result of the injury he didn’t play until this January, perhaps scaring off a few of the interested teams.

Talking about his year at St Thomas More in a recent interview with This Is Derbyshire, he said

“Being in America was great, St Thomas More is an all boys Catholic School, of similar prestige to that of Repton School in Derbyshire. Everything is really back to basics there and you have to pass an entry exam to get in. I had to dig in but I really excelled academically and got lots of As and Bs.”

Lewis is currently looking at 2 options; he will either do a Post Graduate Year, or he can go to a Junior College for 1 year. He still needs a few credits to be accepted by the NCAA Clearing House.

It’s looking like the favoured option is going to a JUCO in California for 1 year before hopefully transferring to a D1 programme.

This summer he is back in England for a few months playing for the Wales men’s senior team competing in Division C of the FIBA European Championships, a competition he hopes will put him in favour with Team GB selectors;

“To represent my country at the Olympics would be a great honour. Hopefully, the European Championships will be my chance to shine and get a place at the 2012 games.”

Nick was invited to the GB U20′s trials last year but due to being in the States couldn’t make it. It seems like his dream doesn’t stop with 2012 either, continuing on;

“My aim is still to play in the NBA one day.”

*Huge thanks to Steve King, one of his coaches in the UK who got in touch recently and via a rather back and forth email correspondence kindly got me up to date with Nick’s situation making this writeup possible.

Levi Noel has verbally committed to EIU

The New England Recruiting Report is reporting former England Under 18 starting guard and current Notre Dame Prep baller Levi Noel has verbally committed to NCAA Division 1 school Eastern Illinois.

The 6’5 guard, originally from Luton and the London Leopards setup emerged as a ‘jack of all trades’ for Notre Dame this season showing ‘a willingness to do whatever was necessary to help his team win games.’ The NERR went on;

While he was seldom one of the team’s leading scorers, Noel spaced the floor with his shot making, showed the versatility to defend multiple positions, and play with a great combination of grit and intelligence.

In the few games I have seen him play for England, Noel impressed with his court vision and feel for the game, whilst also showing a fearlessness/ability to handle pressure not seen from other guards on the team. He has also just been named to the GB u20 roster.

Talking exclusively to Hoopsfix about the recruiting process and why he chose EIU, Levi said:

“In deciding schools I went on visits to Mount St Marys, Quinnipiac, Central Connecticut State and Eastern Illinois. I also had an offer from Maine University but didn’t visit. On my visit to Eastern Illinois everything just felt right. They run a triangle offence which will be good for me and also allows me to play a lot more point guard than at other schools, as well as playing the 2 and 3. I feel I can earn a lot of playing time as a freshman and even compete for freshman of the year in the OVC (Ohio Valley Conference).”

Eastern Illinois compete in the Ohio Valley Conference finishing with a 19-12 (11-7) record last year. Hoopsfix wants to wish Levi all the best with his NCAA career, I will be following!

Robert Gilchrist showcased his jumping ability at the Joe White Classic, taking the dunk comp title

Robert Gilchrist is an athletic freak. At 6’8, 210lbs, he can jump OUT of the gym (check him out in the Joe White Classic Dunk Contest last year). More than just raw athleticism though, he has range extending to 20 feet and a shot blocking ability that allows him to dominate the paint. 1990 born, he has just spent last season at Worcester Academy prep school in Massachusetts, before being named to the GB U20 roster for summer 2010. Originally a Barking Abbey product, Hoopsfix got to catch up with him whilst he assesses his options for next year.

HF-What age did you first start playing basketball and why?
RG-I first started playing basketball at 11/12. I finished primary school and it was time for the summer holidays, at the time I was playing football and just got trials for Arsenal’s youth academy team. Instead I decided to take my first trip by myself to America, I went to stay with my aunt in New Jersey where I ended up attending Jayson Williams’ basketball camp. When I came back to England I told my parents that the next year i would stop playing football and take up basketball.

HF-Where were your first experiences playing organised basketball?
RG-My first experience of playing organised basketball was at East London Royals in White Chapel, my good friend Lukas (Volskis of London Leopards)who had just moved to the same road as me took me under his wing and dragged me to all of the practices.

HF-And you ended up at Barking Abbey right? Can you tell us about your experiences there?
RG-Lukas was the year above me and he went to Barking Abbey with all the other good players around London. He put in a good word for me and I ended up getting a spot at the Academy. My time there was great, I worked closely with Mark Clark and Lloyd Gardner who had all the time in the world for me, they gave me all the skill work I needed.

HF-Did/do you have any role models growing up?
RG-Growing up I looked up to Steve Bucknall who took me under his wing. He always gave me a hard time but would often tell me it was for my own good and that he had my back on and off the court, the same with Robert Youngblood; he ran a open gym not too far from my house every Monday where I would go early to shoot. Also my AAU coach, he put me through some serious workouts this summer gone, gave me more of the perimeter skills that I have now, that’s who helps me out with a lot of my decision making today and keeps me in check while I am in America. He’s a big part of what I do.

HF-How did you end up attending Worcester Academy?
RG-I ended up at Worcester Academy through Mantas Drungys who went to a Prep School in Conneticut in my 2nd year at BA. His head coach put me in touch with his brother who ended up being my AAU coach and my advisor for basketball in america. He got me in touch with Brewster Academy, Blair Academy and Worcester Academy, after a short time we figured Worcester was the best place for me.

Gilchrist playing above the rim at Street 2 Elite 2009

HF-How do you feel your season has been there?
RG-The season was not the greatest we had injuries and a few other problems that I won’t disclose, the biggest success was in the Thomas Blackburn Tournament, we won that, beating Blair Academy.

HF-Best dunk of your career?
RG-I think that same game (vs Blair Academy) was where I had my best dunk; I caught an alley thrown from a step over the half way line, it was an and 1 and I knocked down the free throw to put us up one and we went on to win the game by two.

HF-Where did you get your freaky athleticism from!?
RG-I have no idea where I got the athleticism from…it feels like just yesterday i used to think it was the best thing in the world to jump and hang on the net or touch the rim, now I am pulling windmills and catching alleys on people…

HF-What are your plans for next season?
RG-Right now I am trying to figure out my best option as I didn’t get the SAT score that I needed to go straight to a 4 year Div1 school so I will have to go to Junior College if I stay in America. The other option is going pro in Europe right now, most likely Spain but I am in the process of figuring out the positives and negatives of both options.

HF-Who do you rate as the top up and coming baller out of the UK?
RG-I think the top up coming baller out of the UK would be Ryan Martin; there’s not a lot of 6’8 kids that can play on the perimeter like him.

HF-Toughest opponent you’ve ever played against (British)?
RG-He would also be one of the toughest I have been up against because he has attributes similar to mine; he is long and athletic, able to pin your lay up or get a hand to your jumpshot at any given time. He definitely gave me a run for my money last year in practice at Barking Abbey. In England I haven’t really been shut down. The toughest game would be against Hackney Community College where I still managed to go for 19 points 7 boards and 3 blocks.

HF-What are you going to be doing over the Summer? You gonna be in the UK?
RG-This summer I will be with GB U20 trying to do some damage in Austria, then chilling with the family before I figure out if i will carry on with school or not.

HF-Any shout outs?
RG-Shout out to you for the interview , everyone out of Barking Abbey and everyone still there. There’s gonna be some serious talent coming out of there.

I’m a little bit late on this one seeing as the vid was released in October last year, but still thought it was worth putting up. This is 6’7, 190lbs Will Saunders out of London (Class of 2010, born 04/03/91), putting down a few pretty nice dunks at the 2009 Adidas 150 Phenom Camp out in the States. You can check him out from 0:32s to 0:43s A former WFS Spartans player, he now represents Caldwell Academy in North Carolina averaging 23 ppg, 11rpg and 2 apg.

The website Grass Roots Ballin’ said this about Saunders’ performance at the camp

“Saunders was a very impressive athlete at this event using his athleticism to score a ton of buckets. He consistently scores on high flying dunks throughout the showcase along with a smooth looking jumper out beyond the arc. He plays with a ton of energy on both ends of the floor, well also doing a good job on the boards.”

The video was put together by One Entertainment.

Great to see a Brit doing well out in High School! If you know of any other Brits killin’ it in high school stateside, make sure you let me know by dropping a comment below.

Leeds native Chris Hughes had a career game on Monday night finishing 2 assists short of a triple double in Amelia Academy’s 67-36 win over Brunswick Academy.

Speaking exclusively to Hoopsfix, the 6’2, 190lbs guard  said

”The team we were playing weren’t great, and at the half I had 13 points and 9 rebounds so I thought i’ll try go for a double double because I hadn’t had one ever before. Then (my teammate) Kirril got real hot from three and gave like 6 or 7 assists, but I just missed a triple double. I was just happy to get a win after a rough couple games the week before.”

Amelia Academy now stands at .500 with a 7-7 record but Hughes is confident about the remainder of the season

”There is some good teams and good players in our conference but I think around the conference tournament time we should be able to compete for a championship”.

Chris Hughes and Amelia Academy will next be in action tonight at Richmond Christian.