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RTB Recap: Fall Festival pt. I

Barrett playing for Canada
Barrett playing for Canada (Rivals)

The annual Fall Festival presented by the Hoop Exchange was reduced to one day this year due to Hurricane Matthew, still several of Florida’s top high school teams competed in the team showcase followed by an individual showcase.

The high school games that drew the most attention from the spectators and assembled media were the two games featuring a loaded Montverde Academy team. Unlike their 2015-16 team, Montverde doesn’t posses multiple power players, what they do have is a roster full of versatile skilled players who play well together as a unit and might be the best passing team Kevin Boyle has had while at Montverde.

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The standout player for Montverde is 6-foot-6 sophomore small forward R.J. Barrett. A natural playmaker whose combination of athleticism, defensive skills, quickness and ability to finish in transition has led to a No. 2 ranking for the native of Canada. In two games Barrett had 24 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks. Barrett is just as likely to knock down a jumper with his text book shooting stroke as he is to put it on the deck and get to the rim for a big time dunk.

Marcus Carr makes Montverde Academy go. Another Canadian, the 2017 point guard is back from an ACL tear that sidelined him last season. Despite that injury, Carr has the speed and quickness to get deep into the paint to score or hit the open man when the help defense arrives. Defensively the three star prospect is a tough/scrappy on-ball defender and is probably Montverde Academy’s toughest player. In fact, in two games Carr had five steals to go along with 14 points, 11 assists and two rebounds.

At 6-foot-10, Sandro Mamukelashvili is one of the most versatile guys over 6-foot-9 in the country. Mamu, as he is known to teammates, has a nice looking jumper, is a tremendous rebounder, can push it on the break and is a great passer. He sees the floor very well and due to his size Mamu is also a good cross court passer and that was on display as he found three point shooters on the weak side of the floor. In two games we had Mamu down for 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks. A member of the 2017 class, Mamu arrived at Montverde from Georgia, the East European country not the peach state, and already holds offers from Boston College, Vanderbilt, Seton Hall, Louisville and SMU. Interest is coming from Florida, Miami, USC and Maryland.

VCU verbal commit Sean Mobley has stepped into the role of vocal leader for Montverde Academy. The skilled 6-foot-9 senior has good hands and feet, fights for every rebound and loose ball and contests shots. Mobley can handle and pass it very well for his size plus stretch the floor with his shooting skills. He also has a high basketball IQ. In their second game, Mobley had 12 points, six rebounds and one block.

Five-star point guard Andrew Nembhard rounded out the starting five for Montverde Academy on Sunday. Nembhard, part of what seems to be a Canadian pipeline to Montverde, is a heady player and another good passer. The No. 17 ranked prospect in the 2019 class, Nembhard is more of a point guard but Carr handles the majority of the on-ball duties in Montverde’s offense.

Oldsmar Christian with new head coach John Bianchi were a formidable opponent for Montverde Academy. Led by 6-foot-5 junior guard Elijah Weaver Oldsmar Christian looks like they will once again challenge for the SIAA championship.

The No. 24 ranked member of the 2018 class, Weaver was dialed in Sunday and almost willed Oldsmar to an upset win. An excellent downhill player, Weaver is constantly looking to create for himself or teammates. He often sees he’s teammates before they realize they’re open enough to receive a pass.

Oldsmar Christian has some size up front in 6-foot-10 three-star junior Michael Durr, 6-foot-9 senior Stefon Fisher and 6-foot-8 senior Alex O’Guinn. Perimeter players DJ Mitchell, Jhahkeem Smith and Matthew Berry help form the nucleus of this year’s squad.

In our next recap we’ll look at standouts from the Fall Festival Individual Showcase games.

Russ Wood is a contributing national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and RunningTheBulls.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter

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