There is going to be lots of talent at JERSEY LIVE this weekend. There will be players for every level. That includes P4, High Major, Mid Major, Low Major, D3, High D3 and D2. This is event is a smogbourg for college coaches. But what makes Jersey Live so special is that the players are with their high school teams. I believe a coach should never make a decision on a player without seeing them with their high school team. Many times a great player can pick the wrong AAU team and lose all status in the eyes of coaches. Many times a player gets crowned by a AAU team and they become bigger than their actually game. Today I am going to give you three players the will be ROCK STARS AT SOME POINT. That’s because they have the three ingredients all great players have. They have talent, a competitive nature and are gym rats. THESE ARE CAN’T MISS STARS, not because of hype or status but rather because of game.

When PAIGE PALMER walked into NBS as a 7th grader, I had no idea who she was. She was one of the first to arrive and always one of the last to leave the gym. I knew her dad TODD A because I recruited him out of high school. Surprise he choose Notre Dame and his wife played at Notre Dame and won a NATIONAL TITLE. I quickly learned the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree. The 6’3″ Paige was matched up next to D1 post players all 6’2″ or bigger and committed to D1 schools as rising seniors. She gave away strength and experience. What she didn’t give away was talent and and a work ethic from the heavens. I told. her if you ever feel it’s too much just tell me, an awkward smile came over her face, I will never forget. You see Paige, is a player that plays so hard, it makes your teeth sweat. A player that refuses to accept anything except her best effort from herself. She has so much pride for a player of her age it was shocking, no player this age is suppose to this amount of self accountability . But what is most shocking was her talent and skills, is this is a player that has been taught how to play basketball. Her leaping ability for her size is special, her quickness, eye popping and her ability to run the floor clearly a gift. She was pushed to the edge every weekend. But she was so hard on herself it threw me off. In a era when kids this talented are getting their ass kissed. She was relentless in her expectations of herself at times I thought were unrealistic . I tired to explain to her she would get older and stronger. I told her she was playing against 18 and 19 year old girls. It didn’t matter, she expected to perform against older D1 players as if they were 7 graders. She didn’t want or need my excuses or approval. You see this is way all the older post players loved her and rooted for her every weekend. Paige Palmer is lucky because her talent is matched only by her work ethic. She desperately wants to be a dominate player. When I watch her play AAU, she like all forwards she does get very many touches. But rather than complain. SHE GOES AND GETS IT. She gets the ball off the glass, she runs in transition. She blocks shots, and does all the little things coaches dream about. You see her versatility is unlike any Freshman player of this size in over a decade in a half, I SPEAK FACTS. There is no ego here, just real greatness and a desire to be coached, to be coached hard. Her father sent her to OLD TAPPAN high school for one reason, it’s a place for her to grow and be a regular student. He knows she needs to learn to be a ALPHA FEMALE on the court. He does care about rankings, hype and comparisons. It because he and his wife played at the highest level. They know these things will mean very little in 4 years. These are all the reasons I tell you, no FRESHMAN AT JERSEY LIVE will be more important to watch. This is a future ROCK STAR… THE TYPE OF PLAYER YOU BUILD YOUR ENTIRE P4 PROGRAM AROUND. Coaches this is the most important recruit in the 2030 class in New Jersey. The size, personality, work ethic, the family and reliability is different.

NAIMA MORALES SOLIVAN is learning THE BEST lesson a future young star can learn this spring and summer. The lesson is simple, AAU can be a dangerous world. It can give and it can take, she has been on both side of this lesson. I remember seeing her as a 6th grader and thought she had a chance to be star one day. You know one of those kids we all watch become dominate and a household name. It was clear after last summer this young lady was the real deal. In fact I believed she could one day be called the class goat. Naima Morales Solivan, has expectations, it’s why she choose Gil Bernard high school rather than stay at Montgomery High School. She knew if she had dreams of being a great player she needed to be in a great environment. A competitive environment and in a place where nothing is given and all is earned. She found the right high school coach, the perfect senior mentors and had a great Freshman year. She had moments young players dream about. She played in big games on big stages. It all validated her traveling over a hour one way to play for the Shoreshots 5 days a week. She was that rare brown girl in the Shore shining brightly, it was a great story. But remember AAU can help a kid turn into a household name or turn them into a ghost and steal their status. In case coaches have forgotten, a year ago, Naima Morales Solivan was on one of the most talked about young AAU teams in the state. A former MAAC asst asked me about two weeks ago. “WHAT HAPPEN TO ALL THE YOUNG SHORESHOTS KIDS”. I explained nothing and that it’s AAU and kids bounce around. What he forgot and many others forgot is this, Naima Morales Solivan is a baller and maybe the kid with the brightest future on that team. She has the positional next level size, the length and natural ability that are god given and you can teach. She is the kid that didn’t take these gifts for granted. It’s why she lived in camp all summer last year. She is the kid that everyday at lunch worked on her right hand rather than eat lunch. She is the kid who stayed a hour after a 6 hour day of camp, EVERY DAY to shoot. She is the kid who drove a hour to camp week after week. She is the kid who had more improvement than any kid in the 2029 class. But then again after a great freshman year, she changed AAU teams, her father’s new job make it impossible to travel another season with 30 mins more tacked on. So these days Naima Morales Solivan has been waiting for JERSEY LIVE. That’s because she be back with her high school team this weekend. Back to showing coaches that she is one of the very best in the 2029 class. Back to showing them her rebounding and defensive next level guard skills. Now she will get back to shooting threes in rhythm, now she get back to shining. Now she will be back to showing coaches, SHE IS A ROCK STAR and nothing is going to change that. I know a few things about ROCK STARS. I have seen them and Naima Morales Solivan is one and she is one of the best in the 2029 class. THIS WEEKEND AT JERSEY LIVE YOU WILL BE REMINDED WHY, you must see players with their high school teams!

CALISTA VOWTERAS attends MANASQUAN HIGH SCHOOL. Do I have to tell you the players who have attend that state power who have won 12 of the past 13 state title? Do I really have to list the names of the WNBA players, P4 players, High Major players or Patriot and Ivy League players? It’s a who’s who of high school basketball. Lisa Kukoda has built the Roman Empire at a public high school. I have watched it from day one. Last year she won another state title but this one was different. That’s because a Sophomore was sensational in the CHIP GAME. The sophomore was MVP of the game with 23 points… 7 assists. and 4 rebounds. This sophomore is the best two way player in the best conference in America. This sophomore in my opinion until I see different is the best two way guard in the state by a mile. She just may be the most compete guard in the Shore in a long, long time. When you watch her play. You may find yourself asking, ‘WHAT DOES SHE NOT DO WELL?”… OR “DOES SHE EVER MAKE A MISTAKE?”. So let me help you out, she does everything not well but great. NO!! She never makes a mistake on the basketball court. You see of all the D1 guards that I have seen in the Shore in the past 5 years. She is far and away the most complete. She is not a good passer she is a devastating passer, she is not a good shooter, she is a heartbreaking shooter, she is not a great defender, she is a soul snatching defender. You watch her pivot and it reminds of a certain NY KNICK. You watch her rebound from the guard position and right away you think you can turn her into a forward. You watch her handle vs pressure and you can’t believe her decision making. Your shocked that she is never out of control and always in control of her emotions. Too bad you DON’T get the pleasure I get of watching her in the gym. I get to see a focus, no player I have trained since a player by the name of Justine Pissott. She is so locked in you wonder if she is human. I guess this is a thing with ROCK STARS. If your a A-10, Big East type of program or a HIGH MAJOR CONFERENCE CONTENDER in your league. You better dream she is playing with you and not against you. I’ve had a few players play in the Patriot League. They’ve been all Freshman, Player of the Year, First Team All League and WON CHIPS . None and I repeat none has brought to the table what CALISTA VOWTERAS  has brought to the show. She doesn’t just do the WINNING SHIT… SHE DOES ALL THE SHIT. This weekend there are going to players with bigger names, BIGGER REPS and more hype. This weekend many players, some out of my very own program with D1 offers walking around. But do not get it twisted, CALISTA VOWTERAS is taking a back seat to none of them. This weekend at JERSEY LIVE CALISTA VOWTERAS  WILL SHOW WHAT A REAL ROCK STAR LOOKS LIKE….so coaches enjoy the show

ADDISON KEENAN is a senior at Caldwell high School. I knew very little about her until 3 weeks ago. I watched her team play in the State Final Championship game vs Manasquan. I thought she was a talented player. But since she is not from the Shore or train at NBS I didn’t really think much about her. Then I watched her play in a AAU and I knew I had to find out more about her. I figured she was being recruited by many D1 schools. I just assumed she was one of the D1 players I don’t know a lot about. So I did a deep dive. I went back and watched her high school team play first. I watched her play until 2am in the morning. Then I started watching her play with her UNITED AAU TEAM at night. So I called Jimmy “O” her current AAU coach. I asked him if I was missing something? He said “NO” and that she was one of the best point guards in the state. But she plays at Caldwell, a place where no hype, tradition of D1 players live. Well Let me say this, there is a D1 avalanche taking place at Caldwell high school recently. Addison Keenan is just the beginning, trust me if she played in the SHORE CONFERENCE, she would be a household name. There are kids in the Shore and currently at NBS with D1 offers that could shine her dirty sneakers. This is a fact not talk, the video don’t lie folks. This is a player that has not just coached up but given a passion for the game, you can’t put into words. I have heard it all, she not big enough, but the real question is if she is tough of enough? The answer is yes. Didn’t a certain NY KNICK ANSWER THAT QUESTION? Have you watched her shoot the ball? Have you seen her with the ball on a string? Have you seen her breakdown defenses and turn into a play maker? Have you seen the speed, change of pace and direction? Have you seen her treat a few big name guards like farm animals? You see ROCK STAR do these things. They make you notice them even when you refuse to see their greatness. Addison Keenan is a fresh of breath air. I don’t her but I know her game. Because her game is one of greatness, production not manufactured by hype and a fake crown. Excuse my language, but her shit is real. Her game is real, have you seen this kid disrupt a team on defense. Have you seen her grab her team but the throat and lead them. These are not everyday things, these are superstar things. This weekend at JERSEY LIVE YOUR GOING TO SEE THE BEST KEEP SECRET ROCK STAR ALIVE…So buckle up and enjoy the ride

NBS AND OTHER CAMP DATES….