Jahvon Quinerly and Luther Muhammad, the two Class of 2018 guards from New Jersey power Hudson Catholic, were at Madison Square Garden on Monday when Seton Hall took down previously unbeaten South Carolina in a thriller.
The very next day, fresh off their victory, Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard and associate head coach Shaheen Holloway were in the gym at Hudson Catholic scouting Quinerly, Muhammad and their classmate, small forward Louis King.
“They’ve done a terrific job, they’ve been extremely visible,” Hudson Catholic coach Nick Mariniello said of the Seton Hall staff. “And they’re making guys in our program a priority.”
Willard and Holloway will be at the City of Palms Classic in Florida this weekend for the Hudson Catholic guys, as well as IMG Academy (FL) point guard Trevon Duval, who is down to Duke, Kansas, Arizona, Baylor and Seton Hall.
“I think they’re both going to be down there,” Mariniello said of Willard and Holloway.
Seton Hall has invested a great deal of time in the Hudson Catholic trio, to be sure. But make no mistake, there is plenty of competition.
Quinerly, the 6-foot point guard ranked No. 5 at his position in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports.com, has a Who’s Who of suitors, including Arizona, Kansas, Villanova, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio State and more.
The 6-8 King, the No. 5 small forward per 247Sports.com, has interest from Kentucky and attended Kentucky’s blowout of Hofstra on Sunday at Barclays Center. Maryland, Indiana, UConn and others are also competing with Seton Hall for King.
Meantime, the 6-4 Muhammad is ranked as the No. 8 shooting guard by 247Sports.com, and has St. John’s, Cincinnati and Xavier hot on his trail along with Seton Hall.
A slew of coaches will be watching all the players at the City of Palms, where Hudson Catholic plays Maret School (D.C.) on Friday at 2 p.m. and then could play fellow New Jersey power The Patrick School on Sunday if both teams win.
“Notre Dame saw us play this week and is trying to get down there,” Mariniello said. “Cal-Berkeley is going to be down there to see us. I think Rutgers is going to be down there to see us, I think Villanova’s going to be down there to see us, Tulane’s going to be down there to see us. I think Cincinnati’s going to be down there to see us.
“It’s such a big event with so man high-level teams in there that a lot of colleges are going to be there.”
Indeed, the event features a Who’s Who of elite high school programs, including IMG Academy, Putnam Science Academy (CT), Westtown (PA) School, Montverde (FL) Academy, Hillcrest Prep (AZ), Tampa (FL) Catholic, Pace (GA) Academy, Neumann-Goretti (PA) and Mae Jemison (AL).
That means uncommitted 2017 stars like Hamidou Diallo (Putnam Science), Mohamed Bamba (Westtown), Kevin Knox (Tampa Catholic) and Duval (IMG Academy) plus younger players like the 2018 Hudson Catholic guys and 2019s like R.J. Barrett and Andrew Nembhard (Montverde).
Among the top committed players are DeAndre Ayton (Arizona), Brandon Randolph (Arizona), Isaiah Stokes (Florida), Wendell Carter (Duke), Quade Green (Kentucky), Nick Richards (Kentucky), Jamir Harris (Minnesota), John Petty (Alabama), Tyler Polley (UConn) and Marcus McClary (Monmouth).
As for the Jersey angle, Hudson Catholic and The Patrick School — which has five Division 1 signees, is co-coached by Mike Rice and Chris Chavannes and is the favorite to win the New Jersey Tournament of Champions — could meet up in a tasty second-round matchup.
“I think it’s good for our state,” Mariniello said. “It shows how talented the teams are in our state. We’ve been trying to get in this event. This is my first time being in this event. I think Jersey basketball is very, very strong this year and it shows by some of the tournaments that some of these schools are going to.”
