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Shaw's Takeaways: National Prep Showcase

Kyle Filipowski
Kyle Filipowski (https://basketball.rivals.com)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Traditionally, the National Prep Showcase marks the start of the prep season. There were 23 of the best prep schools in the country under one roof at Albertus Magnus College, and Rivals.com’s Jamie Shaw was courtside to scout the action.

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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Rivals150

2024 Rankings: Top 40

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We were early in moving Miranda into our 2023 rankings; it was hard to ignore the upside. At 7-1, the way he moved, the pop in his step and the touch he had were just too much to ignore. Fast-forward eight or so months, and Miranda is showcasing everything we saw. Playing for Springfield (Mass.) Commonwealth Academy, he finished with 28 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from three against a loaded Bradenton (Fl.) IMG Post Grad team.

Recently, Miranda has taken unofficial visits to Southern Cal, St John’s, Providence, Connecticut and UCLA – each have offered. Kansas and Kentucky have recently started to reach out.

St John’s head coach Mike Anderson watched Miranda on Sunday, along with assistant coaches from Kentucky and Pittsburgh. Watch this one closely over the next eight to 10 months and expect the offer list and ranking to continue to grow.

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Buzelis has come into the season with a lot of buzz. Coming off his performance with the Mac Irvin Fire 16u team in July and some camps in recent months, he was the topic of many recruiting conversations. Buzelis and his Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy teammates played the 9 a.m. game on Saturday, with John Calipari, Jon Scheyer and Jeff Capel front and center watching.

At 6-10, Buzelis is very skilled. You can see the fluid movements with his ability to handle, shoot and pass. There were Mike Dunleavy, Jr. comparisons flying around the gym during the weekend. Buzelis has taken two official visits to Wake Forest and Florida State. He does not have any further visit plans.

Buzelis averaged 14 points and eight rebounds on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting from three for the weekend.

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As the Early Signing Period has come and gone, Claude has quickly become one of the most sought-after players in the 2022 class. The 6-4 guard recently picked up offers from Louisville and Pittsburgh in the past week, with a handful of schools watching. Claude is a big-bodied guard who plays with a great pace and showed he could knock down shots.

Claude took visits to South Carolina, Rutgers and Xavier. He says Xavier is still in the mix as he will take two official visits into the Late Signing Period.

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There was not much the 6-11 forward could not do. The Duke commitment finished 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 9-of-12 overall. Filipowski played as the primary initiator; he posted up on the block, created from the wing and it was a complete showing.

Defensively, he cleaned up the boards with 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots. With Shaedon Sharpe enrolling at Kentucky a semester early, Filipowski will be in the conversation for the top spot. The competitive fire, with the size, and skill is too much to ignore.

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Brumbaugh had the gym buzzing after his Saturday performance, not because of the 18 points he scored but for the caliber of the seven assists he dished out. Northfield (Mass.) Mount Herman was allowed to play fast, and that is when Brumbaugh shines. The Northwestern commitment, who has not signed yet, cut angles, passed his men open and showcased an IQ seen by few. It was an electric performance.

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