'24 VA PG Ben Hammond (URI LOI ---> ??? )

[ramster]

From Washington Post Dec 5

At the start of any season, experience matters. Perhaps the biggest luxury in high school sports is having players you can trust. Players who have played in — and won — big games before.
As a new basketball season begins in the D.C. area, there is plenty of talent. But only certain teams also have vast experience, and many of them are featured in this first set of rankings.
At the top is Paul VI, which spent much of last season as the team to beat in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and returns a heap of talent. Senior guards Darren Harris and Ben Hammond are two of several key returning players. They are backed by impressive depth; the Panthers have high-major talent in every graduating class. After it fell to St. John’s in last year’s conference final, Paul VI will be dangerous and motivated.

Sidwell Friends finds itself in a similar situation. Coming off a two-title year, the Quakers return a number of experienced playmakers. Senior Caleb Williams, junior Acaden Lewis and junior Jalen Rougier-Roane headline a deep roster capable of beating anyone in the area.

(All records are from last season.)
1 Paul VI (32-3)
The Panthers, sporting luxurious depth and led by a pack of Division I seniors, opened their season last week with a 121-35 rout of The Heights.

2 Sidwell Friends (27-4)
The Quakers, coming off a remarkable season in which they won the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference and a D.C. state title, return enough talent to remain firmly in the conversation for best team in the area.

3 Gonzaga (26-11)
Paul VI transfer Christian Gurdak joins fellow juniors Nyk Lewis and Derek Dixon to make up one of the better playmaking trios in the area for Coach Steve Turner.

4 Bullis (26-5)
The defending Interstate Athletic Conference champion returns much of its production from last year and adds transfer big man Eric Reibe.

5 Bishop O’Connell (16-14)
The Knights have the look of a WCAC contender after bolstering a young, talented roster with the addition of high-profile transfers Bryson Tucker (IMG Academy) and AJ Swinton (Sierra Canyon).

6 Jackson-Reed (28-8)
The Tigers, consistently the team to beat in the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association, will take on an arduous nonconference schedule.

7 South Lakes (24-4)
Led by a high-major prospect in forward Jordan Scott, the Seahawks have an experienced roster that is generating buzz in Northern Virginia.

8 DeMatha (22-12)
Villanova commit Malcolm Thomas steps into a senior leadership role for a young Stags team with heaps of potential.

9 Largo (21-7)
Junior forward Cam Ward, one of the most sought-after public school prospects in the area, headlines the Lions’ roster as they look to return to the Maryland 2A championship game.

10 Georgetown Prep (15-10)
Junior Akbar Waheed is expected to be one of the top players in the IAC as the Hoyas look to disrupt Bullis’s supremacy.

11 Patriot (27-4)
After coming up one win short of a Virginia Class 6 title last winter, the Pioneers are expected to contend for a state championship again.

12 Blake (15-7)
Freshman Baba Oladotun, who enrolled at DeMatha before transferring to Blake, boosts the Bengals to a lofty perch in Montgomery County.

13 St. Andrew’s (24-7)
The Lions finished a step behind Sidwell Friends in last year’s MAC race, and they have the look of a top team again.

14 Alexandria City (20-6)
The Titans return enough depth to make them a team to watch in Northern Virginia.

15 Riverdale Baptist (27-4)
Former Maryland assistant Bruce Shingler takes over the Crusaders, who have won the past two Metro Independent School Athletic League titles.

16 Mount Zion Prep (27-11)
The Warriors will look to build on the momentum of ending last season with a Maryland Private School State Basketball Tournament title.

17 Rock Creek Christian White
The Eagles, one of two teams at the Prince George’s County private school, will take on an ambitious schedule this winter under new coach Lafayette Dublin.

18 Bishop McNamara (27-9)
The Mustangs have proved to be a feisty mainstay in the top half of the WCAC standings in recent years, and they remain an interesting sleeper candidate.

19 Sherwood (21-5)
The Warriors will look to level up after making it to the Maryland 4A semifinals last season.

20 Wise (21-4)
The Pumas, consistently a team to beat in Prince George’s County, will try to build on a 20-win season.
On the bubble: C.H. Flowers, Glenelg Country, Hayfield, St. John’s, W.T. Woodson

[DevRam]

Ben is playing in one of the best high school basketball tournaments right now and the game is being streamed on the nba app. Halftime right now and he looks good, really good against top ranked competition. He will have a Fatts freshman year level impact from day 1.

[steveystuds06]

Love the way Ben looks yet again..

[Jdrums#3]

Ben is playing in one of the best high school basketball tournaments right now and the game is being streamed on the nba app. Halftime right now and he looks good, really good against top ranked competition. He will have a Fatts freshman year level impact from day 1.

I watched it, DevRam. He had a very good game especially the 2nd half. I like his game and attitude a lot.

The game commentators repeatedly bragged about his game. Archie and staff signed a real good one according to the commentators and said Rhody fans will love his game.

[steveystuds06]

[steveystuds06]

[PeterRamTime]

Love the way Ben looks yet again..

Are you overhyping him right now!?!?!

[adam914]

My favorite part of those highlights is the passing!!

[DevRam]

[rjv]

we are already talking about next years players and we are not even into conference play this year.....OH NO!

[steveystuds06]

we are already talking about next years players and we are not even into conference play this year.....OH NO!

He's Archie's best recruit on paper. We should continue to hype up this kid on here and on Twitter. I plan on doing it as much as possible.... When was the last time we had a Rhody recruit on NBATV who was arguably the best player on the floor? While playing against some of the biggest prospects in the country.

I said it before the season and I'll say it now. Hammond and Cam could be a very good backcourt together. We have to pray that they both stick around and we build a team around them... Great guards win in March.

[rjv]

No issue with hype I'm with you. But it means we are looking to tomorrow and what does it say about our current backcourt of today......

[RIFan]

Hype away, so other schools realize their miss and their collectives offer him more NIL and he asks out of his NLI.

[Jdrums#3]

Great stuff, Stevey!

Fanta did a good job with the play by play. He really believes we landed a very talented prospect, floor general and he even interviewed Hammond postgame.

[reef]

Great stuff, Stevey!

Fanta did a good job with the play by play. He really believes we landed a very talented prospect, floor general and he even interviewed Hammond postgame.

Thanks for the video Stevie , love Fantas calls too !

[RhodyBB91]

How long til Ben decommits ?

[sevegny7]

How long til Ben decommits ?

He signed an NLI. That is not happening. People can be negative about the recent loses this season. But, lets be realistic. Can we be positive about one thing? Jeeze you guys are draining.

[Rhody15]

How long til Ben decommits ?

He signed an NLI. That is not happening. People can be negative about the recent loses this season. But, lets be realistic. Can we be positive about one thing? Jeeze you guys are draining.

Signing an NLI means nothing.

If he wants out, we’ll let him out.

Not saying at all I think he leaves, but an NLI doesn’t prevent him from decommitting.

[Billyboy78]

How long til Ben decommits ?

He signed an NLI. That is not happening. People can be negative about the recent loses this season. But, lets be realistic. Can we be positive about one thing? Jeeze you guys are draining.

Signing an NLI means nothing.

If he wants out, we’ll let him out.

Not saying at all I think he leaves, but an NLI doesn’t prevent him from decommitting.

Or apparently now transferring as many times as he wants.

[Jdrums#3]

Under the current transfer rules nothing is certain. Players and signees can have a change of heart for many reasons - reasons I can think of and reasons I can’t think of that are personal to their situation.

All I know is that today Hammond is committed here and he says he is excited to be coming here to play for the staff and fans. Therefore, I am excited to see how he fits in here and plays here. I will run with that until notified otherwise rather than worry about what might or might not happen in the future.

[adam914]

I wish some of our miserable fans would decommit...

[PeterRamTime]

How long til Ben decommits ?

He signed an NLI. That is not happening. People can be negative about the recent loses this season. But, lets be realistic. Can we be positive about one thing? Jeeze you guys are draining.

No positivity allowed!

We has signed an NIL and is all but guaranteed a chance to play big minutes right away. Sure he can get an NIL deal at a bigger school, but he likely wouldn't be promised the same amount of playing time. PT is still the biggest factor for most players.

He could probably parlay his success into a P6 scholarship, but then he'd probably end up transferring down anyway if takes awhile to get on the court. Some players are getting a step ahead in that regard. In his case, he will be the guy for the future at a program with NCAA potential and still have an NIL package. More enticing than sitting on your hands for a year or two in the ACC. Or he could play early here, put up numbers and transfer somewhere better if he wants.

[eli#10]

I wish some of our miserable fans would decommit...

I am with Adam 100%. Please consider going to Friartown and disappearing from this board.

[steveystuds06]

I wish some of our miserable fans would decommit...

A URI recruit looks like one of if not the best player on the floor while playing against some of the biggest names in the country, going to programs like Uconn, Duke, Nova, Notre Dame with one of the best announcers in college basketball gushing over him and we still have the same old negative bullshit by some. It's so annoying...

[Jdrums#3]

I wish some of our miserable fans would decommit...

A URI recruit looks like one of if not the best player on the floor while playing against some of the biggest names in the country, going to programs like Uconn, Duke, Nova, Notre Dame with one of the best announcers in college basketball gushing over him and we still have the same old negative bullshit by some. It's so annoying...

Hamm has a skill set (floor general/distributor) that fills a need for us. Plus he has a good head on his shoulders and plays with an edge (he doesn’t back down from a challenge). That attitude is also something else we need. He has Fatts’ confidence but with a different mindset - a mindset of a distributor whereas Fatts had a mindset of a scorer.

Hamm has the POTENTIAL, imho, to be one of the top or the top freshman in the conference for us next season based off of what I’ve watched, the high-level competition he plays against, commentary from commentators and other pundits and from info provided by KB posters.

He is the type of player I look forward to watching QB’ing our O next season.

[steveystuds06]

I wish some of our miserable fans would decommit...

A URI recruit looks like one of if not the best player on the floor while playing against some of the biggest names in the country, going to programs like Uconn, Duke, Nova, Notre Dame with one of the best announcers in college basketball gushing over him and we still have the same old negative bullshit by some. It's so annoying...

Hamm has a skill set (floor general/distributor) that fills a need for us. Plus he has a good head on his shoulders and plays with an edge (he doesn’t back down from a challenge). That attitude is also something else we need. He has Fatts’ confidence but with a different mindset - a mindset of a distributor whereas Fatts had a mindset of a scorer.

Hamm has the POTENTIAL, imho, to be one of the top or the top freshman in the conference for us next season based off of what I’ve watched, the high-level competition he plays against, commentary from commentators and other pundits and from info provided by KB posters.

He is the type of player I look forward to watching QB’ing our O next season.

As much as I get called out, the player I was highest on last year was Cam. I think I was right about him. He can ball. In this class, I'm highest on Hammond. If he ends up making an impact, it's going to suck for the every recruit sucks people on here. I agree with you, JD. He could be a great player for us. We can only go off of what we've seen so far. I know people think high school games are meaningless, but I think that's ridiculous. Playing against this type of competition and getting this type of experience is huge. If you think being on NBA TV and hearing Archie's name over and over again isn't good for recruiting, idk what to tell you..

Fuchs and Cam are strong freshmen. Hammond is our best recruit on paper. Farrell brings a toughness and a defensive mindset that this team sorely lacks. I do like our future if these guys can stick around and develop.

[Jdrums#3]

A URI recruit looks like one of if not the best player on the floor while playing against some of the biggest names in the country, going to programs like Uconn, Duke, Nova, Notre Dame with one of the best announcers in college basketball gushing over him and we still have the same old negative bullshit by some. It's so annoying...

Hamm has a skill set (floor general/distributor) that fills a need for us. Plus he has a good head on his shoulders and plays with an edge (he doesn’t back down from a challenge). That attitude is also something else we need. He has Fatts’ confidence but with a different mindset - a mindset of a distributor whereas Fatts had a mindset of a scorer.

Hamm has the POTENTIAL, imho, to be one of the top or the top freshman in the conference for us next season based off of what I’ve watched, the high-level competition he plays against, commentary from commentators and other pundits and from info provided by KB posters.

He is the type of player I look forward to watching QB’ing our O next season.

As much as I get called out, the player I was highest on last year was Cam. I think I was right about him. He can ball. In this class, I'm highest on Hammond. If he ends up making an impact, it's going to suck for the every recruit sucks people on here. I agree with you, JD. He could be a great player for us. We can only go off of what we've seen so far. I know people think high school games are meaningless, but I think that's ridiculous. Playing against this type of competition and getting this type of experience is huge. If you think being on NBA TV and hearing Archie's name over and over again isn't good for recruiting, idk what to tell you..

Fuchs and Cam are strong freshmen. Hammond is our best recruit on paper. Farrell brings a toughness and a defensive mindset that this team sorely lacks. I do like our future if these guys can stick around and develop.

The Cam and Hamm show! Should be fun to watch.

That said, I also think the other players will benefit having a floor general on O.

We see the benefits to other players sometimes with Ways because I think Ways has a pass first mentality, as well. I like Ways but I think Hamm has the higher talent ceiling, imho, but I won’t discount Ways making a jump this year to next.

We could be in real good shape at the PG position with both Hamm and Ways.

[DevRam]

In some positive news Ben just dropped 19 points against THE IMG Academy and hit the game winning shot to advance Paul IV to the semifinals in the city of palms classic. They will play 2024 #1 recruit Cooper Flagg and Monteverde academy tmrw night at 7.

[Billyboy78]

In some positive news Ben just dropped 19 points against THE IMG Academy and hit the game winning shot to advance Paul IV to the semifinals in the city of palms classic. They will play 2024 #1 recruit Cooper Flagg and Monteverde academy tmrw night at 7.

Is this televised? It would be a lot more fun to watch than our team right now.

[Billyboy78]

Here it is.

[DevRam]

In some positive news Ben just dropped 19 points against THE IMG Academy and hit the game winning shot to advance Paul IV to the semifinals in the city of palms classic. They will play 2024 #1 recruit Cooper Flagg and Monteverde academy tmrw night at 7.

Is this televised? It would be a lot more fun to watch than our team right now.

ESPNU tmrw @7:00 PM

[steveystuds06]

Look how good this kid is...

[Jersey77]

Look how good this kid is...

Yep Stevey, gives us something to look forward to.

[adam914]

Hammond starting on ESPNU right now!

[ram1980]

We'll see. He is small. Size definitely could be a factor. Had a good 4th quarter for sure though

[Jersey77]

We'll see. He is small. Size definitely could be a factor. Had a good 4th quarter for sure though

Yep he had 4 straight baskets and a nice assist keeping them in the game in the final quarter.

[adam914]

Yeah definitely undersized, but that's also why he is heading to URI and not a P5 like some of the others in that game. This was my first time watching him play live. Definitely quick and tough kid. Shades of Fatts if Fatts was more of a pure point guard. The type of kid that seems like he makes others around him better.

[SandorClegane]

What were his numbers tonight?

[adam914]

What were his numbers tonight?

14 points and 5 assists

[bigappleram]

A sub 6 foot guard that isn’t a good 3 point shooter concerns me…that said the kid looks to make a major impact against the most elite HS /AAU comp.

Sahvir Wheeler comes to mind.

[reef]

Look how good this kid is...

Wow really nice highlights, going to be fun to watch him in a Rhody uniform

[steveystuds06]

[steveystuds06]

A sub 6 foot guard that isn’t a good 3 point shooter concerns me…that said the kid looks to make a major impact against the most elite HS /AAU comp.

Sahvir Wheeler comes to mind.

Ya the shot worries me as well but man he is elite as finishing around the hoop and lightning quick.

[Rhody15]

First team All 10 as a freshman? Ridiculous expectations. I don’t understand doing that before the kid steps on the floor.

His first shot in this video is getting sent 10 rows deep by anyone guarding him next year.

Yes, I know you didn’t say that Stevey, don’t flip out.

I don’t believe EC or Hassan ever made first team, I think only Jared did.

But yea, this tiny point guard will be first team A10 on a team that probably won’t be that good.

People see stuff like this, believe it, then get all pissed and freak out when the kid doesn’t live up to it.

I believe that’s why Fuchs is getting shit.

He was talked up as an incredible freshman, people here believed it.

He hasn’t been that, and now people can’t stand him.

[jcru]

He was talked up by Archie, 15. Not by people here, by the head coach.

I know you are an expert of everything on planet Earth, but let's not lose that distinction in your analysis. The coach placed that label on him.

NOT Stevey, and NOT Peter... Archie did that.

[Rhody15]

He was talked up by Archie, 15. Not by people here, by the head coach.

I know you are an expert of everything on planet Earth, but let's not lose that distinction in your analysis. The coach placed that label on him.

Correct, I never said he was talked up by anyone here.

No matter who said it, it was said, and people believed it.

I feel like if those crazy high expectations weren’t put on him, most everyone would be fine with how he’s played.

[steveystuds06]

First team All 10 as a freshman? Ridiculous expectations. I don’t understand doing that before the kid steps on the floor.

His first shot in this video is getting sent 10 rows deep by anyone guarding him next year.

Yes, I know you didn’t say that Stevey, don’t flip out.

I don’t believe EC or Hassan ever made first team, I think only Jared did.

But yea, this tiny point guard will be first team A10 on a team that probably won’t be that good.

People see stuff like this, believe it, then get all pissed and freak out when the kid doesn’t live up to it.

I believe that’s why Fuchs is getting shit.

He was talked up as an incredible freshman, people here believed it.

He hasn’t been that, and now people can’t stand him.

His chances of being all A10 as a freshman are slim to none. I hope people here don't think that will happen..1st team is a ridiculous statement. But it's cool to see a popular Twitter page like that say that about one of our players. All freshman team is probably the best we could hope for. He's having a nice streak right now, but I need to see him do well in our environment with our roster playing without people who are stud high major players. His shot is concerning, as he's been short on basically every 3 he's taken. He's hit a few, but my guess is his 3 pt % is low 30s high 20s. He has nice form so hopefully it gets better.. What I do love is that the kid is clutch, and he makes winning plays in the biggest moments. Similar to Fatts, he's super quick and finds ways to finish around bigs. He had some filthy layups with both hands. He's also a pest on D. Quick hands and draws chargers. He does everything you want from a starting point guard..

[steveystuds06]

He was talked up by Archie, 15. Not by people here, by the head coach.

I know you are an expert of everything on planet Earth, but let's not lose that distinction in your analysis. The coach placed that label on him.

Correct, I never said he was talked up by anyone here.

No matter who said it, it was said, and people believed it.

I feel like if those crazy high expectations weren’t put on him, most everyone would be fine with how he’s played.

I'm personally happy with Fuchs. I didn't like how he looked at Moehgun, but after that, I thought he was playing well against some very good big men. The hate he was getting by some didn't make sense to me at all. He could be very good in a year or two.

[Jdrums#3]

A sub 6 foot guard that isn’t a good 3 point shooter concerns me…that said the kid looks to make a major impact against the most elite HS /AAU comp.

Sahvir Wheeler comes to mind.

Ya the shot worries me as well but man he is elite as finishing around the hoop and lightning quick.

I agree with you guys regarding his 3 point shot at this point in his development.

Like both of you, I really like his distributor mindset/floor general skills, quickness and court vision.

Though I am sure transitioning to the college game won’t be smooth for him, I do think he has the potential to be one of the best A10 freshman next season.

[Billyboy78]

For those worried about his height and being able to get his shot off, the team he played yesterday is as big and as talented as many of the teams he will be playing against next year. He's been playing against top level competition and big players for years. He has a knack of being able to get his shot off against these types of players. That being said, it is crazy that someone said he'd be 1st team A10 his freshman year.