’29 First Impressions: Top Offensive Weapons at Terp Classic

Serving as the first full weekend of the November recruiting circuit, Terp Classic took place at Liberty Sports Park in Upper Marlboro, Md., and once again gave Mike Campanile and me a phenomenal opportunity to evaluate the sophomore class, particularly with such a stacked lineup of teams on hand.   While we've been covering some '29s since January — primarily players who made an impact for their respective varsity teams this spring, along with a few top names whose early highlight tapes caught our attention — these five offensive weapons absolutely dazzled in their first opportunity to compete in front of Prep Lacrosse scouts.    I don't know if he forgot his usual pinnie or what, but an explosive performance like that — especially against a team as talented as 3d Garden State — will have evaluators on the sideline asking, 'Who the heck is that?' as the goals start piling up. That was me as I was struck by the highly talented lefty's hat trick as he asserted himself nicely and kept getting top side. I use the word 'confidence' a lot with underclassmen (but mostly sophomores heading into recruiting summer, when there tends to be a sizable jump), and I was struck by the confidence and poise that Basham showed when going at his defender behind the cage. The Richmond native kept winning his matchups and scoring up the hash, netting his first tally on a stepback, then again with a rocker step. On his second, Basham scored on a stepdown as the defense rotated, but it was his dodging ability that jumped off the page. He just kept putting pressure on defenses and excelled when attacking to get to the left-handed wing, and there's just so much that can be said about a young offensive weapon who not only gets to his spots, but does so almost at will.     It's like clockwork — there always seems to be high-end freshmen coming out of the ISL, a top three league in the country, albeit one that tends to have underclassmen who are on the older side relative to the rest of the class. Brennan popped right away and already has the makings of a prospect who will draw the attention of many a college recruiter: he's big, two-handed, moves exceptionally well, and has more than enough skill to make eyebrow-raising plays. At Terp Classic, he did that with regularity and looked the part of a playmaker who will be a bona fide nuisance for opposing defenses. He scored some big-boy goals and showed off just how well he can make defenders miss and generate scoring chances that he almost always cashed in, putting up a pair of goals in the first game I caught and continuing to dazzle. Brennan goes extremely hard and just never seems to take any plays off or stop creating scoring chances.     Simply put, Fesmire was a walking bucket at Terp Classic. The Colorado native racked up seven goals in the two games I saw over the weekend and undoubtedly added more when I wasn't watching. An incredibly productive and efficient mid-range scorer, Fesmire caught everything thrown his way — good pass, less-than-ideal pass, it didn't matter — and got the ball in and out of his stick in a hurry.   He was active without the ball, too, and particularly dangerous from that left-handed wing, where he piled up stepdowns or caught the rock, stepped in, and got off a quality shot. Fesmire was exceptionally precise with his shooting, consistently finding the spots goalies weren't and reading netminders well. He played with an ever-present calmness, and it seemed like he was always scoring in bunches while rarely missing the cage. It's incredibly fun to watch an elite shooter, and Fesmire is certainly that.     I'd heard rave reviews about Moye heading into the event, and yeah, let's just say he was as advertised. Even at a young age, he's the type of player who makes it appear as if his stick is an extension of his body, and Moye's hands are flat-out ridiculous. Smooth and dynamic in every sense, he can slice up defenses from behind the cage or the wing before surgically picking apart netminders with his shot. He's poised, tough, and dodges hard at all times, while also putting in relentless effort in the riding game. Given his talent level, there were occasions when I thought he could stand to be even more assertive, though some of that was likely a product of his awareness and recognition of just how talented his linemates are. All things considered, it's rather apparent that Delbarton has another top-flight attack recruit in the Green Wave's pipeline, and we're about to highlight another one in the eval block below.     The younger brother of Top 25 recruit and Lawrenceville's UNC-bound defender Luke St. Pierre, Nate was something of a revelation at the event. Among the many intriguing aspects of his skill set is his wildly impressive change-of-direction ability, as St. Pierre made a habit of putting defenders on skates and, quite literally, breaking out a nasty hockey stop here and there thanks to his noteworthy footwork. He rolled his man before dishing out pretty assists, got defenses rotating and capitalized with regularity, while also impressing as a finisher. He seemingly needed only a sliver of space to get his shot off and finish, and he did so accurately at all times. Smooth and skilled as they come, St. Pierre displayed an almost nonchalant, yet decidedly business-like approach to making plays, never appearing rattled by whatever defenses threw his way. His hat tricks against ADVNC and Leading Edge turned heads, but he was outstanding throughout the event, rarely making a glaringly poor decision or mistake. That consistency speaks volumes about the maturity of his game.

Serving as the first full weekend of the November recruiting circuit, Terp Classic took place at Liberty Sports Park in Upper Marlboro, Md., and once again gave Mike Campanile and me a phenomenal opportunity to evaluate the sophomore class, particularly with such a stacked lineup of teams on hand.

While we've been covering some '29s since January — primarily players who made an impact for their respective varsity teams this spring, along with a few top names whose early highlight tapes caught our attention — these five offensive weapons absolutely dazzled in their first opportunity to compete in front of Prep Lacrosse scouts.

Groves Basham

HEIGHT 5'10"

WEIGHT 180

POS A/M

CLASS 2029

View Player

Groves Basham

State: Virginia

School: St. Christopher's School

Club: Madlax Capital

I don't know if he forgot his usual pinnie or what, but an explosive performance like that — especially against a team as talented as 3d Garden State — will have evaluators on the sideline asking, 'Who the heck is that?' as the goals start piling up. That was me as I was struck by the highly talented lefty's hat trick as he asserted himself nicely and kept getting top side. I use the word 'confidence' a lot with underclassmen (but mostly sophomores heading into recruiting summer, when there tends to be a sizable jump), and I was struck by the confidence and poise that Basham showed when going at his defender behind the cage. The Richmond native kept winning his matchups and scoring up the hash, netting his first tally on a stepback, then again with a rocker step. On his second, Basham scored on a stepdown as the defense rotated, but it was his dodging ability that jumped off the page. He just kept putting pressure on defenses and excelled when attacking to get to the left-handed wing, and there's just so much that can be said about a young offensive weapon who not only gets to his spots, but does so almost at will.