Boys Basketball – Player of the Week, All-Tournament Edition

The 2020 Shore Sports Network Player of the Week series begins with a look at the top performers from tournament week. This week’s 12-player list from 12 different teams includes four tournament MVP’s and eight other standouts from the frenzy of action over the week-long break.

Read about the 12 candidates from last week and pick the one you think has the best case as the first boys Player of the Week in 2020. Vote once per hour in the poll at the bottom of the post until voting ends on Sunday at noon.

Jaxon Baker, Barnegat

Baker hit double-figures in both Barnegat wins at the Bulldawg Classic, including a career-high 25 points in a win over Academy Charter.

Jake Clark, Point Beach

The Garnet Gulls senior leader averaged 26.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and six assists in Point Beach’s two games at the Crusader Classic in Bound Brook. Clark capped his tournament with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists a consolation win on Saturday.

Mike Dabas, Middletown South

Dabas continues to help lead a balanced effort for the Eagles, averaging 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in four WOBM Christmas Classic games. He scored 18 points and eight rebounds in the quarterfinal win over Red Bank Catholic and capped his tournament with a 14-point, 14-rebound performance in a win over Marlboro in the third-place game.

Kevin Greene, St. John Vianney

Green captured the MVP award for the first ever McCann Christmas Classic at St. Rose, scoring 20 points and hitting the game-tying three with 40 seconds left to send the championship game vs. St. Rose into overtime.

Sam Fagan, Neptune

One year after suffering a gruesome leg injury at the 2018 Neptune Holiday Jubilee, Fagan returned to make the 2019 All-Tournament Team after averaging 13 points and 6.3 assists during his team’s three-game run to the Jubilee final.

Jack Miller, Ocean

Miller posted 19.5 points and five assists per game during a two-game stay for the Spartans at the Molinelli Classic. He put up 14 and six in a round one win and scored 25 points in the championship-game loss to Pennington.

Alex Ratner, Marlboro

Ratner scored 92 points during Marlboro’s stay in the winner’s bracket of the WOBM Classic, racking up 28 points each in a round one win over Manchester and a semifinal loss to Toms River North. It was his quarterfinal performance against Wall that stood out – the senior guard scored a career-high 36 points in the second of Wall’s two wins over Top 10 opponents during the first two weeks of the season.

Ben Roy, Manasquan

The WOBM Classic MVP averaged 20.5 points in Manasquan’s four tournament wins, capped by back-to-back career performances for the sophomore. He scored 27 points in the semifinal win over No. 3 Middletown North, then followed it up with 26 points and four assists in the championship win over No. 2 Toms River North.

Jay Silva, Southern

Silva averaged 15.3 points in three games at the Score at the Shore Tournament, in which Southern finished second. The 6-6 junior opened up the tournament by scoring nearly half his teams points, posting 21 in a 43-28 win over Colts Neck.

Ryan Skeie, Pinelands

With a lot of new faces, the Wildcats are off to a solid 2-1 start following a second straight Warrior Classic championship in New Egypt. Skeie led the way with 22 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game against Steinert, securing tournament MVP honors.

Jakari Spence, Toms River North

The second-leading scorer in the WOBM behind Ratner, Spence hit the century mark with exactly 100 points in four games for the tournament runner-up. He scored his 1,000th point early in Toms River North’s semifinal win over Marlboro, which was his lowest-scoring game of the tournament (20 points). He scored 29 in a rout of Donovan Catholic in the quarterfinals and poured in 30 in the championship loss to Manasquan.

D.J. Thomson, Keyport

During a 3-0 start to the season for his Keyport squad, Thomson has taken his scoring to another level after a strong freshman season. He scored 21 points in a win over Piscataway Tech to open up the tournament and poured in 30 in the championship win over Roselle Park to sew up the tournament MVP award.

Honorable Mention: Alex Galvan, Manasquan; Najae Hallenbeck, Toms River North; Kieran Flanagan, Manasquan; Colin Baker, Toms River North; James Anderson, Middletown South; Jack Seidler, Marlboro; Brian Stuart, St. John Vianney; Saadiq Armstead, Neptune; John Smith, Shore; Ryan Knorr, Manalapan; Corey Miller, Ocean; Drew Valentino, Red Bank; Davon Jackson, Keansburg; Cyril Arvanitis, Red Ban Catholic; Samir Padilla, Lakewood; Abdul Al-Shrouf, Howell; Josh Hayes, Manchester; Pat Lacey, Wall; Saadiq Armstead, Neptune; Keith Adame, Jackson Memorial; Ryan Zan, Ranney