PENNINGTON, N.J. – Of all the top prospects in the Mary Kline Classic, nobody had a more perfect workout partner in March and April than Lenny Kadisha.
When Kadisha’s freshman season ended in the PSAL Class AA quarterfinals with Wadleigh, his workouts only intensified. That’s because he was joining Moe Harkless, the former St. John’s standout preparing for the NBA Draft. The two worked out with renowned trainer Jerry Powell and faced off against each other before Harkless headed down to IMG Academies in Bradenton, Fla., to prepare for NBA pre-draft workouts.
“It’s exciting, he knows how to get to the next level,” Kadisha, a Queens native, said. “He’s teaching me, telling me certain things. We play one-on-one a lot. It’s hard. He doesn’t let me score.”
Kadisha got to know Harkless four years ago because of the friendship between Harkless and Kadisha’s older brother, Sonny, who played with Harkless at Forest Hills. Harkless has taken him under his wing, like a sibling. He offers pointers to him on the court – not to use his hands on defense, always play aggressive – and off the court, such as making sure his grades are high.
“He motivates me a lot,” Kadisha said of Harkless, the Big East Rookie of the Year who is projected to be a first-round pick by several scouting services. “He’s like an older brother trying to help me out.”
Kadisha was excited to be part of the Mary Kline Classic, as one of only two freshmen invited to the event, St. Benedict’s Prep’s Isaiah Briscoe being the other. He used the game as a learning tool.
Kadisha, who averaged seven points and 10 rebounds per game this past winter, is playing with Team SCAN’s 15U team on the AAU circuit this summer. He is looking to improve upon his perimeter skills, such as ball handling and jump-shooting, after spending most of his freshman year as a back-to-the-basket forward.
One day, he hopes to be in the spot Harkless finds himself in.
“I would love to join him, be in the position he is in now,” Kadisha said.
Wagner-bound Fanning stars in senior game: Eric Fanning, the Wagner College-bound guard who attends Perkiomen High School (Pa.), scored 30 points to lead the Blue team to a 126-111 victory in the senior all-star game and earn MVP honors. Penn State recruit Brandon Taylor had 15 points in the victory. Yale commit Justin Sears led Red with 21 points, St. Benedict’s Prep’s Melvin Johnson had 12 points and St. Raymond’s duo Kerwin Okoro and Daniel Dingle had eight apiece.
In the underclassmen game, Queens native Jermaine Lawrence scored 27 points to earn MVP honors. Jaren Sina of Gil St. Bernard’s had eight points and 14 assists to pace Red.
Selden and Jefferson share dunk honors; Cooke takes home 3-point shootout: Along with the underclassmen and senior all-star game matchups, the Mary Kline Classic had all the All-Star game favorites, a 3-point contest, a skills competition, and the fan favorite, a dunk contest.
In the 3-point contest, Red underclassmen teammates, St. Anthony’s Hallice Cooke and St. Joseph’s Karl Towns, found themselves squaring off in the finale. Towns went first, and had seven points after running out of time on his last rack. Cooke then went second, knowing the score to beat to take home the trophy. He posted a score of eight, narrowly edging out Towns for the title.
Next up was the skills competition. Each contestant had 45 seconds to make a layup, a free throw, a 3-pointer, and then finally, a half court shot. Neshaminy senior and Villanova commit Ryan Arcidiacono won the event, completing the task in 27.2 seconds.
Finally, the main event of the skills portion: the dunk contest. With most of the crowd now on the court, Tilton School’s Wayne Selden and Chester’s Rondae Jefferson squared off in the finale. Selden took home dunk of the night, after throwing a booming pass off the wall behind the backboard, letting it bounce once, and then sending it home with authority.
Not to be outdone, Jefferson called out one of his teammates and placed him in front of the basket. Taking off from just inside the free-throw line, Jefferson cleared the player and threw down a two-handed slam. The crowd erupted after both dunks, and without a clear consensus, the two shared the trophy.