Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller recap the 2026 NEPSAC Girls Scholastic Showcase at Worcester Academy, widely praised by prep and college coaches for smooth logistics, three adjacent courts, competitive games, and time efficiency. A tornado warning on Thursday forced everyone into the lobby for about an hour and led to shortened games (running clock) before the schedule largely recovered. Fuller shares weekend vignettes, including photographer Doug Leclerc’s shooting, Malia Pierre’s notable “milk and cookies” sneakers, insights from Twin Visuals and a referee, and his commuter-rail trip. They discuss what the showcase reveals about team development and recruiting, with over 120 programs attending, and outline early team takeaways, plus early thoughts on AAA contenders.

Topics

00:18 Showcase Recap and Praise

02:35 Tornado Warning Chaos

05:07 Schedule Adjustments

07:08 Weekend Vignettes

08:55 Shoes Film and Refs

11:17 Commuter Rail Adventure

12:31 Why NEPSAC Matters

13:31 Evaluation Takeaways

14:50 Recruiting Class Priorities

16:53 Why This Showcase Works

17:52 Which Colleges Attended

20:14 How Teams Were Evaluated

24:36 More Teams That Impressed

27:58 Triple A Is Loaded

29:25 Rankings Updates and Wrap-Up

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt preview the upcoming NEPSAC/NESA Scholastic Showcases in June, with two boys weekends and a girls showcase in between, all at Worcester Academy. They discuss why June and July form a crucial stretch for recruiting, chemistry-building and early looks at new prep rosters amid heavy turnover and the evolving college coaching calendar, noting limited 2027 commitments. Hewitt explains how he evaluates showcase games and cautions against overvaluing team results while still gleaning projections. They highlight matchups such as Nobles vs. Exeter, Putnam Science vs. Cushing, Milton Academy vs. Hotchkiss, St. Paul’s vs. Austin Prep, and New Hampton vs. St. Thomas More, plus teams and players to watch. They note the event is typically coaches-only and draws major college coaches, and they tease extensive coverage and a new magazine release.

Topics

01:03 Podcast Kickoff

01:34 June Recruiting Rush

04:08 Showcase Preview Setup

05:01 Covering the Event

08:27 Do Results Matter?

10:53 Games to Circle

16:15 Teams With Storylines

17:40 Players to Watch

22:49 Why This Showcase Matters

24:47 Worcester Logistics

25:51 Wrap-Up and Plug

Ethan and Steve interview Worcester Academy girls coach Dan Sullivan, a two-time NEPSAC Class AA Girls Coach of the Year who won a Class AA title in his first season and reached the final again despite injuries and limited depth. Sullivan explains his transition after 11 years as a Worcester boys assistant, what he learned from Jamie Sullivan, and how his style adapts to roster strengths, including faster, guard-heavy play and effective late-season zone defense. He discusses differences in girls recruiting timelines, the role of AAU relationships, and the impact of the transfer portal on families’ expectations. The group previews Worcester Academy hosting three weekends of NEPSAC showcases in its new Capozzoli Athletic Center and discusses NEPSAC girls’ structural growth with AAA/AA. The episode ends with an NBA “last team played for” trivia game won by Hewitt.

Topics

01:33 Switching To Girls Coaching

02:40 Learning From Jamie Sullivan

05:30 Building Worcester Identity

06:42 Offense Defense Philosophy

09:15 Injuries And Team Resilience

10:57 Season Long View Nickerson

14:08 Recruiting Timeline Differences

16:06 AAU Network And Relationships

19:08 Hosting NEPSAC Showcases

21:39 New Athletic Center Impact

23:35 Boys Vs Girls Coaching

25:50 NEPSAC Structure Evolution

29:34 Future Of Girls NEPSAC

30:00 NEPSAC Depth Boom

30:36 Scheduling and Class Moves

31:13 Upsets and Rising Programs

32:34 Showcase Team Preview

34:01 Recruiting Through Showcases

35:12 Full Court Press Trivia

41:32 Final Score and Wrap

Steve Hewitt and Ethan Fuller recap the Atlantic City Showcase during the May live period, discussing heavy college coach attendance, why May recruiting is picking up amid transfer-portal effects and coaching-staff turnover, and how Ethan covered the event after taking a 10-hour bus from Boston. Ethan explains his approach to large showcases — building a detailed schedule, watching full games when possible, taking notes in real time, and evaluating AAU play as a role-based, college-like environment. They promote Ethan’s 40-standout coverage and preview upcoming AAU content and a late May/early June magazine.

Atlantic City Showcase, basketball, recruiting, AAU, prep basketball, New England basketball, HoopWise podcast

Topics

01:12 Heat And AAU Grind

01:51 Bus Trip Debate

04:02 Atlantic City takeaways

07:33 Ethan's scouting process

15:32 2027 standouts

19:28 2028 standouts

24:55 2029 and 2030 standouts

30:20 Final takeaways

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt talk with with Medfield High girls coach Mark Nickerson and longtime Andover boys coach Dave Fazio to discuss the evolving MIAA public school vs. NEPSAC prep dynamic, focusing on player retention, recruiting and program impact rather than specific teams. Nickerson describes losing top players to Nobles despite efforts like the Eastern New England Showcase, which he fears has become a scouting tool for prep programs, and notes limited engagement from Division 1 coaches. Fazio shares similar experiences, including a player reclassifying and ultimately leaving for Brewster, and argues many families believe prep is necessary for Division 1. Both emphasize relationships, community and youth pipelines, while proposing changes such as a summer coaching window, earlier season starts, exemption games, and formats like a Super 8 or statewide tournament to improve exposure and competition.

Topics

01:51 MIAA vs Prep Setup

11:42 Hard Transfer Choices

17:03 Biggest Disadvantages

21:32 MIAA rule changes

32:22 Coach collaboration

46:14 Leveling the Playing Field

51:50 Would a Super 8 tournament work?

53:22 Final Thoughts

Ethan and Steve welcome Newman School coach Jackson Johnson after Newman’s second straight NEPSAC AAA title and its first National Prep School championship, plus an NEBL title, with 11 college commits (nine Division I) on the roster. Johnson reflects on how connected and resilient the championship group was, the difficulty of turning from the AAA playoffs into the National Prep Tournament, and how more intentional January recovery planning helped avoid late-season fatigue.

Topics

01:23 Coaching and New Dad Life

02:16 Processing a Title Season

03:42 Gauntlet to National Prep

06:50 Managing Fatigue and Prep

11:37 Illinois Fit and Growth

15:38 Building Leaders on Stacked Roster

20:06 Ivy Commits and Unsung Heroes

23:06 Relating to Modern Players

28:00 Program Rise and Recruiting Buzz

33:05 Helping Players Get Recruited

33:36 Coaches as Experts

34:26 Navigating Agents

34:53 How Recruiting Changed

35:59 Building Next Season

36:39 Player Development Focus

37:58 Full Court Press Begins

38:49 Best Ball Handlers

41:46 Best Shot Blockers

45:01 Overrated Stats Debate

52:57 Rebounding and Margins

57:11 Wrap Up and Thanks

Ethan Fuller and Steve Hewitt recap their first AAU weekend coverage at the New England Spring Showdown and the NERR Northeast Hoops Festival, discussing how AAU evaluation differs from high school through roles, pace, exposure, intangibles and the relationship between winning and recruiting visibility. They highlight players poised for big spring/summer leaps, plus underclass standouts. The episode ends with producer David Yas hosting a trivia throwdown about the 1986 Boston Celtics.

Topics

01:19 First AAU Weekend Recap

05:44 Why AAU Matters

09:15 Winning And Exposure

10:57 Players To Watch

29:37 Rapid-Fire Standouts

32:14 "Full-Court Press" Trivia

37:31 Trivia Finale and Signoff

Ethan and Steve explain how they created their new player rankings, aiming for transparency about evaluation and projection. They discuss the difficulty of ranking high school and prep prospects amid variables like role, opportunity, team context, and competition level, noting clearer top tiers but thin margins in the middle of lists. HoopWise released top-50 rankings for 2026 and 2027, will use watch lists for younger classes, and plans semi-regular updates (while 2026 is final). Their approach weighs translatable skills, outlier physical traits, versatility, consistency, winning impact, leadership, and input from college coaches, while acknowledging the transfer portal’s impact on high school recruiting. They cite examples and emphasize rankings differ from awards and that many strong players fall outside the top 50.

Topics

01:05 Why Ranking Is Hard

04:52 Rankings Format and Updates

07:23 Steve Evaluation Priorities

12:03 Prospects vs Best Players

14:52 Success Stories and Translation

18:41 Girls Guard Skills and Defense

25:01 Prep vs Public Balancing

29:29 Portal Era and Competition

31:56 Rankings Perspective and Wrap