Monte Simpkins Visits Alderson Broaddus Campus

Monte Simpkins, a 6'4" swing player from Upper Marlboro, MD, visited the campus of Alderson Broaddus University yesterday. Simpkins played his high school basketball at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School. He played on a team that went 16-4 his senior year of high school.

The Ballers Vision website that covers the DMV had this to say about Simpkins' play two weeks ago at the 30x30 Elite Classic at Coolidge HS: "Super Athletic! Had a good day at the 30x30 Select knocking down his mid range jumpers and nearly throwing one down over a defender". Simpkins played this past weekend in the Hagerstown Roundball Classic in Hagerstown, MD.

Monte Simpkins is the Student President of the Metro Warriors Science/Technology/Engineering/Math Organization. He serves as Team Leader of the competitions during the National Society of Black Engineers' Conventions. He currently holds a 3.75 GPA at Dr. Henry A. Wise High School. He is a member of the African American Males Aspiring to Excel group (AMATE).

Battler staff at Hagerstown Roundball Classic on Saturday

Battler Beat attended this past Saturday's Hagerstown Roundball Classic sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings. The annual event took place at North Hagerstown High School in Hagerstown, MD. The classic featured several players that have already signed with Division I institutions along with several of the most decorated players from four states. Players for this classic came from Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The event featured several games that started Saturday at 10:30 AM and ran late into the night. The Alderson Broaddus men's basketball staff was present and was in contact with several players. Battler Beat will have more on this event and potential recruiting prospects as the week unfolds.

Alderson Broaddus associate men's basketball coach Duncan Williams is seen here talking to Scotland Performance Institute Academy players Simun Kovac and Luka Sevaljevic.

ABU to get visit from highly-regarded Cincinnati guard; follow up tidbits

Battler Beat has learned that the Alderson Broaddus' men's basketball team will be getting a visit this upcoming Thursday from Cincinnati point guard Bryce Butler. He played his senior season of high school basketball at Clark Montessori where he averaged 23.6 points per game. Butler led the Miami Valley Conference in scoring this past season. He was a third-team Ohio Division III selection this past season. Butler is a key visitor to campus this off-season. His recruiting video posted below shows a skilled ball-handler with excellent speed in the open court with the ability to break a defender down in the half-court set as well. His video shows a very explosive moves to the basket in the half-court set.

Bryce Butler Recruiting Video

Battler Beat has also learned that ABU has made a scholarship offer to Gahanna Lincoln High School guard Junior Arrey after his recent visit to campus. We reported the other day that Arrey would be on campus on Good Friday. Both Zach Fleer of 270 Hoops in Columbus and Verbal Commits D2 site confirmed this information late last night.

Michael Barnett, a point guard out of Washington DC who visited campus this past week, was named MVP of the PCSAA Red All-Star Team in the Washington DC all-star game this week. Barnett has been getting a lot of quality reviews in recent performances.

Alex Kassolis, a guard out of Dulaney HS outside of Baltimore, is playing today in the DMV Elite Senior Event in Bowie, MD. Kassolis will be visiting the Alderson Broaddus campus in April as reported on Battler Beat earlier in the week.

Battler Odds-and-Ends & Tidbits

Battler Beat has learned that guard Junior Arrey will be visiting campus on Friday, March 25. Arrey played basketball at Gahanna Lincoln High School outside of Columbus, Ohio. Arrey was on the same Gahanna Lincoln squad as Michigan State signee Nick Ward.









 The women's basketball team is looking to add potential junior college players during the off-season. The women have already put out an offer to two Harford Community College (MD) players. The Battlers have offered a scholarship to Mia Fitts, a 5'5" sophomore guard from Richmond, VA. Fitts averaged 18.1 points per game to go with 4.5 rebounds per game, 3 assist per game and 2.3 steals per game this past season for the Fighting Owls. She played her high school basketball for Varina High School. For her efforts, she was named 1st-team All-Maryland JUCO Conference performer for the 2015-16 season.



 The Lady Battlers have also put out an offer to Harford redshirt freshman Janessa Fauntroy, a 6'1" forward from Gaithersburg, MD. She averaged only 6.5 points per game but also had an impressive 8 rebounds per game to go along with 2 blocks per game. She is considered to have huge upsize for a player with her height. Fauntroy spent her first season of college at the University of Maine redshirting as a freshman. Both Fitts and Fauntroy were big contributors to the Harford CC women's basketball team finished the season with an incredible record of 27-3, including a perfect 12-0 regular season record in the MD JUCO conference. The Fighting Owls also won the MD JUCO post-season conference tournament. Harford won the NJCAA Region XX Championship before falling in the NJCAA National Tournament to Northwest Florida State.


Battler Beat has also learned that 'The Danger Circus Company' will be performing during the Thursday night football game with Fairmont State on September 22nd.

Battlers to get campus visit from Maryland guard

Battler Beat has learned that the Alderson Broaddus men's basketball team will be getting an on-campus visit from Dulaney High School senior guard Alex Kassolis. Dulaney HS is a class 4A public high school located in Timonium, MD, a suburb of Baltimore. Kassolis is 6'2" and would project as a two-guard for the Battlers. He is coming off a senior campaign where he averaged 22 points per game for Dulaney and is considered to be a late-bloomer as a high school player.

Kassolis had an impressive senior season filled with several big game performances for the Lions. He poured in 30 points for Dulaney in their first win in 12 years over Milford Mill. Kassolis also eclipsed the 30-point mark in victories over Catonsville, Carver AT and Towson. He had an impressive 12 points last night in the Baltimore City vs Baltimore County All Star game. Kassolis played at Dulaney High School for head coach Matt Lochte. Dulaney finished the basketball season with a 18-6 record. The Lions defeated Bel Air and Kenwood in the Maryland Class 4A North Sectionals before falling to Perry Hall in the sectional final. Perry Hall made it to the final four before losing to eventual 4A champion Eleanor Roosevelt HS.

Kassolis will be representing the Maryland Team All Stars on Saturday, April 9th in the Maryland vs Pennsylvania All Star game that will take place in Harrisburg, PA. Game time is set for 8:30PM. There will be several Division I, II and III prospects in that game including Thomas Lang of Lignanore HS in Maryland who has already signed with Shepherd. Kassolis also plans to take visits to Wheeling Jesuit and Pfeiffer.

Washington DC guard to visit campus in March

Battler Beat has learned that guard prospect Michael Barnett Jr will be visiting the campus of Alderson Broaddus on March 21. Barnett just completed his senior season at National Collegiate Preparatory in Washington DC. Barnett averaged an impressive 22.5 points per page for National Collegiate Preparatory this past basketball season. Alderson Broaddus is looking to replace both starting guard positions this off-season as both Malcolm Tatum and Thylas Perkins will be graduating in the spring. It would appear that Barnette is a point guard prospect.

You can check out some of Barnett's game on the video shown below. This video shows highlights from National Collegiate Preparatory's game this past season at McKinley Tech. Barnett wears #2 in the dark jersey. He went head-to-head in this game against McKinley Tech's Rinardo Perry who has already signed with Division I U Mass-Lowell.