Raffa still rising in the ratings

[Patch]

In the latest NERR (New England Rating Report) Raffa has jumped to #18 - earlier in the season he was ranked 35th (I think). Take a close look at the schools these guys are going to...

 

No. Player Ht. Pos. School Committed

 

1 Devin Ebanks 6'8" SF St Thomas More

2 Emmanuel Negedu 6'7" PF Brewster Academy Arizona

3 Terrence Jennings 6'9" PF Notre Dame Prep Louisville

4 Isaiah Thomas 5'9" G South Kent Washington

5 Kimmie English 6'5" SG Notre Dame Prep Missouri

6 Mark Lyons 6'0" PG Brewster Academy Xavier

7 David Gibbs 6'4" G Master's School Massachusetts

8 Melquan Bolding 6'5" G/F Notre Dame Prep Louisville

9 Allan Chaney 6'8" F New London HS Florida

10 Anthony Crater 6'2" PG Brewster Academy Ohio State

11 Assane Sene 7'0" C South Kent Virginia

12 Twany Beckham 6'5" G New Hampton Mississippi State

13 Stevie Mejia 5'8" PG Lawrence Academy Rhode Island

14 Kendall Durant 6'1" G New Hampton Virginia Tech

15 Chris Prescott 6'1" G Northwest Catholic St. Joseph's

16 Nate Tomlinson 6'3" PG Lee Academy Colorado

17 Larry Anderson 6'5" SF Winchendon Long Beach State

18 Anthony Raffa 5'10" G Winchendon Albany

[Clickclack]

Found a clip of Raffa (actually of his HS team) that I hadn't seen before....he wears #11 and plays like 100mph. Some of

passes our pretty wild. People better keep their head up when he has the ball, and try to keep up when he's on the move.

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

WOW...those were some of the first highlights i have seen of him and he looks absolutely insane!!

[Clickclack]

WOW...those were some of the first highlights i have seen of him and he looks absolutely insane!!

 

Then you owe it to yourself to youtube "Anthony Raffa" as there are a ton of clips from his Wildwood Cathlic days, in fact to many to post. Keep in mind as you are watching that this kid has since prepped for a year so his game is most likely a bit more polished then whats on those clips. As someone else pointed out, he'll probably be one of those .......NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO............YESSSSSSSSSSSS players at least early on. He apparently plays at a heart attack inducing pace and without having seen him I'm not sure if his decision making is able to keep up. Just like with any freshmen, they all look great especially in highlight clips but he should be a fun one to watch.

[B9j2j6s]

I think we need to be realistic with all our expectations for the freshman. They are not all going to be Jamar Wilsons’. I like Raffa's quickness and ability to get to the basket. I have my concerns with regards to ball handling; I can see him being turnover prone.

 

My hope is that Raffa can give us 10-15 minutes off the bench, 4-8 pts per game and 3-4 asts per game.

[Clickclack]

I think we need to be realistic with all our expectations for the freshman. They are not all going to be Jamar Wilsons’. I like Raffa's quickness and ability to get to the basket. I have my concerns with regards to ball handling; I can see him being turnover prone.

 

My hope is that Raffa can give us 10-15 minutes off the bench, 4-8 pts per game and 3-4 asts per game.

 

Yeh...best thing about freshmen is that they turn sophomores. The point is Martins to lose IMO!

[I rock(ed) the Cape]

I hope martin worked on his outside jump shot in the offseason....hes good at getting to the basket, and a great ballhandler, but way too many times last year he passed up the open jumper because he had no confidence in it. Regardless, he is gonna be a great player for us this year, and I look forward to seeing the progress he and the rest of the team make!

[gmichels]

Wow that is a very promising clip. I can only imanage the prep year will help him tremendously considering the talent level there.

[UA_MA_2000]

I would love to see Martin and Raffa on the floor at the same time. Having two ball handlers and shooters would definitely be a plus for us against smaller, quicker teams (i.e., Siena, Boston University).

 

Also, for the most part, players on our team don't tend to log 40 minutes a game (with exception of course -- i.e., Lillis, America East 2008 Tournament game vs. BU), so I don't tend to place much of an emphasis on who starts (though the media and players sometimes do). I think it's all about matchups and how a particular game is flowing.

[Patch]

Just saw this this is a National ranking not a ranking from the New england Preps!!!!

Evidently the people at Scouthoops.com like him they list him at 25.

 

Spring 2008 Post Graduate Rankings

 

Rank - Name - Pos. - Prep School - College Choice

1 John Riek C Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy Draft/undecided

2 Marcus Morris SF Pennsauken (N.J.) Apex Academy Kansas

3 Terrence Jennings PF Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Academy Louisville

4 Dee Bost SG/PG Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Mississippi State

5 Kim English SG Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Academy Missouri

6 Nate Miles SG Patterson (N.C.) Patterson School Connecticut

7 Markieff Morris PF Pennsauken (N.J.) Apex Academy Kansas

8 Courtney Fortson PG Patterson (N.C.) Patterson School Arkansas

9 Gus Gilchrist C Temple Hills (Md.) Progressive Christian Maryland

10 Jason Henry SF Cincinnati (Ohio) Harmony Christian Arkansas

11 Isaiah Thomas PG South Kent (Conn.) South Kent School Washington

12 Freddy Asprilla C Patterson (N.C.) Patterson School Florida International

13 Andre Clark PF/C Mendenhall (Miss.) Genesis One Arkansas

14 Deividas Dulkys SG Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep Florida State

15 Antiquawn Beckham SG New Hampton (N.H.) New Hampton School Mississippi State

16 Curtis Dennis SG Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep New Mexico

17 Melquan Bolding SF/PG Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Academy Duquesne

18 Eshaunte Jones SG Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military undecided

19 Varez Ward SF Patterson (N.C.) Patterson School Cincinnati

20 Larry Anderson SF Winchendon (Mass.) Winchendon School Long Beach State

21 Melvin Oliver C Jackson (Miss.) Mississippi Elite Christian Seton Hall

22 Teeng Akol PF Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy South Florida

23 Darius Johnson-Odom SG Patterson (N.C.) Patterson School undecided

24 T.J. Robinson PF Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More Long Beach State

25-T Anthony Raffa SG Winchendon (Mass.) Winchendon School Albany

25-T Cardell McFarland SG/PG N. Bridgton (Maine) Bridgton Academy Missouri State

[Patch]

More love for Raffa from NERR.

 

The Biggest Steals of 2008 – Part II

June 13th, 2008

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com

 

#2 Anthony Raffa to Albany: Raffa’s recruitment, is another example of a school out-evaluating the competition. That is exactly what Albany was able to do when they solidified a commitment from the New Jersey native prior to his arrival at Winchendon for a post-graduate year. Only after Raffa’s tremendous season, did it become apparent to countless other coaches how good this guard really was. He is tough as nails, doesn’t back down from anyone, and has proven that he can put points on the board against the toughest levels of competition. At this point, Raffa has to be considered a potential starter for Albany next year as well as an early pre-season favorite for American East All-Rookie honors.

[olddog71]

More love for Raffa from NERR.

 

The Biggest Steals of 2008 – Part II

June 13th, 2008

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com

 

#2 Anthony Raffa to Albany: Raffa’s recruitment, is another example of a school out-evaluating the competition. That is exactly what Albany was able to do when they solidified a commitment from the New Jersey native prior to his arrival at Winchendon for a post-graduate year. Only after Raffa’s tremendous season, did it become apparent to countless other coaches how good this guard really was. He is tough as nails, doesn’t back down from anyone, and has proven that he can put points on the board against the toughest levels of competition. At this point, Raffa has to be considered a potential starter for Albany next year as well as an early pre-season favorite for American East All-Rookie honors.

 

Great find, Patch. In addition to the other accolades, I think with time he will be able to handle the ball well and reduce our turnovers, which hurt us many times last season.

[purplehaze]

With a prep year under his belt it sounds like Raffa has the potential to step in and have an immediate impact.

Maybe a starter????

[Dane Pound]

I'm thinking I should change my vote in the "which player do you most want to see" poll under General Danes Stuff.

[DanesRGood]

I did a quick search for "Winchendon" on youtube and came up with some videos. I'm not sure who is who though.

 

 

Here is a five part game. Bad video but you can see what's gong on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ayURaEUbDs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sszz7XQE5Hw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaSilzemLis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvAn0_Wuwlk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMVH2jt85KY