KSR's 2022 GEICO Nationals semifinals recap

Day two at the 2022 GEICO Nationals just wrapped up down in Ft. Myers, FL, as the championship bout for Saturday has officially been set. If you missed KSR’s day one recap of the quarterfinals, you can check that out at the link here.

No. 3 Montverde (FL) and No. 4 Link Academy (MO) will go head-to-head for the high school boy’s title tomorrow at noon EST on ESPN. Montverde took down in-state rival No. 2 IMG Academy (FL) to open up the semifinal round on Friday, sealing a 62-57 victory in a game that featured plenty of back-and-forth action and even more top-to-bottom talent. Meanwhile, Link managed to defeat a short-handed No. 8 Prolific Prep (CA) squad by a final score of 60-53 to close out another thrilling day of hoops.

Saturday’s championship features two incredibly talented programs, but two that hold vastly different histories. Montverde is no stranger to the GEICO Nationals, as the prep school has won the event five times since it began in 2009, doing so in 2013-15, 2018, and 2021. Montverde will gun for its sixth national title and second in a row against a Link program that is in its first official year as an established hoops team.

But despite the differences in history, these two schools boast some of the nation’s top overall prospects, including one with a significant connection to Kentucky. Let’s dive into the recaps from Friday’s games.

No. 3 Montverde Academy 62, No. 2 IMG Academy 57

In a game that went wire-to-wire throughout, Montverde’s collection of four- and five-star recruits was just enough to take down an equally as talented IMG Academy group.

Duke commit Dariq Whitehead was the star for Montverde, recording 21 points on 8-16 shooting for the winning side. His scoring help came by committee, as five of his teammates scored at least seven points, including Kwame Evans Jr., who finished with eight points and 10 rebounds. Evans was the lone underclassman to produce for Montverde, which explains why he’s such a hot commodity in the class of 2023.

Kentucky has already offered Evans after getting him on campus back in the fall, and has continued to stay in contact ever since. He’s still quite raw as a prospect right now, but he’s been playing against seniors all season long and expects to be the focal point of Montverde going forward. He’s widely considered a top-five player in his class for a very good reason and should be high up on the Wildcats’ Big Board for the rest of his recruitment.

But back to the on-court action, IMG was powered by former Kentucky point guard target turned Baylor commit, Keyonte George, who went for 21 points on 7-14 shooting and a 4-6 clip from distance. Jett Howard (Michigan) and Jarace Walker (Houston) added 12 and 11 points, respectively, but a 21-10 fourth-quarter stretch from Montverde prevented IMG from making it to the title game, which the school won back in 2019.

No. 4 Link Academy 60, No. 8 Prolific Prep 53

Prolific Prep came into Friday’s game as the first-ever eight-seed to advance to the semifinal round, doing so without two 2022 McDonald’s All-Americans in Adem Bona (UCLA) and M.J. Rice (Kansas), who were both out dealing with knee injuries. That didn’t stop Prolific Prep from upsetting No. 1 Sunrise Christian Academy on Thursday, but they would run into a juggernaut in Link, which has been driven by five-star Arkansas commit Jordan Walsh.

Walsh — who posted a game-high 23 points on 9-10 FG to go with eight rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block in the quarterfinal on Thursday against Kentucky commit Chris Livingston and his No. 5 Oak Hill Academy group — was playing at his peak once again on Friday.

The 6-foot-7 wing dropped in 17 points, seven rebounds, and three steals on 5-8 shooting, including a perfect 6-6 mark from the free-throw line. He was joined in double-figures by five-star forward Julian Phillips, who recently de-committed from LSU.

Without Bona or Rice for Prolific Prep, they once again leaned on four-star USC commit Anthony “Tre” White, who poured in a game-high 25 points while converting on all 10 of his free throw attempts. He was aided by future Oregon State point guard Jordan Pope, who added 18 points of his own. White and Pope combined for 40 points in the upset win on Thursday and went for 43 more on Friday.

Unfortunately, Walsh and Link Academy were simply too much to overcome with Bona and Rice sidelined for Prolific. Link outscored Prolific by 11 over the final three quarters after trailing by four following the opening frame.