FITCHBURG, Mass. – Ryan Hurd feels pretty good about his team right now at Notre Dame Prep, and that’s with his best player and a few late arrivals having worked out exactly zero minutes with their teammates to this point. Watching eight of their players go through their second workout of the day on Thursday provides some insight as to why, and one can imagine that he’ll feel better once he works with them even more.
Hurd likes having a team loaded with guards so he can more easily push the pace, and that’s what he has. There’s only one player taller than 6’5″ who took the floor on Thursday, and it’s easy to imagine this team playing faster than every opponent.
The guard who will make this team go is Jarvis Garrett (5’10” Sr. PG, Milwaukee (WI)). A quick guard with a good body, he showed a very good feel for the game as a pass-first point guard who can shoot. He competed the entire time, making nice passes that included a long lead pass and one right after he grabbed a loose ball for a layup, and he has good range on his jumper. One can imagine him being the team’s primary leader with how he plays.
Joining him at the point will be a couple of players that share a first name but not the spelling. Malik James (6’1″ Sr. PG, Dorchester (MA)) is a quick guard whose body isn’t there yet but can get by his man. He took more jumpers than usual on Thursday, not hitting a great percentage as that’s not his forte. Mahlik Sims (5’10” Sr. PG, Albuquerque (NM)) was a little erratic in transition as he seemed to try to play a little too fast at times His body can mature more and he had a couple of good passes at other times.
Christian Wilson (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, Baton Rouge (LA)) could see time at both guard spots, as he has above-average quickness and shot the ball well at times on the afternoon. His pull-up jumpers were falling at a good clip, and one time he tipped an offensive board to a teammate.
West Virginia commit Daxter Miles (6’3″ Sr. SG, Baltimore (MD)) hasn’t played since arriving due to a bum ankle, but is expected to work out again soon. He figures to be their best player once he gets going. Also sitting out on Thursday was Dwayne Conley (6’2″ Sr. SG, New York (NY)) with a minor knee injury.
They will have plenty of help off the ball, starting with Da’Jon Streeter (6’4″ Sr. SG, Niagara Falls (NY)), who impressed on Thursday. He has a strong upper body and was able to bounce off his man, is athletic and showed that he can score on drives and shooting the ball. He also made a nice bounce pass off a pick and roll one time.
Samuel Ededi (6’1″ Sr. PG-SG, London (England)) is a well-built guard who keeps competing. He needs to learn the game more, but he’ll provide a live body as he’s athletic and can finish over his man. Freddy Bitondo (6’5″ Sr. SF, Cameroon) is similar, though he has a higher skill level, as he has a great motor and is very athletic. While he finished well in transition, he also hit jumpers in drills, hit from long range and a stop-and-pop mid-range jumper and also hit a short jumper with contact from the defender. It wouldn’t be a surprise if his stock rises appreciably over the course of the season.
The one true post player on the roster is still a solid fit for how this team will play, as Nikola Vujovic (6’9″ Sr. PF, Serbia) seems at home playing fast. The skilled forward ran the floor often and was rewarded for it many times, as he finished a number of breaks while also showing a solid shooting touch. His body has a ways to go, but he finished with contact and competed the entire workout on Thursday.
At the time of this article, a couple of players from outside the U.S. were due to arrive on campus to fill out the roster as well and give Hurd a little more depth to work with.
Notre Dame Prep will have a very busy schedule with a lot of special event and tournament appearances. They open in early November, and early on will play in a tournament in Pembroke, N.H. near Hurd’s hometown that will include Brewster Academy, Lee Academy and Redemption Christian Academy. Also on the docket are games in the National Prep Showcase, Hoop Mountain Prep Classic, BABC Prep Classic, Hoop Dreams Prep Classic, NPSI and BallasTV Invitational.
The schedule has plenty of challenges, to be sure, but that’s what this team always plays and Hurd likes what he has. Talk to him about this team, and you sense how eager he is to work with them from all angles, as they fit his style and are a low-maintenance group. That all bodes well for a chance at one more tournament at the end of the year, the National Prep Championship in March that they’re hoping for.
