Recruiting Report: Zach Bare (2016)

<h2>August 22, 2015</h2><p>In April it was Colgate, Bucknell, American, Lafayette, and New Hampshire showing interest in St Paul’s 6-foot-1 point guard <strong>Zach Bare,</strong> things have changed dramatically since.</p> <p>The talented 2016 recently picked up his first Division I offer, but from none of the original five showing interest. And he’s picked up a whole new group of interested programs.</p> <p>“I got an offer from University of Maine and I have high interest from Navy, Army and some interest from NJIT. I don’t really have any interest from those five schools that originally recruited me,” said Bare.</p> <p>Maine offered in early August, and he plans to take an official visit September 10-12. He also recently visited Navy.</p> <p>“It (Naval Academy) was impressive, I learned a lot about the military side of everything, and their facilities are amazing,” said Bare. “So it was really nice.”</p> <p>While honing his skills with Maryland 3D this offseason, Bare says he improved in nearly all facets of the game.</p> <p>“I think as the spring and summer went on I definitely got more comfortable playing with this team offensively,” said Bare. “I shot the ball a lot better, scored the ball a lot better, rebounded well, got the ball out and played fast, I think that was probably the best thing I did.”</p> <p><em>PHM’s </em>47th-ranked 2016, Bare has been working to transition from shooting guard to point guard, and says the transformation is almost complete.</p> <p>“In the summer with St. Paul’s I played a lot of point guard and I’ve been recruited as a point guard for the most part,” said Bare. “I played a lot of combo guard with 3D just because we already kind of had a point guard, but I definitely expect to play point guard my senior year for the most part.”</p> <p>With one season left to showcase his talents with the Crusaders, he says the goal is to become a consummate team leader for the young group of guys coming in.</p> <p>“My biggest goal is to become as good as a leader as I can be,” he said. “We have a really, really young team, so I’m just trying to be a great leader, and I’m going to have to score the ball really well for us. That’s really my biggest expectation and hope for my senior year.”</p> <h2>April 1, 2015</h2><p>A 6-foot combo guard, <strong>Zach Bare</strong> has gained a reputation as being one of 2016s best scorers -- that has not gone unnoticed by college programs across the east coast.</p> <p><em>PHM’s </em>47th-ranked prospect from the class, Bare currently has no offers but has generated interest from Division I schools Colgate, Bucknell, American, Lafayette (PA) and New Hampshire.</p> <p>One school, Colgate,  seems to be his early favorite -- he took a visit to the New York school last fall.</p> <p>“Colgate was amazing, everything about it was exactly what I look for in a college. It was beautiful, I love the coaches, it was great.”</p> <p>As a junior with the senior-laden Crusaders Bare thrived, telling <em>PHM</em> he averaged 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game -- all the while learning an important trait, leadership.</p> <p>“We had nine seniors this year, so I learned to become a better leader from them,” said Bare. “And really my main job was to be a scorer for us, I took the most shots on the team and I was just a scorer and a playmaker this season.”</p> <p>Bare has spent previous grassroots seasons with Maryland 3D, and says he’ll spend his ever-important 17U season with the program.</p> <p>“We definitely have a really good team and I’ll just try and become a better defender and show college coaches that I can defend my position -- the point guard position,” said Bare. “And just continue to score the way I’ve been doing.”</p> <p>Though he primarily splits his duties between point guard and shooting guard, one thing the undersized prospect wants to work on most is his point guard skillset.</p> <p>“Being only 6-foot I’ll definitely have to become more of a point guard in college, and then I’ll just be a shooter and scorer for a team,” he said. “And whatever my role is -- whether coming off the bench or starting -- just being someone that can come in and score for a team.”</p> <p>“It’s (playing point guard) definitely something I need to improve on more. I’ll need to work on getting into the paint and kicking out to guys, I’ll definitely have to improve my vision for sure.”</p>