Recruiting report: Dylan Caruso (2019)
LEBANON — Riding the back of one of the state’s premier big men in the Class of 2019, the Mansfield Lions took top-ranked Hartville to the wire in a Class 2 sectional on Wednesday at Lebanon High School. The Eagles…
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Continue ReadingLEBANON — Riding the back of one of the state’s premier big men in the Class of 2019, the Mansfield Lions took top-ranked Hartville to the wire in a Class 2 sectional on Wednesday at Lebanon High School.
The Eagles held on for a 47-37 win to advance, but the future remains bright for Mansfield, a team that won 21 games and featured just one senior, and one of the Springfield regions premier talents in 6-foot-8 forward Dylan Caruso.
“He is a very fine freshman, he is really slender-built right now and isn’t very strong, but he has a lot potential and a lot of tools,” Mansfield head coach Terry Writer said. “We expected a lot out of him (against Hartville) to be able to have a chance.
“He has had a good season for a freshman. He has some areas where he has to get better, like most young kids. But he has done really well and handled the pressure of handling playing varsity basketball from day 1.”
Caruso has started every game as a freshman this season and has already started to draw the attention of AAU programs who are desperate for an active big man.
“He has a lot of potential and is getting the attention of a lot of people,” Writer said. “He has to grow up a little both mentally and physically, as most 15-year-olds do. But we are excited about his future.”
He finished his freshman season having averaged a team-high 12.6 points and 8.4 rebounds and added 3.3 blocks per game. Caruso saved two of his best games of the season for the stretch run, scoring 25 against Fordland on Feb. 19, and 23 against Dora on Feb. 23. He finished Wednesday’s loss with a team-high 12.
The younger brother of Jacob Caruso, a four-year varsity starter at Mansfield who put up huge numbers his senior season, averaging 29 points and 13 rebounds.
“I wouldn’t say he was everything, but he was a good basketball player and I obviously took his (uniform) number (32),” Caruso said. “Many coaches wanted him and hopefully I can get some (college) coaches to want me too.”
Caruso said he is working on getting stronger and refining his perimeter skills.
“I’m long, lanky and pretty athletic,” Caruso said. “I can always get stronger inside, but I can hit a jump shot and I can play a little bit on the outside.”
Caruso said he has spoken with numerous AAU programs about playing grassroots basketball, including Yanders Law, Missouri Flight and MoKan Elite, but is still in the process of making a final decision about who to run with.
“Playing with and against good guards and good players that are better than me will help me become a better player inside and out,” he said.