Recruiting Report: Jon’il Fugett (2018)
It really doesn’t matter if it is a club team scrimmage in the middle of the summer or a high stakes high school playoff game in the middle of the winter. Regardless of the setting, Jon’il Fugett approaches his mission…
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Continue ReadingIt really doesn’t matter if it is a club team scrimmage in the middle of the summer or a high stakes high school playoff game in the middle of the winter. Regardless of the setting, Jon’il Fugett approaches his mission the same way.
“I want to make sure my man doesn’t score as much as possible,” said Fugett, a 5-11 2018 guard who has provided steady leadership for the Colorado Hawks 16U Red, the state’s top club team in that division. “I take pride in my defense. I hear all the time that from college coaches that everybody can score, but not everybody can play defense. I don’t think of what guard is good. I just guard my man. I just play defense the way I play defense.”
That stone-cold mindset has helped Fugett blossom into perhaps the state’s top perimeter defender in his class. Such a distinction, coupled with an eye-popping 4.1 grade-point average, has already garnered him interest from a handful of Division I programs, including Air Force, Yale, South Dakota, Northern Colorado, Stanford and American University.
If he carries the performances he displayed for the Hawks during the two spring NCAA live periods, the summer ones should bring even further recruiting attention.
“I see these events as a way to compete and show my skill and talent,” Fugett said. “I’m really just trying to get an offer.”
Competing is what Fugett does best. He’s athletic and skilled, and he is a highly proficient 3-point shooter, evidenced by his 54 percent mark from long range during his sophomore season at George Washington. Plenty of Division I hopefuls, of course, share those traits. What sets the guard apart those is the relentless tenacity and determination with which he approaches the game.
“On a team with so much star power Jon’il is our glue guy,” Hawks coach Simeon Boddie said. “Jon’il always defends the opponents best guard and he is the catalyst for our uptempo style of play. It is a pleasure to coach him because he brings it everyday in practice and games. Kids like him don’t come around very often toughest kid on the court and one of the smartest in the classroom.
Boddie said Fugett’s cerebral nature makes him easy to put in charge on the court.
“I trust Jon’il so much I gave him authority to call our offensive sets,” the coach said. “While a kid as skilled as him could often call his own number, he actually enjoys creating opportunities for his teammates. Not sure why coaches aren’t all over him yet, but they will be soon. Jon’il is the one of the most competitive and driven young men I know would make a great addition to any college team’s backcourt.”
Fugett said much of his hard-nosed attitude on the court was cultivated in his early years playing the sport, when he would play up a year on older brother Calvin’s AAU team, which was already often competing up an age division in most tournaments. So Jon’il had to learn toughness from the start.
“My coach and my mom taught me to not be the one to cry, but to meet and take the challenge,” Fugett said. “Ever since then I’ve put that in my head every time that I need to go out and compete.”
Fugett will be the beating heart for two teams in the coming months expecting to do big things. First the talent-rich Hawks: “I really just like our chemistry as a team; how we get along, how we defend. We all really play for each other and push each other to get better. We really compete in practice.”
Then there will be his junior season that begins next fall, where he, Calvin, 2017 standout Jervay Green and 2018 rim protector Tray Pierce will anchor a team that could make a deep run in the state playoffs.
“I think the chemistry on that team is starting to get better,” Fugett said. “As we’ve seen with the Hawks, when the chemistry is good it really helps the team. If we play smarter and really play together and play hard for each other, I think we can contend for a state championship.”