Recruiting Report: Oscar Maldonado (2017)
There were a handful of players in Colorado this spring who made big impact during their first season on a new grassroots team. Oscar Maldonado certainly fits into this category. The 6-foot-2 guard from Northridge had an impressive spring with the…
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Continue ReadingThere were a handful of players in Colorado this spring who made big impact during their first season on a new grassroots team.
Oscar Maldonado certainly fits into this category. The 6-foot-2 guard from Northridge had an impressive spring with the Colorado Titans 17U Gold squad, demonstrating an ability over the last six weeks to score at all three levels, distribute and play solid defense.
“I really liked how everyone was on the team level,” Maldonado said of playing for the Titans. “Everyone wanted the same thing. Everyone is pretty skilled … and unselfish with the basketball, so that was the main thing I liked.”
Titans coach Rick Jimenez told us before the spring began that his team, with a several new players, would have an adjustment period early. But the Titans began playing some of their best basketball of late, culminating with a title-game victory in last weekend’s CCBA Championships.
Maldonado’s emergence was a large part of the team’s growth. He can score in a variety of ways. He’s tough on the drive, can pull up from mid-range and is effective 3-point shooter. As a junior at Northridge last season, Maldonado averaged 14.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and shot 44 percent from beyond the arc.
We saw Maldonado play about five full games this spring, and each time out he seemed to gain more confidence, finding more and more scoring opportunities with hustle plays and increased court awareness.
“I think I’ve improved with being smarter about the game,” Maldonado said, assessing his biggest gains during the spring. “I’m reading screens, playing better defense, that kind of thing. I think defense was the biggest thing.”
Maldonado says playing college basketball — and following in the footsteps of his mother, who played at Nyack College in New York — has been his goal since his was able to dribble a basketball. He’s closing in on that goal now, with Division III schools from Minnesota to New York expressing strong interest in the smooth lefty.
Maldonado says it is his goal to play in the Division II RMAC, and he says his time with the Titans, who have sent a large number of players to all college levels in the past several years, has helped him understand the main things he needs to improve upon in order to reach that level. Namely, solidifying himself as a two-way player.
“I think I can score in any aspect, whether it is driving or shooting, scoring is my main thing,” Maldonado said. “Playing with the Titans, I think I’ve added more to my game on the defensive side as well. I used to be a one-sided player. Now I feel like I can do it on either end.”
Maldonado will play with Northridge during the June school period before he and the Titans make trips to Milwaukee (Next Level Invitational), Anaheim (Best of Summer) and at the NY2LA Las Vegas Classic in July.