Recruiting Report: Sam Grad (2017)
For many high school basketball big men, success often hinges on confidence. It takes a comfortability with throwing his weight around, finding his footwork and trusting his instinct that can guide a player’s growth. Sam Grad believes he is starting…
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Continue ReadingFor many high school basketball big men, success often hinges on confidence. It takes a comfortability with throwing his weight around, finding his footwork and trusting his instinct that can guide a player’s growth.
Sam Grad believes he is starting to find the confidence necessary to get that assembly line of success humming on the right track. The 6-foot-7 rising senior at Fairview is coming off a summer that tested him and his skill set, and Grad is happy about the progress he’s made as he heads into his final season with the Knights.
Grad is hoping confidence gained this summer can boost him toward a big senior season at Fairview.The turning point for Grad came at the end of June, when he attended the Penn Elite Camp in Philadelphia and performed well.
“It was a ton of fun,” Grad said. “I get to meet guys from a lot of different parts of the country and compete against some kids similar to me. So it was really competitive, a lot of high-academic D-III-type kids. It was definitely fun.”
Josh Verlin, a scout for Philly’s well-regarded hoops site, City of Basketball, wrote that Grad was among the standouts at the camp.
“A 6-7 forward, Grad isn’t the fleetest of foot but has a great basketball IQ and found himself in the right spots time and again, whether it was knocking down a few rhythm triples, putting in a spin move or two for a finish in the lane, making several nice passes or standing tall around the bucket,” Verlin wrote.
That assessment falls in line with what we’ve seen in the past out of Grad, who dealt with high ankle sprain at the end of his sophomore season. When at his best, Grad is a threat to knock-down mid-range jumpers with consistency — and, as Verlin noted, the 3-pointer at spots.
Grad said the experience in Philly helped him on the grassroots circuit in July with the Colorado Titans.
“It helped my confidence,” said Grad, who averaged 4.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game as a junior. “It was a chance to be able to play on my own, so when I got back with the (Titans) I was more confident and ready to play. We played against high competition in all those tournaments, so it was a chance to play against kids who are all going to college.”
Grad has worked hard on explosiveness, footwork and other aspects of his game with trainer Jerel Seamon, a former Coppin State player who also tutored Grad’s former teammate and rising University of San Diego freshman Frank Ryder.
Grad hopes the work he has put in this summer will prepare him for what should be a bigger role with the Knights this season, particularly in the wake of Ryder’s departure.
“It’s going to be a change for me because the last couple of years I’ve had a smaller role,” he said. “This year, I think I’m the only player on the team, besides some underclassmen, playing club. I’m taking on more of a leadership role, so it should be fun.”
As for his recruiting, Grad, an academic standout with a 4.0 GPA and a 31 ACT score, has drawn interest from a number of high-academic D-III schools, including Vassar in New York, which he visited while back east this summer. He also toured the Ivy League schools in the area.
Grad believes he will bring a number of tools to the floor for a college program.
“I think versatility is something that I can bring,” Grad said. “I played small forward at Fairview (as a junior), but I’ve played a lot of positions on the court. I think I can dribble and shoot adequately. I think I’m decently athletic, and I also have some post skills. So I think offensively and defensively, you can put me in a lot of places.”