Recruiting Report: Alonzo Gaffney (2019)

The most spectacular performance of the prep summer season thus far I’ve been witness to came inside the Garfield Heights High gym during the NEO Elite Youth combine. It was there that Alonzo Gaffney, in the words of his new high school coach Sonny Johnson, was “putting on a show.” The 6-8 silky smooth forward, the No. 2 player in Ohio in the Class of 2019 according to Prep Hoops, showed off a versatile game during a game in which he was matched against Garfield Heights teammate Brison Waller, a 6’7”, who is ranked No. 3 in the same class by Prep Hoops. Gaffney, who is transferring after playing his first two years at Villa Angela St.-Joseph, showed off the ability to pull up off the dribble from 3-point land and connect as well as finish at the rim with authority during his performance. He finished the game with 41 points and had the gym buzzing at the event. Gaffney was teamed with a deluxe point guard in Zion Harmon (2021), who is considered the No. 1 player in that class at this point. During one memorable play, Gaffney brought the ball over midcourt on the right side and then went back and forth between his legs before draining a 3-pointer. He also scored on a spectacular breakaway dunk after getting a beautiful feed from Harmon, who scrambled to a loose ball and then with his back to Gaffney fired a pass through his legs like a football deep snapper that found the big man. After the game, Gaffney rated his performance as “all right,” saying he could have connected on some jumpers he missed on. Gaffney, a starter for state champion VA-SJ, said he and his father Kevin, who played Division I college basketball at Cincinnati, agreed that Alonzo would be able to improve and show off his face up game playing at Garfield. “It’s the best fit for me,” Gaffney said of his decision to come to Garfield Heights, which has produced a boatload of D-I talent under Johnson. “I see myself out on the wing if I get my ball handling tighter and I work on my jumper a lot more,” said Gaffney. “I’m athletic, run the floor, have a high motor,” said Gaffney when asked to describe his game in its current state of development. Gaffney ultimate gives up the chance to win three state titles at VA-SJ in exchange to develop under Johnson. At this point, Gaffney has been getting contacts from Michigan, Illinois State, West Virginia, Ohio State. According to one recruiting site, he’s been offered by Penn State.