Recruiting Report: Ciaran Sandy (2018)
The glorious thing about the sport of basketball is that it can be looked at as a language around the world. You could place yourself in almost any country, but as long as there is a basketball court, you’ll be able to at least somewhat interact with the folks you’re playing with despite not knowing the language. 2018 forward Ciaran Sandy didn’t have to worry about any language barriers when he moved to the United States last year, but he is still adjusting to many differences in the playing style.
Sandy lived in England with his mother before traveling over the Atlantic Ocean to take advantage of a tremendous academic opportunity at Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland. Once he got settled, he took to the basketball court and the coaching staff liked what they saw.
The team struggled tremendously with a very young and inexperienced roster in the MIAA A Conference. For Sandy, it was a big change in style of play compared to what he was used to in England.
“I had to adjust to pace,” Sandy told PrepHoops. “In England it’s much slower and they move the ball more. Also, I’m 6’5, so it was tough matching up against very good athletes who are close to 6’10. Jalen Smith was tough competition for me for my first season.”
Smith recently committed to the University of Maryland and is considered one of the top frontcourt players in the country.
The only way to truly adjust to a different style of play is by getting experience. Sandy has been playing with Team Melo Red 17U this spring/summer for the AAU circuit as well as participating in the St. Paul’s Summer League with his Gilman team.
In terms of what he wants to improve on for next season, Sandy has specific skills he knows need tweaking so he can have a solid senior campaign.
“Defensively, I need to get quicker moving my feet,” Sandy said. “I want to be able to guard bigger guards like Demetrius Mims. Plus, that’ll make it easier on pick-and-rolls if I get switched onto a guard. Offensively, I need to attack the basket more and be more confident in my shooting.”
In summer league play, Sandy has been much better defensively. Not only has he contained quicker guards out on the perimeter with his one-on-one defense, he’s also shown good anticipation and quick reactions from the help side to come and swat away an opponent’s shot. On offense, Sandy is fundamentally sound. He isn’t going to do anything with the ball that will wow you, but he’s shown the ability to knock down the long ball and finish strong around the rim.
Gilman renovated their coaching staff this spring by bringing in Will Bartz. Bartz is known for getting a ton out of his players, so the same is expected in his one season with Sandy. 2019 point guard Jalen Rucker will also be a huge plus for Sandy. Rucker is a crafty passer that operates will in ball screen sets. It’ll be expected that both he and Sandy will be seen in those situations plenty next season.
The 6’5 forward has interest from teams at pretty much every level. He recently attended Columbia’s elite camp and the staff expressed interest in him. Bucknell is another school that has shown interest. There are also a handful of Division III schools in on Sandy including Salisbury, Susquehanna, and Rochester.
The 3.0 student intends on becoming a doctor, so ensuring that the school he attends includes a strong pre-med major will hold a lot of weight on his final decision.