Recruiting Report: Lorenzo Donadio (2020)

Every year in the high school basketball scene, a new name becomes apparent as a result from transferring. One player that fits that bill in the Baltimore area is Lorenzo Donadio, a senior guard at Boys’ Latin. Donadio transferred from Farragut Academy in Florida. Before attending Farragut, he was playing basketball in his hometown of Rome, Italy.

Donadio has wasted no time making an impact for the Lakers. Boys’ Latin was one of the top teams in the area last season thanks to a solid crew of seniors. With those seniors gone, they were scrambling for another player to come in and be a consistent play maker alongside a few of their returners.

The 6-foot-3 Italian has logged some impressive outings thus far. I was able to witness him pour in 35 points against Mount St. Joseph including the game-tying three as time expired in the fourth to force overtime and eventually lead his team to a win.

Head coach Cliff Rees runs a system that embraces scorers and shooters of Donadio’s ilk. There are a ton of dribble handoff actions, ball screens and actions for backdoor cuts.

“I think it’s the best system for my game,” Donadio told Prep Hoops. “It’s a system that does good for the guards, so I’m very well here and for this reason I think I am playing better.”

Donadio is right. This system matches his game perfectly. He does an excellent job of making the right reads off each action depending on how his defender is guarding him. He has a mature IQ for the game and doesn’t allow pressure to get him sped up.

He’s a three-level scorer that uses his dribble for profit. He doesn’t try and do too much or dribble into bad situations. I was extremely impressed with how he dissected whatever coverage the defense threw at him as a scorer.

Donadio is also aware of where his teammates are on the floor once the defense is keyed on him. As far as improvements, Donadio told Prep Hoops that he wants to continue to work on his long-range jumper as well as his explosiveness while penetrating around the rim. Finishing through contact is another aspect he mentioned on focusing on.

Word is starting to get around about Donadio and local Division I programs are taking note. Following a win last night against McDonogh, Howard became the first school to offer. Loyola (MD) and Mount St. Mary’s are also in the mix, but neither schools has offered yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull the trigger sooner rather than later.