Practice Breakdown: Gulliver Preparatory

<p>The latest installment of my basketball tour took me to <strong>Gulliver Preparatory</strong> in Pinecrest.  The suburban Miami private school is one of the top destinations for academics and athletics in the state of Florida. </p> <p>The Raiders basketball team perfectly exemplifies my point. Head coach <strong>Gary DeCesare</strong> brings decades of experience at the prep/college level into his second season with the program. The depth of basketball expertise extends to assistants <strong>Eric Harris</strong> (Minnesota) and <strong>Omar Antigua</strong>. The coaching staff has the exciting challenge of blending in new talent onto the court this season.</p> <p>Gulliver Prep will look <em>different </em>than last year. Gone are players like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="827888" first="Tony" last="Sanders"]</strong> (<strong>Notre Dame</strong>), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="828033" first="Gabe" last="Taylor"]</strong> (<strong>Rice</strong>), <strong>Donell Harris</strong> (<strong>Texas A&amp;M</strong>), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="828104" first="Diego" last="LaMonica"]</strong> (<strong>Vanderbilt</strong>) and <strong>Eddie Jackson</strong> (<strong>Northern Illinois</strong>). The last four are all currently establishing football careers. Sanders will look to make an impact this season in the ACC for head coach <strong>Mike Brey</strong> in South Bend. That is <em>a lot</em> of talent to be replaced.</p> <p>The Calvary behind that unit is budding with potential. The Raiders are certainly a team that will grow and develop as the season moves along. </p> <p>Let’s get into some of the players...</p> <p>2024 <strong>Amare Sanders</strong> is a prospect everyone should focus on now. The 6-foot-1 guard is the younger brother of the aforementioned [player_tooltip player_id="827888" first="Tony" last="Sanders"]. The younger displayed strong guard skills and quickness throughout yesterdays practice. Moreover, Sanders looked crisp running the floor in most drills I witnessed. I actually think his athleticism is advanced enough where he could benefit from slowing down and letting the game come to him at times. In my opinion, I rather have a freshman I need to bring down than turn up anyway. Furthermore, keep in mind this is a 15-year-old kid that probably is going to grow 3-4 more inches on the <em>conservative</em> end. [player_tooltip player_id="827888" first="Tony" last="Sanders"] is currently 6-foot-7 so the lineage for that to occur is present. DeCesare believes Sanders has the trajectory to be as/more talented than his older brother. That is pretty high praise considering Tony will be suiting up for the Irish in one of the best conferences in college basketball. Coaching and repetitions will see this kid soar in the program over the coming years.</p> <p>2023 <strong>Walter Ray Allen III</strong> was bringing the heat on the defensive end during yesterdays run. Allen III pressured his counterpart in the half-court and showed active hands throughout the practice. In addition, Allen III looked extremely quick moving his feet horizontally and rotated his body to establish good defensive posture. That type of defensive focus created a steal during one drill that was picked up by Amare Sanders for a lay-up on the other end of the floor. All of these traits show he has a high motor and a strong work ethic. On the offensive end, Allen III displayed similar intensity as he got into the lane for a pair of lay-ups. I am going to leave it to you to correlate my unintended pun in the first sentence with who is <em>father</em> is. Allen III is about to establish his own basketball legacy starting at Gulliver Prep.</p> <p>2023 <strong>Denzel Dorn</strong> has the framework to be a terror in the paint for the Raiders. Dorn is a 6-foot-6 center that is listed at 250 pounds. As of now, I look at him more as a project that should develop with better conditioning and weight room work. Dorn has the look of a left tackle and I am certainly willing to roll the dice on a kid with that sort of size. From a <em>physical</em> standpoint, he reminds me of a shorter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="827901" first="Andre" last="Weir"]</strong> who played at <strong>Chaminade-Madonna</strong> and currently is at <strong>Richmond</strong>. I would like to see him become more aggressive and establish his presence in the paint. On one play, Dorn had position in the paint but ended up with the ball away from the basket on the face up. Coaching will teach him to utilize his strengths moving forward.</p> <p>2023 <strong>Jordan Bankston</strong> is another quick prospect with tremendous athleticism. The 5-foot-11 guard should be a key backcourt piece for the Raiders. Furthermore, Bankston connected on enough outside shots yesterday where I trust him to deliver in games. Letting him develop confidence in game situations will benefit his potential. <span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">2024 </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Max Henein</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> is another player to watch for as a young guard.</span></p> <p>2021 <strong>Santiago Canto</strong> brings leadership and veteran experience to the Raiders club. I thought the 5-foot-11 Canto looked good running drills and sprinkled in some plays as he ran the offense. Depth on a young team is especially beneficial with Canto in the fold. 2021 <strong>Josh</strong> <strong>Messinger</strong> provides additional experience. Frontcourt players <strong>Michael</strong> <strong>Amsel</strong> (6-foot-5), <strong>Lukas Stavrinides</strong> (6-foot-4) and <strong>Christian Baumer</strong> (6-foot-3) provide additional depth around the rim.</p> <p><strong>Overall Breakdown</strong>: The young Raiders should exponentially grow from the start of the season to the finish. The coaching staff is certainty in place for that to happen. Keep in mind the team will get reinforcements once the football season is over. 2021 <strong>William Bettridge</strong>, 2021 <strong>Austin Berman</strong>, 2022 <strong>Travious Lathan</strong> and 2023 <strong>Jalen</strong> <strong>Brown</strong> were not present in practice. Bettridge has a college-level leg and Berman is a quarterback. Lathan is a coveted four-star outside linebacker while Brown is a four-star wide receiver ranked near the top at his position in the state. Both players are showing interest from high-major programs. </p> <p><strong><em>For any South Florida Prep Hoops news or information...please contact Michael Costeines @Steins_23 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.</em></strong></p>