Andrew’s Osborne Academy has had a nice start to Elite Prep League play with a handful of talented prospects on their prep team. Badea might be the best shooter on the roster. With the confidence to fire from way downtown, Badea can get hot in a hurry and moves well without the basketball to cause the defense to lose him off the ball. Originally from the Philly area, Badea was playing for WeR1 on the UAA circuit this summer, where he showed off his impressive shooting ability in front of numerous college coaches.

Badea is arguably one of the best available shooters in the region and cashed in from deep early and often. He had four threes in the win. He also was able to collect rebounds, steals, and even had an assist. Division twos in need of shooting should be knocking down Badea’s door.

Badea is a perimeter marksmen who if he has his feet set from behind the arc he is cashing in from deep nine out of ten times. He does a superb job of hunting his own shot when playing off of the basketball. Every time I evaluate Badea he seems to string together performances of multiple three point conversion games. He does a nice job moving without the basketball in his hands. Badea is showing that he can get to different spots off the bounce in the mid-range when needed. He should be a priority for division twos who need shooting.

Badea was the focal point in Andrews Osborne’s offense in their win over Fork Union (VA). He had 7 three pointers with 5 in the 2nd half. He was also able to score at the foul line. He was able to score 27 points in the win. Badea played with great hustle and is the epitome of answering the call when it was his moment to shine.

A prep school prospect who can really shoot the basketball from the outside and can explode vertically, Badea has the microwave ability to take over games with his perimeter scoring ability. Hoping to see the game slow down for Badea as he continues to get more reps and develop as a player, the natural talent is enough where he could find himself higher in these rankings if he takes the steps I believe he can take over the next 15 months before heading off to the college level.

The top shooter in the gym on Thursday, Badea was making in rain all throughout practice. With a quick release and the confidence to fire away from long distance, Badea was knocking shots down at a high percentage. Combine that with his explosive vertical athleticism and he’s got some tools that intrigued me. A name I’ll be following this winter, I really want to see if Badea can improve his ball handling and tightness of his dribble this year.