Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Canadian Point Guard Owootoah Sparking Interest (UPDATED)
Rodrick Rhodes has played with and against some pretty good point guards in his day and he swears that Emmanuel Owootoah is one of the best he’s ever seen.
The 6-foot Owootoah — who has reclassified to 2013 but must still take the SAT — plays for Rhodes at Cordia High School in Kentucky. He holds offers from UCLA, Tennessee and San Francisco at this point, but Arizona, Villanova and Baylor are showing interest, Rhodes told SNY.tv Monday.
The former St. Anthony standout and NBA player says UConn is really the kid’s dream school, though.
“He loves UConn,” Rhodes said. “If it was up to him, his dream school is UConn. He said he grew up wanting to play at UConn.”
Rhodes said he planned to reach out to Huskies coach Kevin Ollie, who on Monday also landed a commitment from 6-11 Florida big man Amida Brimah.
“I was going to reach out to Kevin Ollie,” Rhodes said. “They should definitely come watch the kid. He’s pretty special.”
(UConn already has an incoming point guard in Terrence Samuel of Brooklyn South Shore.)
Rhodes said Tennesse coach Cuonzo Martin was slated to watch Owootoah on Tuesday, and that Arizona assistant Book Richardson and Baylor assistant Paul Mills have also called.
Owatooah just got eligible on Thursday and proceeded to score 15 points in two quarters of a blowout win.
“I played with some really good point guards and was able to witness a lot of really good basketball,” said Rhodes, who played for Hall of Famer Bob Hurley at St. Anthony.
“He’s something special. I’m his head coach and I watch as a fan sometimes.
“He makes everybody better. He makes me better as a coach. He makes his teammates better. “He’s a coach on the floor. Everybody wants to play with him.
“He has an energy to make everyone play at a certain pace. He does a phenomenal job of pushing the ball up the floor.
“At times, he’s so talented my guys can’t even keep up with him. He says, ‘Coach, they gotta run, they gotta run.’ He has no one to pass to because he has has different levels of speed he can go to.
“He’s such a strong kid. He does a good job of finishing. His vision on the floor is phenomenal. He’s a phenomenal player with a great basketball vision.”
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Rodrick Rhodes has played with and against some pretty good point guards in his day and he swears that Emmanuel Owootoah is one of the best he’s ever seen.
The 6-foot Owootoah — who has reclassified to 2013 but must still take the SAT — plays for Rhodes at Cordia High School in Kentucky. He holds offers from UCLA, Tennessee and San Francisco at this point, but Arizona, Villanova and Baylor are showing interest, Rhodes told SNY.tv Monday.
The former St. Anthony standout and NBA player says UConn is really the kid’s dream school, though.
“He loves UConn,” Rhodes said. “If it was up to him, his dream school is UConn. He said he grew up wanting to play at UConn.”
Rhodes said he planned to reach out to Huskies coach Kevin Ollie, who on Monday also landed a commitment from 6-11 Florida big man Amida Brimah.
“I was going to reach out to Kevin Ollie,” Rhodes said. “They should definitely come watch the kid. He’s pretty special.”
(UConn already has an incoming point guard in Terrence Samuel of Brooklyn South Shore.)
Rhodes said Tennesse coach Cuonzo Martin was slated to watch Owootoah on Tuesday, and that Arizona assistant Book Richardson and Baylor assistant Paul Mills have also called.
Owatooah just got eligible on Thursday and proceeded to score 15 points in two quarters of a blowout win.
“I played with some really good point guards and was able to witness a lot of really good basketball,” said Rhodes, who played for Hall of Famer Bob Hurley at St. Anthony.
“He’s something special. I’m his head coach and I watch as a fan sometimes.
“He makes everybody better. He makes me better as a coach. He makes his teammates better. “He’s a coach on the floor. Everybody wants to play with him.
“He has an energy to make everyone play at a certain pace. He does a phenomenal job of pushing the ball up the floor.
“At times, he’s so talented my guys can’t even keep up with him. He says, ‘Coach, they gotta run, they gotta run.’ He has no one to pass to because he has has different levels of speed he can go to.
“He’s such a strong kid. He does a good job of finishing. His vision on the floor is phenomenal. He’s a phenomenal player with a great basketball vision.”
