Brian Flinn:
Future150 National Recruiting Analyst. Covering high school basketball nationally.
Springfield, MA (Future150) --
Every year, the HoopHall classic in Springfield, Massachusetts is considered one of the top high school showcases in the entire country. Teams come from coast to coast in order to compete and to give their players a chance to showcase their skills in front of an audience of fans, reporters, and national scouts.
One of the players who had a breakout performance was Rainier Beach (WA) small forward Djuan Piper. The talented wing is a known commodity in the Pacific Northwest but was able to let his game shine on the national stage while in Springfield.
His team was impressive against a Bishop O’Connell (VA) squad that features Maryland commit and McDonalds All-American Romelo Trimble. With Louisville commit Shaqquan Aaron and Washington bound David Crisp flanking him, Piper led the way to the victory.
“I feel like I defend and rebound well, I can attack the rim and finish too,” he said of his game.
The talented forward went on to say that he is currently considering three schools; Washington, Minnesota, and Gonzaga.
“Washington is my hometown school, I really like their style of play and coach Romar,” he said.
It’s true that the Huskies do hold the hometown advantage but it is Minnesota that got the first visit, as he took in the campus last weekend. The Gophers have already landed a player from the Northwest in this year’s class with the addition of Josh Martin. Landing Piper would be a good start to a potential pipeline for the new staff and may help them in trying to land a player like Dejounte Murray down the road.
Gonzaga is the third program under consideration and he had this to say of the Zags.
“I like Mark Few. They get up and down and I think that I would fit that style well.”
While it’s true that he would fit their system well and allow him to stay somewhat close to home it will be interesting to see if they can remain in it until the end.
Piper admitted that he wasn’t sure when he would ultimately make a decision, but it is clear wherever he ends up going, that particular program will get an active wing that does a bit of everything and will turn into a very nice player in time.
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