Andrew Force:
Future150 National Analyst. Covering High and Middle School basketball.
NORCROSS, GA (Future150) -- Some basketball players consider a midseason sprained ankle a set back. Brian Coffey Jr. was hospitalized.
"A week ago the game ended up going into overtime," recalled Brian Coffey Sr. "He locked up. They had to call the ambulance. He is still sore. It took everything in me to get him to bend over."
Coffey Jr. suffered from severe dehydration.
"Everything came back normal,' said Coffey Sr. "They put 3.5 bags of those IV's in him. They said he was dehydrated and it was overexertion."
Class of 2017 poin guard Coffey Jr. plays heavy minutes for Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC). The reaction to these demands on his body were never realized quite like this.
"He is still a little tender from that," said Coffey Sr. "The doctor said it will still be a little sore."
Saturday afternoon Coffey Jr. faced a physical Lee High (AL) and suffered what he thought was another cramp.
"He got kneed in the thigh," said Coffey Sr. "He thought he was cramping up again."
Coffey Jr. did return late to witness Lee's 54-50 win over his team. Overall the season has been an exercise in adaptation and improvement.
"It is going good," said Coffey Jr. "I have been learning a lot, mostly I changed my game. Mostly I have been brought up to be a scorer. Now I am learning how to be a facilitator too."
Broadening his game remains a priority. Coffey Jr. is an advanced young guard and he wants to push towards greatness.
"Definitely my three-point shot," said Coffey Jr. "That is probably my least consistent part of my game right now."
He also wants to improve at keeping his teammates motivated.
"Other than that I think I am doing good," said Coffey Jr.
Recruitment
Vanderbilt invited Coffey Jr. to their Elite Camp. Though he was unable to attend he has been to Vandy's campus. He watched Vandy football play Ole Miss, as a guest of the basketball team.
"Vanderbilt and UGA are on him the hardest," said Coffee Sr. "He is also hearing from Georgia Southern, Stanford, and Ball State."
Even though UGA has a flock of guards to pick from, in their immediate area, they selected Coffey Jr. as a visitor.
"He has been down there twice," said Coffee Sr. "They have had him down there for a couple of games. He went down there to see UGA-Tennessee football game. Recently he was down there for Seton Hall basketball game."
AAU
In January, as the shuffling and recruiting ramps up, many top players are jumping to new AAU programs.
Coffey Jr. will stick with Game Elite (GA), which Coffey Sr. refers to as a great program. He was was very pleased with the organization and competition level of the adidas Gauntlet.
"Him and Darius Perry will be running guards together," said Coffey Sr.
In transferring from Wesleyan School to GAC, Coffey Jr. was asked to adjust his game.
"Last year he played at Wesleyan, where he started," said Coffey Sr. "He lead the team in scoring, as a freshman. When he transferred he is asked to pick his spots and facilitate. Next year he is going to be allowed to score a little bit more."
Judging by Saturday's performance the adjustment is going just fine.
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