Andrew Force:
Future150 National Analyst. Covering High and Middle School basketball.
Memphis, TN (Future150) -- Basketball teams can’t have too many shooters. Class of 2016 wing shooter Will Hrubes (TN) has escalating college interest.
The Briarcrest Christian School guard Hrubes’ highlight reel has more flairs than a J.J. Abrams picture. Abrams may be known for his contrived lens flares, but Hrubes banks on the subtle drifting from the lane. So often Hrubes finds a tiny seam in the defense from where he releases a dagger.
Quicker than a handshake, Hrubes absorbs and releases the basketball.
In the final two years of his high school career defenses will be more cognizant of Will’s will to pour in deep bombs.
Can they stop him? That remains to be seen.
AAU Season
Hrubes and M33M saw some exceptional talent this past summer.
“We played in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas,” said Hrubes. “We played against Oakland Soldiers. They had Ivan Rabb. We definitely had some good competition. I thought I had a pretty solid summer.”
Wearing the same uniform as Hrubes was uncommitted top-10 big man Skal Labissiere and Iowa-commit Andrew Fleming. On the court, Hrubes actually resembles Fleming a touch.
“We are pretty similar because we (are) the same height,” said Hrubes. “Play the same position and same style. He is known to be a shooter and I am known to be a shooter. We can both handle the ball pretty well. He was definitely stronger than me (this summer) I will admit."
Hrubes takes weight lifting at school, but picks up Sunday training with Tulsa alumnus, Tim Peete. Hrubes learns from the former college guard each weekend.
" I think I am now stronger," Hrubes said. "I am weighing in at close to 200 pounds, and I was 180 at the beginning of the summer.”
Tradition
M33M is a well-respected AAU program based out of Memphis, Tennessee. In fact it was founded by Mike Miller and the Mike Miller Foundation. Though he currently suits up for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miller spent seven-and-a-half seasons with the Memphis Grizzles.
During this tenure he and his cousin founded M33M, which had two current NBA players, Christian Watford (Golden State) and Elliot Williams (Philadelphia) play for the program. With the right breaks two more are on their way, as Robert Hubbs III and Austin Nichols have elite talent.
Hubbs III competes for Tennessee Volunteers and Nichols was American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year (AAC) last winter. Nichols is an interesting case as he preceded Hrubes with M33M, but also preceded him at Briarcrest Christian School.
Recruitment
Of course Hrubes gets letters from all over the country. At this point he considers his most aggressive suitors to be UT-Martin, University of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Chicago State, Northern Arizona, Middle Tennessee, Loyola (Maryland), and Yale.
By this time next year, Hrubes might be narrowing his choices or wrapping up visits; but he will absolutely touch down on a few more campuses before that ultimate day comes.
“I have seen Tennessee and Ole Miss and that is it,” said Hrubes. “I went on unofficial visits to both of them. I also went on an unofficial to South Florida in Tampa.”
Regarding location, Hrubes has somewhat defined preferences for college. The shooter was born in San Francisco and briefly planted in Minneapolis.
Does he yearn to return to either of these roots?
“To be honest I would love to go back to California for college,” said Hrubes. “I don’t know if that is where I am going to go. I would love to go out west. I like the West Coast a lot. I also like the south. Georgia, Carolinas, and Florida. That is pretty much where I am hoping to go. I really don’t see myself going far east like Philadelphia and there.”
In the open floor, Briarcrest operates with a very attractive brand of basketball, as the ball moves quickly and talented shooters like Hrubes benefit from this structure. Defenders are forced to check wide swaths of land, which makes containing a tall, accurate shooter like Hrubes nearly impossible to dissuade.
Head to west Tennessee for Hrubes, as good shooting is valuable.
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