After an epic 8th grade season in which Baldinelli broke some of his schools records and led his team to a conference title, he continued that amazing play into the AAU season. After averaging 16 points and 6 boards a game throughout a good chunk of the season he started to garner attention, very deservingly, as one of the top 2019 player in South Carolina. Unfortunately things came to an abrupt halt once he fractured his knee in the Southeast Showcase.
After being out for the last nine weeks, I chatted with Baldinelli and got caught up with him to see how he’s been doing and what he’s been doing during this tough situation.
“Even though I’ve been injured my determination and work ethic have not stopped. I have been shooting between three hundred and five hundred set shots a day, as well as continuing to lift weights and improving my ball handling.”
This type of attitude and confidence will go a long way with Baldinelli, especially if he has an extended basketball career. You just can’t find guys with that kind of self-determination that much anymore, especially at Zach’s age.
Zach went on to tell me about next season as he officially starts high school and how he wants his hard work to translate into becoming a very well known player.
“I plan on getting ready for my first high school season at Boiling Springs, and continue to improve and work hard enough to eventually be known as the best player to come out of South Carolina.”
Baldinelli has placed high expectations among himself, but he is fully confident and willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals that he has set for himself. Baldinelli was expected to team up with sharpshooting guard Drew Johnson next season in the backcourt at Boiling Springs until Johnson recently told Future150 he will be reclassifying into the 2017 class and attending Christ School next season. All this does is put a little more pressure on the freshman to come in next season and deliver on the varsity level. If I had to choose someone to live up to high expectations and deliver under pressure it would certainly be a player with the skill set and qualities that Baldinelli possesses.
Continue to follow Future150 as we track the progress of Zach as he starts his high school basketball career next season.
