One thing we try to do on a consistent basis here at Friar Basketball when showing videos of future Friars (either high school prospects or incoming transfers) is to show as many possessions as possible from a game we have watched.
The intent isn’t to highlight any shortcomings of these players, rather to set realistic expectations upon their arrival to campus. Of course, there are times in which we will post highlight reels, but we try to balance that with clips that involve all possessions from certain games throughout a season.
We were able to do so for about a dozen of Jayden Pierre and Quante Berry’s games last winter, and today we will publish our first video of Drew Fielder and Garwey Dual, courtesy of BallerTV.
It’s worth reiterating that Fielder has signed his letter of intent, while Dual did not sign in October.
Fiedler and Dual play for a Southern California Academy (5-2) team that is ranked 20th in the country, according to ESPN, and 10th in MaxPreps’ top 25.
The team saw Pawtucket, RI native Isaiah Miranda announce earlier this week that he is leaving school early to join North Carolina State in the second semester. The 7’1 center is widely considered a top 30-40 player in the country.
Despite the loss of Miranda, this team is still loaded, with the likes of Dual, Fielder, and five star Texas commit AJ Johnson leading the way.
Last weekend SoCal took on two DMV area opponents in #25 DeMatha and St. Frances of Baltimore. They split a pair of tight games, with a 76-73 overtime win over St. Frances and a 78-76 loss to DeMatha. Both games were played as part of the SoCal vs. DMV High School Season Tip Off the weekend.
We’ll feature the St. Frances game today. The Panthers are led by a pair of top 125 level guards in Maryland commit Jahnathan Lamothe and Pittsburgh pledge Carleton Carrington.
SoCal eventually came out on top in overtime behind 18 points and 14 boards from Fiedler and 14 points, eight assists, and four rebounds by Dual.
Dual was nearly perfect shooting the ball — 5-7 from the field, 4-4 at the free throw line — and provided some spectacular moves off the dribble. He may not have attempted a jump shot in this one, and most of his best plays all came when he was going right, but Dual was especially effective in the fourth quarter and overtime. He got into the lane at will, scored on floaters and tough layups, and dished off a few beautiful passes. At 6’5, he seems to glide where he wants to, and at one point in the first half he exploded to the rim for a one-handed slam.
Fielder was named the game’s MVP after shooting 8-15 from the field, 1-5 from distance, and 1-5 at the free throw line. He was active on the offensive glass and particularly assertive in the first half. While his outside shot wasn’t falling at a great clip, St. Frances had to respect it, which led to Fielder scoring a few times after draw a defender and driving.
Thank you to BallerTV for the video footage!
Video: Garwey Dual and Drew Fielder Against St. Frances (MD)