A Closer Look: Wenyen Gabriel

By Craig Leighton
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Updated: April 17, 2015

Friarbasketball.com will be taking a closer look at a number of key Friar targets. Our staff will continue to provide reports on the top Friar targets throughout the year, and provide updates on prospects that have been previously featured.

Prospect: Wenyen Gabriel

Position: PF

School: Wilbraham & Monson

AAU Program: Mass Rivals

Class: 2016

Overview:

Wenyen Gabriel is a 6’9 power forward who is a late bloomer as he is still growing and therefore still growing into his body. Playing against the toughest competition in the country, Wenyen has more than held his own against the best low post players in NEPSAC. Don’t be surprised if he really explodes on the scene during the spring and summer AAU seasons.

Although 6’9, Gabriel may wind up as a small forward at the next level. Wenyen has noted that so far PC is the only school to be recruiting him at that position. He is a unique player in that before his growth spurt Gabriel was strictly a perimeter player, so he is that rare player that combines the skills of a wing player with the body of a power forward.

Gabriel gets up and down the floor very well for his size and can take the ball to the basket with the best of them. These skills were on display last weekend at the Adidas Gauntlet Challenge (video courtesy of Ballas TV):

Gabriel had a very nice tournament as his Mass Rivals team went 4-0 last weekend. Gabriel had 13 points and seven rebounds against Team Magic, 21 points and seven rebounds against Texas Pro, and nine points and two rebounds against Brookwood Elite in a blowout.

First Impressions:

I saw Gabriel for the first time at the Providence Elite Camp last August. The first thing that strikes you is his ability (for a player his size) to combine both a low post game with a perimeter game. At 6’9 (and still growing) he has all the tools to be a multi-faceted player at the next level. The other thing you notice is that he needs to add major weight to his frame, but there is still plenty of time for him to do this.

What Others are Saying:

ESPN says that “Gabriel is exceptionally long and has continued to grow late into his high school years. He has a good base of skill facing the basket and can both handle the ball well and shoot to the arc. He’s got a pretty good nose for the ball on the glass and is gradually becoming more of an interior scoring threat. He’s also a solid athlete and good weak-side shot-blocker”. They currently rank Weyman as a four star player and have him ranked as the 24th best power forward in the class of 2016.

Scout say that “One of the more impressive performers at the Adidas Gauntlet tournament in Dallas, Texas, April 10-12 was combo forward Wenyen Gabriel, a 6-foot-9, 195-pounder, who helped his Mass Rivals AAU squad to a 4-0 record by averaging about 16 points and eight rebounds during the three-day stretch. A class of 2016 recruit, Gabriel has just started to emerge on recruiting radars, and it’s safe to say his profile is set to expand exponentially following his most recent performance”.

Rivals says that “Rivals150 small forward Wenyen Gabriel is a confident shooter at 6-foot-9 but can slam home a dunk when the opportunity arises. Gabriel reported offers from Boston College, Massachusetts, Providence and New Hampshire and interest from Maryland, Xavier and Vanderbilt among others. Gabriel told Rivals.com that most schools are recruiting him as a stretch four based off his play but Providence is looking at him as a small forward”. Rivals currently has him ranked as the 113th player in the class of 2016.

The Competition:

Besides the Friars, Gabriel has major interest so far from Boston College, Maryland, Xavier, Connecticut, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. Look for the Friars to be into it until the end along with BC and Maryland among others.

Bottom Line:

Gabriel is set to explode on the national scene during this summer. It is very fortunate that the Friars were in on him early and you can expect that Ed Cooley and the staff will be relentless in his recruitment going forward. With his versatility Gabriel is the perfect type of player for Cooley’s system as he could wind up getting minutes at the two, three, and four positions at the next level.

You Can See for Yourself:

Gabriel will be one of several Friar recruits playing in the Providence’s All About Buckets All Star Game Friday night at 7:00 at Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence. Other PC recruits on hand will be Tomas Murphy, Mamadou Diarra, Hamidou Diallo, Kimani Lawrence, and Jerome Desrosiers.

Mixtape Time:

Here are a couple of more highlight videos of Gabriel courtesy of RI Affliliated and Sweet Mixtapes:

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8 Comments

Derec Lamendola

April 17, 2015 at 3:45 am

CRIAG LEGHTION DEREC LAMENDOLA IS THIS COACH COOOLLEY GETING HIS Class Redcing And IS COACH ED COOLEY GETING HIM EENTHING ABOUT KRIRS DUNNN Enenthing News About HIM IS KRIS DUNN COMING BACK TO PROVIDENCE And IS Coach Cooley GETING ALLL BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG GAYUS Coming
Carol Palladino Fortin

April 17, 2015 at 11:31 am

?
James Boulanger Jr.

April 17, 2015 at 11:59 am

I think you need to forget about providence college and go back to grammar school please. Wow. One of the worst typed posts I’ve ever seen on fb
James Boulanger Jr.

April 17, 2015 at 11:59 am

Enenthing? Wtf
James Boulanger Jr.

April 17, 2015 at 12:00 pm

Redcing?
Derec Lamendola

April 17, 2015 at 2:38 pm

OR OR OR OR OR OR YES I AM I AM RECDING Beaucase Coach Coooley NEEDS ME TO HELP HIM OUT IM SHOR HE DUS And Becuase IM The Number 1 Fan @ Proicdence Colllege Friars And Becuase I Work For Him
Craig Leighton

April 17, 2015 at 3:17 pm

I am not sure on recruiting Derec. I think they may have a couple of more guys in a few days. I am hoping that Dunn comes back.
Derec Lamendola

April 17, 2015 at 3:21 pm

CRIAG LEGHTION LET ME KNOW ON THE WORD ABOUT KRIS DUNN COMING BACK And SO CPULE MORE Guyas ON RECITING Swonds Goood CRIAG LEGHTION About YOU LET ME KNOW ON REDCING And ABOUT KRIS DUNN