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A Closer Look: Tremont Waters

Tremont Waters

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

Prospect: Tremont Waters

Position: PG

School: South Kent

AAU Program: New England Playaz

Class: 2017

Overview:

Okay, so I was wrong. Despite what I believed earlier this spring, Tremont Waters isn’t just the top point guard in New England’s class of 2017 — he’s the top local player regardless of position in his class. Jermaine Samuels and Tomas Murphy might have more longterm upside because of their size and skill level, but no one in New England’s 2017 group is as offensively dynamic as the 5’10 Waters.

What Waters has been able to do in his first two years at South Kent has been astounding. The New Haven, CT product averaged 13 points per game immediately out of middle school playing at the highest NEPSAC level. He just completed his sophomore season and has already scored over 1,000 points, a feat his high school coach Kelvin Jefferson believes no other has done at that level. As Jefferson explained to the New Haven Register, “He doesn’t seek out his shot. He’s not a ballhog. He shares the ball, runs the offense, scores within the framework of the team offense. Guys enjoy playing with him, but at the same time, he’s able to get his offense while keeping his teammates happy at the same time.”

Jefferson coaches D1 prospects annually and has seen some of his players reach the NBA.

In Waters Jefferson has a point guard mature beyond his years. He has the total offensive package: he’s capable of making defenders look silly off the bounce, he has an accurate and easy stroke from beyond the 3-point arc, and he has full command of the offense. Waters is very much a second coach out on the floor.

It’s no surprise then that ESPN bumped him up to 36th nationally in their most recent rankings. Other national publications should soon follow suit.

Waters has drawn comparisons to Shabazz Napier. As someone who watched Napier grow from under-the-radar prospect to top-50 talent, the view from here is that Waters isn’t far off from the level of scorer Napier was at this point, but he has a more natural feel for leading a team at such a young age. What made Napier so terrific wasn’t just that he could score 40 on any given night, but that he was just as capable of dominating a game with ball pressure defense.

Providence offered Waters last week and the expectation is that his stock will continue to grow over the next two seasons.

Waters is getting excellent coaching at the AAU level, playing for a former NBA coach in John Carroll.

The Competition:

It’s early, but home state Connecticut figures to be involved throughout, while Waters has also recently received offers from Stanford and Miami. Purdue, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Wake Forest have also offered.

Highlights:

Twitter: @Kevin_Farrahar

Email: kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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