(2027) - Darius Wabbington

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Pay no attention to the man behind the Old Fart user name.  Just 8 days ago in my mind I closed the books on Wabbington's recruitment.  Today in a paywalled update from Brandon Jenkins, Wabbington's quoted as saying we are one of the school's he's interested in visiting.  KJ first contacted him at Peach Jam and apparently they hit it off and he likes our five-out style of play.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Would be nice to think we could actually be a player in his recruitment.  Sunnyslope (18-1) over Corona del Sol (5-17) 76-40.  Wabbington played 21 min. and sat out the entire 4th Q.   11p,  6r,  2a,  0s,  5b,  1t.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Probably too much to hope for, but man would this kid look great playing regularly in SSAH.  Last night Sunnyslope (20-1) defeated Desert Vista (8-10) 62-58 but Desert Vista didn't at all play like a team with a losing record.  Sunnyslope led most of the night but never by more than 10 pts.  Wabbington with a nifty 19p and 11r double-double to go along with 2a, 1s, 2b, 0t.  He also drew a total of 10 fouls.  IMO he's very mobile and has good hands.  No one ripped the ball away from him once he had his hands on it.  Can put the ball on the floor going coast-to-coast twice.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Sunnyslope 53-49 win over Brophy College Prep.  Low scoring game with Sunnyslope trailing 34-32 after 3 Qs at which time Wabbington had 11p.  Took over the 4th and scored 13 missing just a single shot and making 2-2 3s in the process.  Added 7 reb.  10-18 FG,  3-4 on 3s,  1-1 FT.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Sunnyslope (28-2) defeated St. Mary's (23-7) 60-51 for the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Open Division championship.  St. Mary's was led by '26 #3 ranked Duke commit Cameron Williams who scored 21 pts.  Williams won the statistical battle over Wabbington but Sunnyslope won the championship.  Wabbington's line:  8p,  3r, 1a, 1s.  His one assist was a back breaker with 28 sec. left.  He inbounded the ball with a baseball pass to a streaking teammate who got the layup.  

29 games:  17.5p,  9.6r,  2.6a,  1.0s,  1.2b,  2.4t         53%FG,  38% on 3s,  74% FT

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Names to Max Preps Junior All-American first team

Darius Wabbington, Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.)

6-10 | Center

Helped the Vikings (28-2) capture the Open Division state championship and finish the season ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps Top 25, averaging 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per outing.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Nothing But Net Showcase in Phoenix

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Back-to-back games with 8 assists for the big guy.

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Jamie Shaw of On3 did an update on Wabbington and we were one of the six schools mentioned.  Talks primarily with KJ but really likes DDV.  "...would really allow me to play make and shoot to score and allow me to play where I want to play.”

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

Raby reports Wabbington has said he plans to visit IU.    Getting a west coast kid to make a trip to Bloomington for a visit ain't a bad thing.

[Stuhoo]

There’s gotta be some hook or connection here that I’m missing. Really glad he’s apparently so very interested, but I’m not sure what his interest is based on.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

12 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

There’s gotta be some hook or connection here that I’m missing. Really glad he’s apparently so very interested, but I’m not sure what his interest is based on.

We might be one of the rare teams that are actually trying to build through the traditional method. That narrative might resonate and seems true. I suppose there is a staff connection on top of it. 

[Stuhoo]

1 hour ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

We might be one of the rare teams that are actually trying to build through the traditional method. That narrative might resonate and seems true. I suppose there is a staff connection on top of it. 

Oh you and your perpetual optimism!

;)

[eddy4iu]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Oh you and your perpetual optimism!

;)

WayneBleakHoosier. LOL

[Demo]

3 hours ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

We might be one of the rare teams that are actually trying to build through the traditional method. That narrative might resonate and seems true. I suppose there is a staff connection on top of it. 

Imagine a lot of schools portalling for more mature bigs probably does play a part. But he’s also kind of an unusual player. A non-rim protecting 5 whose best used as a high post or mid post facilitator in kind of a Cam Krutwig/Loyola sort of way is not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea, though personally I love it.

[WayneFleekHoosier]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

Oh you and your perpetual optimism!

;)

Is this pessimistic?  I think we are messaging to agents and players we want to build through freshman and actually being honest about it.  Strategy wise, I don’t know if that’s good or bad in today’s era.  That’s a discussion in itself.  But getting talent and keeping talent is the winning formula in the long run. 

[mike vannice]

31 minutes ago, Demo said:

Imagine a lot of schools portalling for more mature bigs probably does play a part. But he’s also kind of an unusual player. A non-rim protecting 5 whose best used as a high post or mid post facilitator in kind of a Cam Krutwig/Loyola sort of way is not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea, though personally I love it.

Darius Wabbington to Lewis Uvwo for the slam!