Brandin Podziemski proving himself as a top recruit. What’s next for the UK target?
Kentucky should still be looking for some additional three-point shooting for next season, and Brandin Podziemski is still looking for a place to play college basketball.
Could those two searches ultimately align in a commitment to the Wildcats?
There is still a ways to go before that happens, but with top colleges promising to keep tabs on Podziemski’s progress throughout his senior season, the Wisconsin native has certainly held up his end of the bargain.
The 6-foot-5 shooting guard was the recipient of a surprise scholarship offer from John Calipari back in October. At the time, Podziemski was hardly a known commodity in national recruiting circles, barely ranked inside the top 300 in the 2021 class. But he quickly developed the reputation as a terrific scorer and, particularly, a stellar three-point shooter.
Calipari said then that Podziemski had an offer from UK, though the Wildcats coaches wanted to get more looks at him during his senior season and get to know him better over the course of the recruitment. And Podziemski was in no hurry to commit to a school.
Since then?
Kentucky has shot 29.0 percent from three-point range as a team, losing 10 of 15 games.
Podziemski, going into his senior night Tuesday, has shot 42.1 percent from deep, led his team to a 15-4 record and established himself as a frontrunner for state Mr. Basketball honors.
“He’s been exceptional with his individual performances,” said Antonio Curro, the team director of his Nike-affiliated grassroots team. “I think he’s done a great job of elevating his team, doing what he needs to do, game in and game out, to help his team win games, help other guys on the team be the best they can be, while also performing. I think he’s had an excellent year, all things considered.”
The question many recruiting analysts and college coaches have regarding Podziemski’s national place in the 2021 class is whether or not he will be able to carry his amazing production over to the highest levels of college basketball.
In a normal year, he would’ve received that chance last spring and summer, when he was set to play for Phenom University in the Nike EYBL, the cream of the crop of the shoe company circuits. Of course, COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the entire EYBL schedule — and has sidelined college recruiters since March — leaving Podziemski without the stage to showcase his talents.
“If you put college coaches in the gym last spring and summer and let him perform and develop, he’s probably 20 to 30 offers and off the board,” Curro told the Herald-Leader this week. “But, obviously, that didn’t happen.”
So, those with questions about Podziemski’s ability to perform against the nation’s best won’t get their answers until he steps foot on a college court. He’s played against some talented opponents this season in Wisconsin, but it’s nothing like the competition he would’ve faced over the summer.
In Curro’s eyes, however, anyone who still has questions doesn’t know what they’re looking at.
“I’ve had high-major guys and been around them,” he said. “Anybody still questioning that is simply a person either A) not doing their job; or B) doesn’t know how to evaluate.
“The reality of it is, if you’ve watched this young man perform and done your due diligence — as you’re supposed to, as a scout — he’s that good. He’s been that good for a long time now. He produces with high-level consistency. And he’s an even better kid off the court, with a 4.1-plus GPA. He’s checking all the boxes on and off the court.”
Scoring machine
To back up his point that Podziemski has proven himself on the court, Curro quickly ticks down his accomplishments for his high school team, St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy, this season.
Podziemski is averaging 35.1 points — tops in the state — 10.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 4.3 steals through 19 games. His assist-to-turnover ratio is better than 2-to-1, and his overall efficiency is eye-popping.
While putting up an average of 22 shots per game, Podziemski is shooting 61.0 percent from the field. He’s hit 42.1 percent of his three-point shots — with 69 made threes on the season — and he’s 88-of-105 (83.8 percent) from the free-throw line.
Even more impressive than his efficiency is his consistency.
Podziemski has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 18 of his 19 games. (The only exception was a 9-for-19 showing a couple weeks ago on a night when he struggled mightily from three-point range). His season-low scoring total on the season was 23 points. (He had 10 rebounds, eight assists and five steals in that one, and his team won by 15 points).
He’s doing all of this against double- and triple-teams, and he’s doing it while wearing a mask, which are mandated for high school basketball players in Wisconsin this season due to COVID-19.
Podziemski, a young man still in search of his college team, is also doing it with the knowledge that anyone could be watching him play via livestream on any given night.
“Understand that, game in and game out, he has had to live with certain questions, and he has produced every single game,” Curro said. “Understand that he’s aware every time he’s taking the court that a Kentucky, an Illinois — whoever it is — may be watching. And he has not had one game that he hasn’t produced.
“So you have to appreciate the amount of pressure and what it takes to deliver to that level every single game, wearing a mask, through double- and triple-teams, and being efficient.”
The recruiting services are starting to come around.
247Sports moved him way up — to No. 72 nationally — in its winter update shortly after that outfit’s national basketball director, Eric Bossi, made the trip to see Podziemski play in person.
“Shooting translates, and I felt that he’s shown enough to go ahead and give him some credit and take a chance on him in the rankings,” Bossi told the Herald-Leader.
Rivals.com didn’t include him in its new national top 150 recently, but one of that site’s top analysts, Russ Wood, wrote this week that he has since seen more film on Podziemski and acknowledged that he personally would put him in the top 70 of the 2021 class.
Sports Illustrated unveiled its SI99 rankings this winter, with Podziemski at No. 87 on the list.
“I’ve been doing this for almost two decades. I think he’s a top 30, top 40 kid nationally,” said Curro, who has worked with more than a few former five-star recruits who are now in the NBA. “At this point in time, given what I’ve seen, there is not a better pure shooter in America left on the board.”
Kentucky recruiting fit?
This season has shown that UK could obviously use some more players who can shoot.
As things stand, Dontaie Allen is the only Wildcat expected to return who has shot better than 25 percent from three-point range this season, and point guard Nolan Hickman is the only for-sure incoming player projected to be a consistent three-point threat.
Kentucky is one of 13 schools that has extended a scholarship offer to Podziemski, who has also gotten such calls from Kansas, Illinois, Marquette, Wake Forest and Arizona State, to name a few.
Podziemski’s father, John, told the Herald-Leader this week that his son receives text messages from college coaches immediately after every game — a sign they’ve been watching — and that the family has been watching plenty of college basketball themselves this season.
Curro, who is helping them navigate the recruitment, also worked with former Kentucky guard Tyler Herro from an early age and has had plenty of complimentary things to say about Calipari and the UK program.
He said this week that Kentucky’s staff has remained in periodic contact through the season and had quite a bit of contact with Podziemski before his senior year began. Obviously, UK’s coaches have been more concerned with getting their current team on the right track. “They’ve had communication and done what they needed to do,” Curro said, noting that every college coaching staff is, understandably, more focused on the current season at this point.
The current plan is for Podziemski to shorten his list and announce that group of schools Feb. 25. After he gets his recruitment down to a more manageable number, he’ll dive more deeply into the process of picking a college.
He could very well be making that decision without taking any campus visits.
The NCAA “dead period” banning recruiting travel due to COVID-19 is set to expire April 15, but it’s been extended several times over the past year. There has been some optimism at both the college and grassroots levels that this would actually be the end of the dead period. That optimism seems to be waning in recent weeks, and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if it’s extended yet again until June or July (or even later).
Podziemski might want to make a college announcement before April 15 anyway. The first day of the regular signing period is April 14, and it sounds like he could have a college decision by that point. “I would not anticipate him visiting anywhere before he signs,” said Curro, citing the uncertainty around the NCAA’s dead period.
If that’s the case, the next two months will obviously be crucial in his decision-making process.
Once Podziemski’s season ends, he’ll really start with his recruiting homework. Once the college coaches who are pursuing him wrap up their seasons, the phone calls and video conferences and film study will become more serious.
“So you’re going to go off relationships, you’re going to go off of feel, and you’re going to go off of, ‘Hey, this fits. Or this doesn’t.’ And previous track record of success. And does he fit the system,” Curro said. “A lot of different things will come into play. He’s a smart kid. And I think at this point he’s just going to get through the season, and then he’ll figure this thing out.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 7:27 AM.
