Brewster Big Man Headed to Big 12
When the national analysts look at Oklahoma’s recruiting class the first guy they are going to mention is Tommy Mason-Griffin. The guard from Oak Hill Academy is one of the top floor generals in the nation and could have gone to virtually any school in the country. But every great point guard needs a big time running mate inside, and Mason-Griffin just found his in Andrew Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald, who is a consensus top 100 player amongst all the major recruiting networks, arrived at Brewster Academy this fall. A few months earlier the Baltimore native had garnered a wide range of high-major interest and offers based on a series of strong performances during the July Live Period. He was especially impressive at the Lebron James Skills Academy and the Nike Peach Jam with his Team Melo squad.
Last month when the New England Recruiting Report visited Brewster Academy, it didn’t take us long to realize what all of the hype was about. While Fitzgerald doesn’t necessarily look like a high-major five-man (he stands about 6’7.5” or 6’8”, doesn’t appear to be very athletic at first glance, and still needs to further tone his physique despite losing 40 pounds in the last year), he does one thing that his biggest critics can’t deny…he produces. Simply put, he scores every time he touches the ball inside the lane and rebounds the ball in high volume. He’s an old school back to basket post player who has great footwork, soft hands, and the skill set to step out to 18 and knock down the jumper. He is also deceptively athletic and will prove it every time he blocks a shot by pinning it on the box or throws down a powerful dunk.
It sounds like an oversimplification, but that productivity is exactly why we expect Fitzgerald to be a key component of the Sooners team for the next four years. In today’s world of recruiting so many coaches become overly intrigued by potential and forget about production. They’re too quickly captivated by a big man’s length or athleticism and sometimes don’t give enough attention to the guys who simply go out and get 20 and 10 every night.
And that is exactly what we expect Fitzgerald to do in his only season at Brewster Academy – be perhaps the league’s most consistent low post scorer and a double figure rebounder on a nightly basis…and a couple years from now don’t be surprised to see similar numbers from Fitzgerald in the Big 12.
Andrew Fitzgerald