Bridgton Guard Makes Decision

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Bridgton Academy is likely to find themselves right in the thick of the NEPSAC class A race this year and a big reason will be the presence of Carl Blair on the perimeter.  The 6’2” guard is extremely versatile and should be one of Whit Lesure’s better playmakers this season. 

With a strong body, good ball skills, and excellent body control Blair is very adept at getting into the lane and making plays for himself and his teammates.  He thrives when allowed to come off a ball-screen as defenders essentially have to pick their poison – do they play him straight up and leave a single defender vulnerable to his individual talents or do they run secondary defenders at him and create opportunities for him to pick the defense apart with his floor vision and passing ability. 

The Texas native was a late addition to Bridgton’s roster this fall.  And although he had already missed a good deal of the contact period by the time he arrived in Maine, it didn’t take long for his recruitment to heat up.  A number of programs who had been tracking him through the summer were quick to make the trip to Bridgton with New Orleans, Southern Miss, and Utah all expressing quick interest. 

But just as quickly as Blair’s recruitment heated up, it has now come to a close as he made a verbal commitment to New Orleans recently.  The Privateers are in the midst of a major rebuilding program under second year head coach Joe Pasternack that saw them welcome 11 new players to the team this year after going 19-13 a season ago.   

Blair is expected to sign his National Letter of Intent later this month.  He becomes the fifth member of Bridgton's team to have committed joining Malik Stith (St. John's), Jerrell Harris (Southern Miss), Chad July (High Point), and Duane Smith (George Washington).