Finding the First D1 Offer

New England Recruiting Report | Friday, August 2nd, 2013

There aren’t many things more memorable for a college basketball prospect than the day they claim their first division I scholarship offer.  

Because so much, probably too much, is made over getting to the division I level in the eyes of most prospects, the thrill of getting that first offer is the culmination for what can sometimes be years of hard work.  

In the week since the July evaluation period came to an end, we’ve seen four such prospects claim that initial division I offer.  

On Wednesday it was Sammy Mojica and Jalen Terry, as was previously reported.  

For Mojica, a scholarship offer from Drexel didn’t just culminate a year of hard work on the floor, but it was also a silver lining for what has been a challenging year for a young man and his family off the floor.  Mojica and his family lost their home to a fire in January, but personal tragedy never affected his enthusiasm on the floor as he’s come to be known as one of New England’s toughest competitors and hardest working players.  

Terry’s story is also one of perseverance, as this native of Alaska worked to promote himself and his game during his senior year, only to leave his family and spend the better part of the last two months in the northeast working for a scholarship.  Those efforts were rewarded on Wednesday with a scholarship offer from Tennessee Tech, which is bound to make his return to Alaska all the more enjoyable before his first full season in New England at Putnam Science Academy.  

Thursday brought word of two more local prospects who had earned their first full division I scholarship offers – Houlton High School’s rising junior swingman Kyle Bouchard and incoming South Kent point guard Schadrac Casimir.  

Bouchard is coming off a big summer with the Maine Athletic Club that culminated with the silver bracket championship at the AAU 11th Grade Silver Super Showcase.  Bouchard’s offensive progression had been easy to see over the spring AAU season as he added reliable three-point range to imposing driving style.  This summer, he proved his worth on the defensive end, and even slid over to play some point guard with Tanner Hyland out of the line-up.  The end result was a division I scholarship offer from Houston Baptist and interest from other schools including UNC-Charlotte from Conference USA.  

Finally, there is Casimir, the undersized scoring guard who was one of the most productive guards in the CIAC during his senior season at Trinity Catholic.  He announced very shortly after the season that he’d move on to the South Kent School in hopes of landing that elusive division I scholarship, and only a few months later that decision is already paying off as Sacred Heart became the first school to offer the scoring lead guard.  Casimir is coming off a big summer with USAD where he was closely watched and evaluated by a long list of division I coaches throughout the month.  Now, he has his first D1 offer to show from it.  

When we look back at the live period and talk about “stock-risers” or “winners” we’re often talking about players who are now considered high-major prospects or hold multiple division I offers, but for guys like Sammy Mojica, Jalen Terry, Kyle Bouchard, and Schadrac Casimir, the summer was obviously nothing less than a success.