Friday is a Saint….Again

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, April 13th, 2016

St. Andrew’s post-graduate Sammy Friday made a verbal commitment to Siena on Tuesday, just a couple days after visiting their campus outside of Albany.
Friday, who averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds per game this year for the Saints of St. Andrew’s said his marriage to the Saints of Siena materialized quickly in recent weeks.

“A few weeks ago I didn’t think I’d have any schools to go to,” Friday conceded, “but Siena came into the gym one day and they liked the way I played. I went up there on a visit this weekend and I really liked it.”

A six-foot-seven forward who came up the ranks playing for one of the top high school programs in New Jersey, Hudson Catholic, along with the Playaz Basketball Club on the grassroots circuit, Friday has been a well-known prospect for years. He’s made good use of his post-graduate year though, making notable strides to both his game and his body.

He’s actually the second Hudson Catholic graduate to go to the division I level after a prep year at St. Andrew’s in as many years after J.R. Lynch committed to Hartford a year ago.

“I think Sammy has huge upside,” St. Andrew’s head coach Michael Hart said, “and [Siena head coach] Jimmy [Patsos] was great too. He’s got two seniors coming back up front next year, so he’s not sure how much he’s going to play as a freshmen, but he’ll have a chance to crack the rotation as a sophomore.”

Friday becomes the second St. Andrew’s post-graduate to accept a division I scholarship offer after seven-footer Cian Sullivan committed to LaSalle in the fall. He’s also the second local prep product to commit to Siena in the 2016 class, joining Cheshire Academy’s Thomas Huerter.