Grady Starting to Turn Corner

New England Recruiting Report | Friday, February 12th, 2016

Grady Starting to Turn Corner

Northfield Mount Hermon junior guard Kellan Grady has been turning the corner as of late.

A transfer from Catholic Memorial who won a MIAA state championship last season, Grady's transition to the prep ranks was twice as daunting as most since he wasn't just adjusting to a new level of competition but also to a new position as he's moved over to play the point guard spot on a full time basis.

The results were predictably inconsistent early in the year and November's National Prep Showcase was a great example. Grady was extremely impressive on day one, scoring 18 points while knocking down four threes and receiving loads of national press in the process, but had his share of struggles a day later handling the relentless pressure of Hargrave Military Academy.

That weekend also highlighted two areas that would be critical to Grady's development - his three-point shooting and ability to handle the ball against pressure.

While shooting the three isn't necessarily more important at the point guard position than other perimeter spots, it has been an area of Grady's game that has been deeply analyzed by many college coaches, since he's proven he can make shots in bunches at times but also has a somewhat unique release point in front of his face.

His ability to handle the ball against pressure is critical to his ability to play the point guard position on a full time basis. At 6-foot-4, his size is one of his biggest assets, especially at the point, but it can also be a complication when attempting to fend off smaller harrassing guards on the defensive end.

In both of those areas, Grady has shown significant progress in the last three months. On the season, he's averaging over 13 points and 6 assists per night (including a 31 point outburst against St. Thomas More), but probably more impmortantly, he has a better than 3-to-1 assist to turnover ratio and is connecting on 42% of his attempts from behind the three-point line. Grady also has 6 or more assists in 8 of NMH's last 9 games.

On the recruiting front, he's become a top priority for a number of Atlantic 10 schools including Davidson, Richmond, and George Washington but is now getting a steady diet of high-major attention. Villanova has been in to see him four times, including Jay Wright himself on two different occassions. Butler has been a frequent visitor to the NMH gym and even North Carolina has now evaluated him twice, attending an NMH practice as well as their game against South Kent. In the last week alone Grady has also heard from Maryland, Northwestern and Virginia as well.

In short, he's not quite there yet, but Kellan Grady is making definite strides and college coaches are taking notice.