Hanell Velez Signs on Dotted Line
Southern New Hampshire just got a steal. The Penmen received a National Letter of Intent from 6’5” guard Hanell Velez, one of the best players in Northern Massachusetts. Velez committed to SNHU after receiving division I interest from a variety of other schools.
We would expect Velez to make an immediate contribution upon arriving in New Hampshire. With his size and SNHU’s style of play, Velez will be versatile enough to see action at any of four different positions.
But perhaps even more importantly than that, Velez has a skill package that is already well suited for the college game. While many players have to adjust their style of play upon reaching college and facing bigger, stronger, and more athletic competition, we expect the Woburn product to have to do much less of that.
One of the biggest differences between high school and college basketball is where the points are scored. In high school, points are often scored right at the rim or behind the three-point line. While the college game has a similar emphasis on the three-point line, there are no where near the same amount of points being scored at the rim, especially in the half court, now that defenses are more attuned and weak side help becomes much quicker and sharper.
Instead, what you see are lots of points being scored in the mid-range area. This is often a hard adjustment for incoming freshman as they aren’t used to getting their shot off from 12-18 feet. But Velez is just the opposite. He’s an old school type of guard who thrives in that range. He’s silky smooth both pulling up off the dribble and curling screens. That’s not to say he can’t get to the paint and finish above the rim, he certainly will if the defense prevents the opportunity, he’s just polished enough to know how to score against good defensive teams. He’s also plenty capable of knocking down open threes and creating opportunities for his teammates.
All in all we would expect him to come in and have an immediate impact at SNHU, go on to have a very productive four year career, and eventually be one of the better players the NE-10 has to offer.
Hanell Velez