No Reclass, No Sneaker, No Problem
Charles Coleman and Noah Kamba don’t play on a sneaker circuit, they haven’t reclassified, and won’t turn 18 until October.
They are both getting recruitment from some of the highest levels of college basketball though.
The inside-out tandem is now in their third year playing side-by-side, both during the high school season at Dexter Southfield, as well as during the grassroots season with WrightWay Skills.
That process culminated with a NEPSAC championship in March as Dexter won the Class C title. This spring, they’ve continued to push their recruitment to higher levels with LSU head coach Will Wade being the latest to offer both on Wednesday.
While neither player has officially trimmed their list down yet, Coleman is being recruited the hardest by schools like Oklahoma, Arkansas, and UNLV.
UNLV is pursuing Kamba as well along with the likes of Yale, Kansas State, East Carolina, and UMass among others.
The story for both players though isn’t the number of scholarship offers, but instead the rise in their respective games.
Coleman was very immobile and out of shape when he first came into the high school ranks. Year by year though, he makes significant strides. First he changed his body, then he developed his skill set, now he’s continuing to get more mobile while also becoming a more forceful rebounder. He put up 13 bounds, 10-and-a-half rebounds, and 6 blocks per game this season for Dexter and still has his best basketball in front of him. He’s already been invited to return to the Pangos All-American Camp next month in California and is as humble and articulate as he is big and talented.
Kamba is a playmaking lead guard who has developed one of the tightest handles in New England and become the type of guard who can break down his defender on demand. He’s also developed a clean shooting stroke. He’s put up huge numbers in the high school ranks having already scored over 1,300 career points. This year he averaged 22, along with a reported 11 assists per game, while winning Class C Player of the Year honors. He pushed that average to 29 points per game during the post-season to also take that MVP award. This spring though, he’s working on the nuances of the point guard position as he’s running the team and learning the intricacies of the pick-and-roll.
For as far as they’ve both come, there’s more challenges in the not so distant future. WrightWay Skills will be looking to take on all challengers for the rest of the season. They’ll be in Connecticut next weekend for the Memorial Day Super 16 Showcase and already have stops scheduled in New York and Las Vegas during the April Live period. The stakes keep getting bigger next winter too as Dexter is expected to make the jump to either Class B or AA.
Below are some of their recent highlights.
Noah Kamba
Charles Coleman