Hello, My Name Is…
Last season was Noah Clowney’s first at Dorman High School, a season which saw Dorman High end 30-1 while winning the program's fourth consecutive state title, and finishing as the number two team in the country. Dorman also had the senior pairing of consensus Top 100 prospect PJ Hall (Clemson) as well as Justin Amadi (James Madison) logging many of the minutes at the forward and post positions.
Fast forward through this summer, which saw Amadi and Hall both graduate and had Clowney playing AAU ball with Team Dickerson. The growth that happened was immense; Clowney showed up to fall ball as a new man.
Why We Like Him
Everything that is en vogue in basketball today is bigs who can move at the collegiate level and especially at the NBA level. If a big man can protect the rim and move his feet, you have something.
Last year, you were able to see glimpses of it. In the minutes Clowney came in for Hall, you could see his ability to run the floor, or chase rebounds or block shots, but with the playing time situation we were not able to see it for extended periods. The fluidity, however, was always there.
Checking in at the Upward Fall League, Noah Clowney was on the top of our minds. We saw him a couple of times this summer, but it is something different to see a player playing for his high school team. What we saw immediately is that Clowney stands a mobile and active 6’10” with 205 pounds of good weight on his frame.
Once the ball tipped up, you saw the same fluidity that was always there, but you also saw a motor and great body control. A lot of times, with bigs, it takes them a little longer for their coordination to catch up to their size. Clowney, though was already very well-coordinated. Throughout the game, you saw dunks, jump hooks, And-1s, blocks and even switches onto the perimeter. He played the bulk of his team’s first-string minutes and produced, consistently, on both ends of the floor.
This is one to continue to track as he should be ascending into the Top 100 conversations once national recruiting analysts lay eyes on him.
Recruiting Situation
Clowney’s most recent offer, offer number two, came from Xavier, which followed a USC-Upstate offer. Yes, these are wide-ranging offers, but that makes sense when you look his development curve. Spot minutes last year and then a COVID shut down this summer, he is just now getting seen.
Clowney’s name is just now popping up on college coaches radars but you have the likes of South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M showing interest. Expect the offer list to continue to grow and the geographic area of schools to widen.
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