Shamorie Ponds could be closing in on a college decision. (Photo by Kelly Kline/Under Armour)
Shamorie Ponds enjoyed his official visit to Providence and is uncertain what his next move will be.
“It was cool,” he said by text of the visit. “The campus was bigger than what I expected.”
Providence is pitching that the 6-foot-1 Thomas Jefferson guard could come in and replace point guard Kris Dunn, the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year who is projected as the No. 8 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com.
“They said [I would play] 30-35 [minutes] as a freshman,” Ponds said.
Ponds was scheduled to take an official visit to Minnesota next weekend, but said he’s not certain if he will go.
“Not sure,” he said.
Ponds has also taken official visits to St. John’s and Creighton.
“He’s the most improved player in New York City in the last 12 months,” longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “The game is so mental and right now he’s playing with total confidence. He can shoot 3’s, he’s gotta get stronger. He looks like the kind of player who can’t go to the basket but he can.
“He has more shakes than Tom Carvel, more spin cycles than Maytag. He’s a 3-point shooter, too. Right now he’s playing with them offensive confidence. He has tremendous hands. I’ve never seen a player on any level better at guarding the in-bound passer and stealing the pass and scoring layups. He has the best hands since All-State.”
Appearing last week on The 4 Quarters Podcast, Jefferson coach Lawrence “Bud” Pollard compared Ponds, nicknamed Slick, to two former NBA standouts.
“My best analogy is he has a little bit of Kenny Anderson in him and a lot of Nick Van Exel in him because he’s active on defense, he’s crafty with the ball like Kenny, he shoots it like Nick,” he said. “He distributes like Kenny. He has a combination of those two guys. He’s a lefty. You might even throw a little bit of Brandon Jennings in there.”
