SMU signee Blaise Mbargorba
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:49 pmI've seen Blaise Mbargorba play a number of times over the past three seasons. I have a free, totally non-commerical website, www.highschool-basketball.com , and, at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season, Blaise was the website's pick for most improved player of the year in New Jersey.
Blaise started high school at St. Benedict's Prep, a small Catholic school in Newark which has had some outstanding basketball teams in recent years. Blaise's coach there was Danny Hurley, a son of Bob Hurley, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. When Danny Hurley left St. Benedict's, so did Blaise, and, for the past two years, he's been at Peddie, a hugely endowed elite private school in Hightstown, NJ. (Walter Annenberg was Peddie's main benefactor.) Peddie has both high school students and post-grads, and they play in a six team bi-state league of similar schools. Three current pro basketball players played on teams in that league: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Charlie Villanueva. I'm not sure if Royall Ivey is still playing pro basketball, but he also played in that league.
At Peddie, when I've seen the team, Blaise was either stationed in the high post or on the perimeter in the team's half court offense. I haven't thought that that was the best way to deploy his considerable talents. He has a nice outside shot, and he likes to shoot from behind the arc, but, at SMU, I expect that he'll be asked to play inside more than he does at Peddie. He's an athletic, slender big guy who can block shots and run the court. I think that SMU's greater structure in the team's approach to the game will help him to develop into a nice college player and that he will be fun to watch. I have the impression that he's an intelligent guy, so he should fit right in at SMU. His attitude on the court is very unselfish, and he is clearly serious about the game and his team.
On my free website, I posted an article about how Peddie was deploying Blaise in an early season game. The article can be found at highschool-basketball.com/2011/12/06/5th-annual-mapl-friends-schools-league-hoops-challenge-day-1.aspx .
Blaise started high school at St. Benedict's Prep, a small Catholic school in Newark which has had some outstanding basketball teams in recent years. Blaise's coach there was Danny Hurley, a son of Bob Hurley, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame. When Danny Hurley left St. Benedict's, so did Blaise, and, for the past two years, he's been at Peddie, a hugely endowed elite private school in Hightstown, NJ. (Walter Annenberg was Peddie's main benefactor.) Peddie has both high school students and post-grads, and they play in a six team bi-state league of similar schools. Three current pro basketball players played on teams in that league: Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Charlie Villanueva. I'm not sure if Royall Ivey is still playing pro basketball, but he also played in that league.
At Peddie, when I've seen the team, Blaise was either stationed in the high post or on the perimeter in the team's half court offense. I haven't thought that that was the best way to deploy his considerable talents. He has a nice outside shot, and he likes to shoot from behind the arc, but, at SMU, I expect that he'll be asked to play inside more than he does at Peddie. He's an athletic, slender big guy who can block shots and run the court. I think that SMU's greater structure in the team's approach to the game will help him to develop into a nice college player and that he will be fun to watch. I have the impression that he's an intelligent guy, so he should fit right in at SMU. His attitude on the court is very unselfish, and he is clearly serious about the game and his team.
On my free website, I posted an article about how Peddie was deploying Blaise in an early season game. The article can be found at highschool-basketball.com/2011/12/06/5th-annual-mapl-friends-schools-league-hoops-challenge-day-1.aspx .