Oliver to William Penn; Ga. Tech Visit Next Month | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Friday / March 29.
  • Oliver to William Penn; Ga. Tech Visit Next Month

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    It isn’t often that a player announces his high school destination after picking his college one.

    But that is exactly the case with Brian Oliver, a 6-foot-5 small forward from Delaware who has committed to Georgia Tech.

    Oliver will return to William Penn High School in New Castle, Del. for his senior season a year after transferring to Oak Hill Academy from William Penn.

     “After taking the time to weight all the pros and cons of returning (to Oak HIll), going to another private school or going back to William Penn, Brian wanted to come home and enjoy his last year of high school with his friends and family,” his mother, Zena, said in an email. “Being home and being at William Penn, he will be able to enjoy things as a senior that he would have missed out on if he went somewhere else.”

    “Brian did well on the AAU circuit this spring and summer, also.  He has played AAU with Jimmy Salmon’s Playaz Basketball Club out of Paterson, NJ for the past three years.  He started out strong in April at Pittsburgh Jam Fest and Providence Jam Fest where he was named to the all-tournament team.  In May he played at the GBOA tournament (NY) where he was the 3-point shootout winner and was selected to the all-tournament team, then continued his solid play at Bob Gibbons (NC) and was selected to the All-tournament team.  During June he was pic ked as one of the top rising seniors at Rumble in the Bronx.  
    At the Rumble in the Bronx tournament, Brian called Coach (Paul) Hewitt and verbally committed to Georgia Tech (selected over the other schools that rounded out his top 5 – Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Miami). 

    “Later in the June Brian attended the Chris Paul Skills Academy (NC) and the NBAPA Top 100 Camp.   He came out in July averaging 25 ppg at Reebok Summer Classic East until he took an accidental elbow to the mouth that knocked a front tooth out, two days later at the Joe Brown tournament he rolled his ankle which was presumed to have ended his playing for July. 

    “With the help of a great Orthopedic and physical therapists, a week after the mishap he was able to play (albeit only approx 70% healthy) in the Adidas 64 in Las Vegas and was picked as one of the top 35 players in Vegas regardless of tournament by HoopScoop scouting service.  He’s been continuing to go to physical therapy since he returned home.

    “With the school selection out of the way now, he can focus on his last year in the classroom and continue to work on his basketball skills.  The commitment takes a lot of pressure off of him, even though he continues to hear from some schools. 

    “He will take his official visit to Georgia Tech the weekend of September 19th.”

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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