PAOLO BANCHERO - City of Palms (Dec. 2019)

[UKPhilly]

(Dec 2019) PAOLO BANCHERO – O’Dea H. S. (Seattle, WA) – 2019 City of Palms. 2021 class. 6’9”; 235 lbs; PF; Ranked #4, 5-star by 247Sports, but the bad news is that their crystal ball projects as 100% to Washington as of this date (2/14/2020). Beat Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, FL) 62-49 where Banchero was 6-11 FG; 0-2 3PT; 13-16 FT; 25 Pts; 7 Reb; 1 TO and 3 steals. Lost to a talented Gonzaga College H. S. (Washington, DC) 74.66 in their second game where he went for 28 Pts; 11-19 FG; 2-3 3PT; 4-6 FT; 11 Rebs; 5 A, & 5 TO. In O’Dea’s final game of the tournament, they lost to Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, NY) 66-54 and Paolo ended up with 24 PTS on 10-14 FG; 1-4 3PT; 3-6 FT; 5 Rebs; 2 A; and 3 TO. Paolo is built like a strong center, but plays like a small forward. 247Sports lists him as a PF, but he could play any position on the court. Showed strong drives to the hoop and will shoot mid-range and 3-pointers. Sees the court well and is an really good passer. O’Dea has one other player in junior John Cristofilis (Washington), but the rest of the team is a little weak. Banchero does make his supporting cast job easier with the way his presence opens up the court. He is a good rebounder, but with his size and strength he would be an animal on the boards if he were more aggressive. He’s a definite man-child! In their game against Gonzaga he rebounded much better as he was the main focus of the Gonzaga team. In the game against Archbishop Stepinac he usually guarded junior Adrian Griffin, a 6’7”; 220 lbs; SG; committed to Duke. Paolo held Griffin to 12 PTS; 5-17 FG; and 0-6 3PT. As an aside, I got a photo of Paolo with my wife and he seemed very shy, but not between the lines!