As the No. 17 overall prospect in the Rivals150, Chris Cenac doesn’t typically have to “tryout” for most teams. That said, he’s fully aware that said experience produces an intensity that ultimately produces improvement across the board.
That’s why it meant so much more to him earlier this week when he was one of 12 players picked to suit up for Team USA’s U17 National Team which will compete at the FIBA U17 Men’s World Cup June 29 - July 7 in Istanbul.
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“It’s really intense and very stressful,” Cenac said of trying out. “But you just had to fight through that adversity and keep up your intensity. Everyone there was elite, so it takes your game to another level.”
Cenac’s been able to sustain that dominant level for the last couple of weeks, earning his spot after taking home MVP honors at the NBPA Top 100 Camp last week.
That kind of run has earned the versatile 6-foot-9 forward 10 offers over the last week from programs such as UCLA, Connecticut and Oregon.
Coming into the spring, he had 11 offers, and now he sits at 33 and counting with Texas, Arkansas, Michigan, Kentucky and Kansas all in the mix.
“My goal coming into the spring was to come out and play hard and prove that I was one of the top players in the country,” Cenac said. “It wasn’t about picking up particular offers. I knew that if I came out and did that, everything else would take care of itself. For me, it’s always about the work.”
That much was evident coming into the season when he opted to run in PUMA’s Pro 16 league and not the traditional trio – Nike, adidas, Under Armour – of shoe circuits.
“It was more about the team I’m playing for letting me showcase all of my abilities,” said Cenac, who has averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds a game this summer. “Like I said, my biggest thing is getting better, so I wanted to be on a team where I could work on all of my skills. I didn’t care about being on any particular circuit. I just wanted to get better. I’m always pushing myself.”
That trend continued recently when he announced that he’d be suiting up for Link Academy for his senior season after leading Isidore Newman to three-consecutive state titles.
“I’m not much of an attention guy,” said Cenac, who has already taken unofficial visits to LSU and Houston. “After the summer I’ll sit down with my family, and we’ll look at cutting things down. For now, I’m putting everything into winning gold and finishing the summer strong.”
