More to Come From Sapp

Last AAU season, the New York Gauchos rode their exceptional guard play to a handful of championship games. Now that Russell Robinson and Sundiata Gaines are preparing for college, a new crop of guards are doing a good job of filling their shoes. One of those players is 6-foot-3, 190-pound combo guard Jesse Sapp and his recruitment is beginning to heat up.

Sapp, who plays his high school ball at National Christian Academy in Ft. Washington, Md., teams up with two other talented guards in the Gauchos backcourt. LeVance Fields and Saquan Stone form a deadly trio and have given fits to several teams in April on the AAU circuit. Despite his team’s play, Sapp, the No. 105 ranked player in the nation by Rivals.com, said he wasn’t satisfied with his own showing.

“Overall, I did alright,” Sapp said. “I could have done better. I’m not making excuses but I was coming off an injury and I wasn’t 100%. There is more to come…(Schools) should expect to see me show more heart, attack the basket more and just playing teaming ball.”

With weekly practice against his own backcourt mates, playing at a talented high school and match ups against the best of the best on the AAU circuit, Sapp said he hopes to improve his national stock even more by the end of the summer.

“There are a lot of good guards out there and I haven’t really proven myself yet,” Sapp said. “It’s my time to prove and attack them. I feel like I’m right there with them. My coaches will tell me before the game that this player is going here and he’s ranked this high. I’ve gone out there and held them to six points and I’ve scored 25. I guess I’m going to have to just keep doing it.”

Clemson, Georgia Tech, UConn, Virginia Tech, Arkansas, Fordham, Ohio State, Marshall, Maryland, Miami (Fla.) and Pitt have all shown an interest in him but he said none have offered a scholarship. He said he already has an idea of what schools he’d like to visit, too.

“I want to visit Georgia Tech, UConn and Arkansas,” Sapp said. He also said that Virgnia Tech, Fordham, Ohio State and Pitt are recruiting him hard right now as well.

RivalsHoops.com will be in New Orleans for the Nike Memorial Day Classic with updates on Sapp and the rest of the field.