The fourth member of Princeton's 2011 recruiting class is both the rawest prospect as well as the most intriguing one.
6'11" Brian Fabrizius, a post-graduate player at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire announced earlier in the week that he would join Sydney Johnson's Tigers in the academic class of 2015, pending admission.
Fabrizius missed the majority of his senior season at Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, IL with a pair of injuries. This morning I spoke at length with KUA head coach Mike Olson, who shared his observations about the newest Princeton recruit. His quotes and analysis plus links to additional evaluations and videos can be found after the jump.
Read full, detailed profiles on all four members of Princeton's '11 class including exclusive interviews with each of their high school coaches here.
"Brian's best days are ahead of him. Sydney might correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think they have recruited Brian for the player that he is today as much as the player that he should become," said Olson, who was Associate Head Coach at Dartmouth from 2002-04 under Dave Faucher.
"He missed most of his senior year at Hersey recovering from a collapsed lung that he had suffered. He also had an ankle injury about the time he came back from that," Olson added.
It is paramount the 205-210 lb Fabrizius add muscle to his long frame.
"He needs a year in the weight room. Coach Johnson knows that. Brian knows that. He actually needs four years in the weight room," Olson said with a laugh. "I think he's going to need a year in the weight room before he's really going to be ready to have a significant impact on the fortunes of Princeton basketball."
"Brian, like any young man that Sydney and his staff are going to recruit, is very conscientious, high character and bright. I can't say enough good things about him as a person," said Olson of the forward who averages 10.2 points and seven rebounds a game for the 10-10 Wildcats.
"He's going to give you his best effort. You can count on him. I think the reliability factor is very important to Brian and to the staff as they look for whom they might bring in to the program."
Indirectly, it was a current Tiger - sophomore Mack Darrow - that led the Princeton coaches to Fabrizius.
"They had seen [Brian] in the summer prior playing for Full Package Athletics for Steve Pratt," Olson said. Darrow, a native of Lake Barrington, was also in Chicagoland's Full Package program a year ahead of Fabrizius.
"I think Steve's recommendation was important, my recommendation I think was important and then of course they got some boots on the ground as far as their staff," Olson continued. "They made several trips to Meriden and got to know Brian - saw him work out, saw him play - liked his skill set but he's just really starting to come into his own now."
It was assistant coach Brian Earl who first noticed Fabrizius in July of 2009 playing with Full Package.
Despite his considerable size, Fabrizius is not a true inside threat.
"He's not a low post banger. He wasn't going to play in a program that demands physicality from their posts," stated Olson of his lefty forward. "He can play outside, he can dribble, he can pass, he can shoot."
"He's a 6'11" small forward, which is kind of a good news, bad news scenario - because [Princeton] is going to want him to be a 6'11" high post," Olson said.
Fabrizius has a nice outside three point touch. In the Wildcats' "four out/one in" motion offense he alternates between the perimeter and taking opportunities to post up.
"When [strength] comes, then everything else will come along with it - the explosiveness, the confidence to play against high level people and exert your will - he's a late bloomer, he doesn't always accept or respect his own skill set," Olson said with candor.
"He's quite talented but I think losing a year with the collapsed lung and not being strong again yet - Princeton did not recruit Brian for who he is today. They recruited him for who he is going to be in 700 days."
Olson spoke of a recent New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class AA game when asked about who Fabrizius is now and who he could someday be.
"We played Tilton the other day and they have two highly, highly rated big men - kids that project down the road to be very high major kids, really stellar prospects nationally. As is typical of Brian's game, he didn't put up huge numbers but one thing I like about him and I think that is impressive is his will to fight," Olson recalled.
"He blocked five shots. He had six or seven rebounds. He had eight points. He was turnover-free. He was smart in his approach to the game, and he's playing against three Division I prospects."
"He's not a dominating player. He's a piece of something greater. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Coach Johnson and his staff, they look to put the pieces of the puzzle together so the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," Olson concluded.
"I think that is why Brian is very intriguing to them."
Olson has additional insights and an "unofficial blog" on the KUA Basketball site.
See what Chicago Hoops had to say about this commitment.
New England Recruiting Report ranks Fabrizius their 65th-best prospect in the class of 2011.
in 2010, illinoishsbasketball.com wrote:
Fabrizius is one of the most underrated players in the state, and could be a big time steal for a low division one program; he hasn't yet shown that he is done growing and at 6'11 can run the floor, block shots, finish around the hoop, make the right passes, and hit the three point shot with a high level of consistency. He is being recruited by Holy Cross, Florida Gulf Coast, Eastern Kentucky, Cornell, and Air Force, among others.
They also said of Fabrizius here:
Who wouldn't want a long-armed-near-7-footer who runs the floor, handles, and shoots it like a wing, blocks shots and rebounds at a high rate, and has good grades and a good understanding of the game. If he was 20 pounds heavier and could use his body to create space in the post and on the glass then he would be a no brainer high major player
Here's a chicagohoops.com piece that mentions a game where Fabrizius scored 35 on eight three pointers at the Hensley Memorial Spiece Run N' Slam. Fabrizius also "put on three-point shooting clinic" at the Division I Elite Invitational.
The same site writes of Fabrizius in their prospect registry:
Tall, long and skilled post player. Very mobile. Has very nice passing skills for a big man. Rebounds and makes shots.
Fabrizius scored 10 points in a late January Kimball Union Academy win over Holderness. He put up 12 and 13 boards versus The Master's School and canned three treys against The Gunnery School.
The Full Package Elite 17-U team won the Chicago Shootout with Fabrizius on the roster.
Fabrizius' older brother Luke is a 6'9" junior who plays for the Dayton Flyers. He has added 45 pounds to his frame in college. Fabrizius' parents were profiled in the Dayton Daily News last week for their dedication traveling to so many of their son's games.
Here are a trio of highlight videos. It is important to note that the clips are AAU action from November 2009. I was unable to track down more recent footage.
