Jimmy Sherburne, a 6'3", 185 lb senior guard, has been a four year varsity player and a three year starter for Whitefish Bay, a Division II high school located just north of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Last season Sherburne was named Second Team All-North Shore Conference and Honorable Mention All-Suburban Boys Basketball as he led the Blue Dukes in scoring (16.5 ppg) and assists.
In the days since word broke about his commitment to Princeton, I had a chance to speak to Sherburne's high school coach and his AAU coach about this new member of Princeton's 2009 recruiting class. Exclusive quotes and links to player evaluations can be found after the jump.
Whitefish Bay head coach Dave Shaw described the future Tiger as a "well-rounded, well-grounded young man who has good family values of education and work ethic. I think he’s a good catch for Princeton."
"Jimmy played guard all four years. He has had to play point guard the last two years. I don’t think that’s his true position, but he was able to handle it well." added Shaw. "Running an offense and being a floor leader has helped his stock as a college player. He could play some point, some two or some shooting guard. Shooting is his greatest strength. He spent a lot of time working on shooting off the dribble. Personally, I think that will fit in well in the Princeton system."
Duane Wilson, Sherburne's coach for the Nike-sponsored AAU team Wisconsin Playground Elite called Sherburne "a team player who plays hard every game. He's coachable - you know what you’re going to get out of Jimmy."
"He’s a kid who loves to be challenged." said Wilson. "You push, he comes out fighting. He’s going to play tough, he’s going to play hard. He’s going to play through pain – making plays and making his team win."
Wilson joined Coach Shaw in praising Sherburne's character, calling him "a leader, off the court and on and a great person to be around. He's down-to-earth. Everybody likes Jimmy."
Shaw, who has known Sherburne since he first came to Blue Dukes basketball camps in grade school, said Sherburne is "first and foremost a shooter, but he’s more than able to get to the hole and get in the lane to create for others."
When the opposition has the ball, Sherburne is "not one to slack off defensively because we need him offensively" according to Shaw. Coach Wilson concurred saying Sherburne is a "great defender who rebounds the ball well and continues to work. [He's] determined to work his butt off."
While Sherbune has received collegiate interest as the starting quarterback for Whitefish Bay High School (he's the no. 3 QB in the class of 2009 according to wisfootball.net), both Shaw and Wilson were not surprised that Sherburne has decided to focus on basketball after graduation. "I knew back in the day basketball was his thing," Shaw told me.
"Basketball is his first love," agreed Coach Wilson.
Hoop Scoop ranked Sherburne 332nd on their list of the nation's top 700 juniors in March. Midwest Future Hoops Report lists Sherburne as ninth in the Milwaukee Class of 2009 and WisSports.net placed Sherburne 16th on their Top 50 Wisconsin Seniors, calling him "a physically strong wing guard who can get on a roll offensively."
The ESPN evaluation of Sherburne is a mixed bag, calling him "a good defender and a good leader on the floor...a winner and is a tough kid" while also writing that Sherburne "needs to work on his 3-point shooting and his game off the dribble...not a very confident offensive player and tends to defer to others on the offensive end."
This assessment is contradicted by a write-up on NY2LA Sports, that says the Wisconsin guard "could be an excellent PG in the right system as he has the size, court awareness, range, and athleticism to make things happen...can stroke the trey ball, attack the rim, and sees the floor pretty well. Best is yet to come."
