August 22, 2015
In April it was Colgate, Bucknell, American, Lafayette, and New Hampshire showing interest in St Paul’s 6-foot-1 point guard Zach Bare, things have changed dramatically since.
The talented 2016 recently picked up his first Division I offer, but from none of the original five showing interest. And he’s picked up a whole new group of interested programs.
“I got an offer from University of Maine and I have high interest from Navy, Army and some interest from NJIT. I don’t really have any interest from those five schools that originally recruited me,” said Bare.
Maine offered in early August, and he plans to take an official visit September 10-12. He also recently visited Navy.
“It (Naval Academy) was impressive, I learned a lot about the military side of everything, and their facilities are amazing,” said Bare. “So it was really nice.”
While honing his skills with Maryland 3D this offseason, Bare says he improved in nearly all facets of the game.
“I think as the spring and summer went on I definitely got more comfortable playing with this team offensively,” said Bare. “I shot the ball a lot better, scored the ball a lot better, rebounded well, got the ball out and played fast, I think that was probably the best thing I did.”
PHM’s 47th-ranked 2016, Bare has been working to transition from shooting guard to point guard, and says the transformation is almost complete.
“In the summer with St. Paul’s I played a lot of point guard and I’ve been recruited as a point guard for the most part,” said Bare. “I played a lot of combo guard with 3D just because we already kind of had a point guard, but I definitely expect to play point guard my senior year for the most part.”
With one season left to showcase his talents with the Crusaders, he says the goal is to become a consummate team leader for the young group of guys coming in.
“My biggest goal is to become as good as a leader as I can be,” he said. “We have a really, really young team, so I’m just trying to be a great leader, and I’m going to have to score the ball really well for us. That’s really my biggest expectation and hope for my senior year.”
April 1, 2015
A 6-foot combo guard, Zach Bare has gained a reputation as being one of 2016s best scorers — that has not gone unnoticed by college programs across the east coast.
PHM’s 47th-ranked prospect from the class, Bare currently has no offers but has generated interest from Division I schools Colgate, Bucknell, American, Lafayette (PA) and New Hampshire.
One school, Colgate, seems to be his early favorite — he took a visit to the New York school last fall.
“Colgate was amazing, everything about it was exactly what I look for in a college. It was beautiful, I love the coaches, it was great.”
As a junior with the senior-laden Crusaders Bare thrived, telling PHM he averaged 20 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game — all the while learning an important trait, leadership.
“We had nine seniors this year, so I learned to become a better leader from them,” said Bare. “And really my main job was to be a scorer for us, I took the most shots on the team and I was just a scorer and a playmaker this season.”
Bare has spent previous grassroots seasons with Maryland 3D, and says he’ll spend his ever-important 17U season with the program.
“We definitely have a really good team and I’ll just try and become a better defender and show college coaches that I can defend my position — the point guard position,” said Bare. “And just continue to score the way I’ve been doing.”
Though he primarily splits his duties between point guard and shooting guard, one thing the undersized prospect wants to work on most is his point guard skillset.
“Being only 6-foot I’ll definitely have to become more of a point guard in college, and then I’ll just be a shooter and scorer for a team,” he said. “And whatever my role is — whether coming off the bench or starting — just being someone that can come in and score for a team.”
“It’s (playing point guard) definitely something I need to improve on more. I’ll need to work on getting into the paint and kicking out to guys, I’ll definitely have to improve my vision for sure.”
