Recruiting Report: Vinnie Shahid (2016)
September 2 Update The Hopkins Royals point guard spot was manned by an intense standout for as many years as most can remember. Think back to Marcus Williams, Siyani Chambers, and Kamali Chambers (now playing for the New York Jets,…
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Continue ReadingSeptember 2 Update
The Hopkins Royals point guard spot was manned by an intense standout for as many years as most can remember. Think back to Marcus Williams, Siyani Chambers, and Kamali Chambers (now playing for the New York Jets, Harvard, and Boston University respectively).
Within that group are several state tournaments and state titles. A year ago then junior Vinnie Shahid took over the job and despite the best player in the 2016 class going down (Amir Coffey), Shahid led the Royals back to the state tournament and helped maintain the level of play on both ends.
There was little let down at the famed position. Now Hopkins returns five of the top six guys from last year’s squad plus add Coffey back to the line-up. Expectations are very high.
“I'm feeling very excited and anxious about this up and coming senior season,” Vinnie told Northstar Hoops Report.
“To meet my goals for this year I need to help out some of our younger players in understanding that every possession is an important one and you have to play it like its your last if I get that taken care of then I think my goals will be met.”
Shahid prepped for his senior campaign having a really nice spring/summer with D1 Minnesota. Vinnie scored 9.2 points per game on the Adidas circuit and earned himself a couple scholarship offers.
“I have two offers right now, Upper Iowa and Northeast Community College,” said Shahid. “I have no officials set up at the moment but other schools I have been in contact with are South Dakota State and Omaha-Nebraska.
“Coach (Ken) Novak has had words with Furman about me and the University of Mary has spoken with Jeremy (Miller) about me.”
Schools are interested as they have seen Shahid’s game grow.
“I would definitely say my jumpshot and distributing abilities helped us advance and be successful as a unit,” said Vinnie of his time with D1 Minnesota.
“I loved my (Grassroots) experience this year. D1 Minnesota to me is like a family. I also liked the exposure I got and the opportunity got to play in the Adidas Uprising this season.”
Update from 7/30/15 by Alex Conover
Vinnie Shahid was feeling good at the D1 MN Summer Classic earlier this month. He had a big smile on his face after learning that his first offer had come through: a full ride from D1 junior college Northeast (Neb.).
“It feels great, it’s a stress reliever,” Shahid said. “I have to keep working and keep them coming in.”
Shahid’s not resting on his laurels just yet.
“I’ve heard from SDSU, Nebraska-Omaha, Furman, Upper Iowa, that’s pretty much it. Probably the most serious are Upper Iowa and Omaha. I’m still pretty busy with the schedule. I don’t know about any visits yet.”
As he doesn’t play a fall sport, however, Shahid anticipates setting some dates soon. He has a few criteria that he will surely monitor on those visits.
“I definitely want to look into academics, that’s the most important thing,” Shahid said. “You can’t play basketball forever. After academics, the most important thing is location and how much playing time I would get. I don’t know if I want to stay close to home or not.”
Vinnie will rejoin a Hopkins backcourt this winter that will include D1 recruit Ish El-Amin and a rehabilitated Amir Coffey, an elite recruit in his own right.
“Our focus to try and come in and build off last year,” Shahid said. “We have a lot of returners, and the only people leaving are Graham Hutson and John Warren. We got Coffey coming back strong, so that will be interesting.”
Update from 5/12/15 by Alex Conover
Is Vinnie Shahid happy after joining the D1 MN 17U squad this spring?
After a few weekends with the team and garnering new college interest along the way, it’s safe to say the 2016 guard is content with his choice.
“I love the unselfishness of our team,” Shahid said. “Our team knows when someone's hot you feed them, so because of that, any given day anyone on our team could have a high-scoring game. The seasons going really well, two of our three losses have come off buzzer-beaters, so I think that's good.”
Upper Iowa, South Dakota State, Nebraska-Omaha and Air Force have all inquired. Shahid said that the Division doesn’t matter to him, especially after seeing some former Hopkins players land at several different levels.
“I would like to go D1, but I have learned from former Hopkins players that D1 or D2 doesn't matter as much as you think,” he said. “So I'm open to both.”
From here on out, Shahid is working on becoming more of a vocal leader and improving his midrange jumper.