Recruiting Report: Ace Baldwin (2020)
St. Frances Academy finished with a 16-18 overall record last season, which is very sub-par for their standards. With a mixture of young players and injuries throughout the season, they weren’t able to reach their full potential. Just because their record may have indicated a struggling season, it was vital for one of their star freshman point guard Adrian (Ace) Baldwin.
Baldwin is easily the top point guard of the 2020 class in the state of Maryland. It’s not a crazy point to make that he is the best backcourt player in the class, either. The smooth lefty plays as if he’s on another level than most of the players on the court. In the MIAA A Conference, there will always be a handful of mid-to-high Division I players. Baldwin has not only showed he can play with players of that ability, but he knows how to expose their weaknesses and make himself and his team better.
When his freshman campaign came to a close, Baldwin knew right away what he had to work on in order to solidify himself as a top guard.
“I stayed in the gym and worked on my jumpshot more,” Baldwin told PrepHoops. “That’s what I need to improve on. I also want to work on finishing at the rim and get bigger, stronger and faster.”
Baldwin had a successful summer with Team Thrill’s 16U team. The roster had plenty of talent, but being that a lot of the players hadn’t played with each other before this season, it took some time before their chemistry really started to click.
Individually for Baldwin, it’s difficult to find players who wouldn’t want to play alongside him. Many point guards in the game today often look for their own shot first, but Baldwin has that pass-first mentality that floor generals had in now what can be considered “old school basketball.” His feel for the game is at a collegiate level already. He posseses an innate ability to read defenses in the halfcourt or in transition (specifically rotations that are two-to-three passes away) quickly to dissect what pass or move to make. Even though Baldwin often times looks to create for others, he can score in bunches as well. Whether it’s taking his man off the dribble or pulling up beyond college three-point range, his match up is pretty much at his mercy.
There aren’t too many players that put more unseen hours in the gym than Baldwin. Recently, he’s been working out with John Carroll point guard Immanuel Quickley. Quickley (2018) is arguably the top point guard in the country and will choose between Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas and Miami.
Baldwin holds seven offers from Miami, Connecticut, Kansas State, Drexel, Denver, Norfolk State and Tulsa. VCU and Oklahoma State are the most recent to show interest in the 6-foot guard.
Heading into his sophomore season, Baldwin is more confident in not only his personal improvements, but the team as a whole.
“Our goal is to win both conferences, the MIAA and BCL championships,” Baldwin said.
The Panthers will certainly have the talent to rebound from last season’s record. Baldwin is more confident in his game than he’s ever been, and that could be dangerous for the rest of the MIAA and BCL.
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