Recruiting Report: Nick Bieniek (2018)
Annandale High School has built up a nice basketball tradition especially with a lot of recent success. The Cardinals will once again be one of the best teams in the state this winter and one of the guys that will lead them is Nick Bieniek.
Bieniek, a 6-foot-3 forward, spent the grassroots season with Comets Little where he had the chance to play against top level competition and improve his overall game.
“I got so much better,” Bieniek said. “I noticed it so much in the summer tournaments. I defend a lot better than I used to be able to. I feel like I can guard a lot more guys. I already had a decent understanding of the game but I feel like I gained an even better understanding of what it takes to compete against the top level.”
Bieniek is well-schooled on both sides of the ball and can do a little bit of everything. He knocked down better than 40 percent of his 3-point attempts and averaged 13 points per game last season with Annandale. His strength is his shooting ability but he’s improving as a slasher and ball handler.
Bieniek’s sound all-around game allows him to impact the game in a lot of ways and a number of local colleges have taken notice.
“I’ve gotten some interest from a handful of schools,” Bieniek said. “I’ve gotten some letters. Concordia Moorhead has shown a lot of interest. St. John’s has been looking at me too. A couple smaller D III schools have been sending me stuff as well. I’m thinking I’ll play out my senior year. Hopefully draw some more interest with a strong year.”
A strong year from Bieniek would likely mean his Cardinals are winning a lot of games. They’ve been to state five years in a row and will certainly be in the mix again this season.
“I’m super excited,” Bieniek said. “We have a lot of talent and skill. We should be hopefully doing well. We have Cathedral in our conference and a couple other very good teams so that is great competition for us but it should be a great year.”