Intro: Michael Durr (2018)
An underrated 6-foot-11 forward/center with a multi-faceted game, South Florida-commit Michael Durr has been a pivotal addition for Victory Rock Prep. After scoring 15 points during Victory Rock’s end-to-end 90-46 drubbing of Impact Academy, Durr showed enhanced footwork and a reliable array of post moves at the SIAA tournament in Gainesville.
Victory Rock has traditionally churned out mobile, rim-protecting bigs such as Deng Adel (Louisville), Gorjok Gak (Florida), and one-time Minnesota commit Jon Nwankwo. A workmanlike presence, Durr is a threat to attack the rim after one dribble. Durr’s game took off at Oldsmar Christian last season, albeit he was a supplementary scorer and role player.
With USC-bound guard Elijah Weaver and 21 PPG scorer D.J. Mitchell accounting for a bulk of the offensive output, Durr didn’t get the amount of touches he will at Victory Rock. Given his back to the bucket evolution and the massive threat he presents down low, Durr will transition to a bigger role in 2017-18. A three-star recruit, Durr averaged 12.4 points, 9.6 boards, and three blocks as a junior at Oldsmar.
Programs such as Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Memphis, and DePaul all plunked down offers for him. In Victory Rock’s loss to The Rock School (Gainesville) in the SIAA Veteran’s Tournament opener Friday night, Durr gave an efficient account of himself. He’s much more polished and again an active source on the glass. Victory Rock head coach Loren Jackson is cognizant of the high-efficiency threat he poses, especially when he’s on the receiving end of lob passes or soaring in for stickbacks and simple tip-ins.
Expect his scoring numbers to rapidly increase this season, as Victory Rock has capitalized on the mass exodus of talent at Oldsmar. Beyond Oldsmar, the SIAA-FL conference as a whole took an off-season blow as bullish 6-foot-8 LSU-bound forward transferred to IMG Academy from The Rock School. The aforementioned Weaver also transferred out of what was once considered the nation’s toughest high school basketball conference. Durr enters his senior campaign as one of the conference’s most acclaimed players.
At South Florida, Durr will have the opportunity to play quality minutes upfront from the beginning. Brian Gregory has wasted no time in ramping up the frontline, as he signed 7-foot-2, 250-pound Serbian and former West Oaks (Orlando) Center Nikola Scekic.
Victory Rock will again entertain lofty expectations as an SIAA Final Four program. With the conference losing star power and key players transferring at a furious rate, the league has suddenly become more evenly-matched. With Durr now a featured piece in the offense and tasked with creating his own shot more, he will look to manufacture points more than ever before.