Intro: Tino Sebalj (2018)
More so than ever it seems, those who thrive with traditional pick-and-pop four principles are sought after products on the NCAA recruiting market.
Arlington Country Day’s Tino Sebalj, a largely unknown 6-foot-8 post-graduate, is quickly establishing himself as a quintessential pick-and-pop source.
Laced with a European style game and the ability to knock down shots from way beyond the confines of the arc, Sebalj has authored an instant impact for ACD head coach Terrell Eskridge.
With an arsenal of floaters, developing ball skills and a deft touch with either hand around the rim, Sebalj’s development as an all around scorer is promising. While initially pigeonholed as strictly a shooter, Sebalj has the confidence to put the ball on the deck and create his shot off the dribble and in pull-up sequences.
Eskridge has noticed a pattern of Sebalj’s dribbling past defenders who close out too hard on his shot. Spreading the floor as a 6-foot-8 kick-out threat, Sebalj is learning to lean on his secondary tool-set when defenders try to eliminate his 3-point game.
“He had a 40-point game during the first game of the season with nine threes,” said Terrell Eskridge, who has helped revitalized ACD’s post-grad program with under the radar scorers such as D’Moi Hodge.
“He is a real good pick and pop player. Great basketball IQ and a good passer.”
Arlington Country Day rose to national prominence under the late and legendary Rex Morgan. Morgan, who starred at Jacksonville and later played on the Boston Celtics, passed away following a valiant battle with cancer in January of 2016.
While the program underwent a brutal transition year in 2016-17, Eskridge has helped restore credibility to the post-graduate program. He took the head coaching position at the Jacksonville, Fla.-based program in the summer. Eskridge was seeking a new situation after the program at Faith Baptist (Ga.) shut its doors for good following the 2016-17 campaign. He coached the high school team at the now-defunct program last year.
With both Seblaj and D’Moi Hodge, one of the SIAA’s most lethal scorers while at Faith Baptist last season, ACD emphasizes a considerable perimeter game.