Recruiting Report 2018: Markanthony Fidelis
Markanthony Fidelis, 6’1″, CG, 2018. DeMatha Catholic HS. Hyattsville, MD.
Grassroots Team: Team St8ment 17U
We are not sure where Markanthony will play in DeMatha’s rotation this season. What we do know is that Markanthony is one heck of a basketball player who we rank as D1 mid major at this time. He has had an excellent pre season & has potential to be in the Stags 8 man rotation. Markanthony fits in very well with any of DeMatha’s numerous potential starting line up players & top 8. Head Coach Mike Jones may go with a big lineup or perhaps with 3 guards. We know 6’11” Hunter Dickinson & 6’5″ Earl Timberlake will start & are ranked #14 and #50 nationally for 2020 respectively. 6’4″ junior Justin Moore is a lock to start when his knee is ready, but could begin the season as the Stags 6th man. We recently wrote an article regarding DeMatha’s dozen deep 2017/18 guards which are the deepest in the DC DMV & Maryland in the link below. Each of the returning guards are very talented & possess superb fundamentals. We rank Markathony & his close friend Xavier Mabry as 2 of the top sleepers in the DC DMV. Both are special players & young men who are great college prospects.
https://prephoops.com/2017/10/dematha-catholic-dozen-deep-guard-position/
This summer Markanthony showed great flashes playing in the DeMatha BSN Summer League. He proved his scoring potential with three 30 point outbursts playing for Team St8ment 17U who are a top level Grassroots Team. Markathony can play the True PG or off the ball which appears to be his role this season. Markanthony says, “I believe my role will be to hit open shots & play defense for Coach Jones this season. My defense is a strength & I can play full court on ball defense. My lateral movement is very good, but I am working to improve my help side & close out defense. I perform the intangibles & I get the 50/50 balls using my quickness & toughness. I communicate very well with my teammates & I am a vocal leader.”
Markanthony has a beautiful jump shot with great mechanics. He gets very high elevation & is excellent on the catch & shoot with very deep range. Markanthony can get to the rim off the dribble & finish very well on both sides with either hand. While Markanthony is silky smooth, he is super explosive when he chooses. His vertical is elite & we have seen him convert several fantastic high rising crushing dunks. Markanthony can score from the mid-range & fast break on a high level. He is a very good slasher & knows how to play with or without the ball. He adds,”At the next level I will need to use my ball-handling much more. In the full court I can beat the defense with my speed alone or a hesitation & go. Another go to move is my hesitation crossover which I can use in the full or half court. In the half court I have a double crossover from which I go into a pull up or dish. I have developed a double between the legs crossover I can use in the half court. I can go left or right with either hand off my dribble.” In workouts this fall Markanthony played with a high IQ & proved to be an excellent ball mover. He showed he can impact the game without scoring & plays with great effort.
In his freshmen year at DeMatha Markanthony was awarded most outstanding player & he had an excellent JV season as a sophomore. Last season was up up & down where Markanthony averaged 5 points per game. This off-season Markanthony worked very hard on his game & body 6 days weekly & says, “Since the season ended I got stronger, improved my lateral quickness, & my shot improved. I used the shooting gun & got up over 300 shots. My IQ improved, my vertical went up & I added several new dunks. I put in a lot of time weight training & track work for speed. Squats have helped me a lot. During the week I run full 10 up downs with 5 seconds rest, 300 meter runs & sled work. When I am at DeMatha during the season I work with Coach Toby & our Coaches for S& C & basketball skills. We are placing great emphasis on flexibility & we do hot yoga once a week this fall. “Several Coaches said Markanthony was one of the best conditioned players when he came back to school this school year. Markanthony has a great passion for basketball & plays tirelessly with a high motor. He will make his college of choice coaching staff very happy. Already an excellent prospect, Markanthony feels he has several more hyper-jumps in his body for large gains in his athleticism, strength & basketball skills.
In the classroom Markathony is an excellent student & maintains a 3.5 GPA with an interest for a Business & Finance major in college. Markathony names his parents & twin sisters as his role models. He is receiving interest from Hofstra, Tulane & St. Bonaventure. Markanthony likes to study Bradley Beal & how his movement without the ball, Klay Thompson’s shot preparation, footwork & mechanics coming off picks. DeMatha opens their season on 11-15-17 vs highly rated Mt. Carmel from Baltimore and we will be there. This season we will following DeMatha & the WCAC very close & look forward to watching Markanthony.
Markanthony says, “I cherish my time at DeMatha & playing for Coach Jones who is one of the best in the nation. We have great Assistant Coaches & I am getting a great education at DeMatha.”