Recruiting Report: Myles Tate (2020)
When I was in Atlanta the other weekend, I decided to stop in and check out the Team Loaded NC 16U group. I was sitting with a certain high major coach who was familiar with the group, and when I asked who to watch, he quickly told me the accolades of rising junior Myles Tate from Dorman High School in South Carolina.
He told me that Tate had been named State Player of the Year in the largest public school classification in the state, he had led the team to back-to-back state championships as a freshman and sophomore, and that he loves the bright lights, scoring 30 points in front of a packed house when they played Spartanburg Day and Duke commit Zion Williamson.
When I asked him about his early success, Tate’s response showed a lot about his impressive work ethic.
“The few years I’ve been in high school, my coaches have always preached success and that you have to work to win, and whatever you do you have to work hard to do it so that’s the philosophy I’ve followed,” Tate said.
“You can’t take days off if you’re going to be a good player or a good team, whatever your goals are you have to work day in and day out to achieve them,” he said. “I’ve put blood, sweat and tears into this game, and moving forward I know that work will pay off.”
As just a sophomore, Tate holds offers from Presbyterian, Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston and Wofford, and he’s heard from big time schools such as Oklahoma State, North Carolina State and Tennessee. His stock is on the rise after picking three of them up after the live period, and his ability to play as a true point guard is very entertaining to watch.
The thing that stuck out to me most about Tate was his leadership and ability to make others better on his team. He’s a high level shooter, but he’s also a vocal leader and a guy who sees the game a few plays ahead of others on both ends, and he recognizes how important it is for him to be that guy that leads his team.
“I would say I control the tempo of the game on both ends, and if my team is down I need to pick them up,” he said.
Not only does he recognize how important it is to lead his team, but his cognitive of how he comes off to coaches with the way he acts both on and off the court during and after the game.
“I always try to watch my body language and the way I carry myself, because I don’t want to be looked at as a bad person or as a bad player by coaches and others.”
A guy with that much savvy and understanding of both the game and the way to lead a team is someone that division one coaches should be all over moving forward.