Player Profile: Kaden Warner (2021)
Kaden Warner- 5’10 G
Gamble Montessori High School- Class of 2021
Prep Hoops Rank: 55th
Floor/Ceiling: D-II/LM-MM D-I
To be a factor in the CMAC you must have guards that can go. With the pace of play in that conference, turnovers can literally make the difference between wins and losses. And this is something that 2021 Gamble Montessori G Kaden Warner totally understands. “I got a taste of CMAC play over the summer,” Warner stated. “Teams like to play a lot of different presses and it will be much less half-court basketball then the MVC (Miami Valley Conference)”. But if anybody can succeed in those type of conditions it would be Kaden.
It was a very impressive spring/summer for the young floor general, which included a trip to the NEO Youth Elite Camp in July. “I was a little nervous in the beginning, but once warm-ups started for the games it turned into basketball for me,” said Warner. “It was during the 1st game that I realized that camps were different than AAU and high school games. Once I realized that I had to get off myself, I started to play well.” For his efforts Kaden was named a Top 20 All-Star along with being named Top Defender of the camp.
Speaking of his defense, not only does he compete hard on that end of the floor, but he has a lot of attributes that can make him a lockdown defender. First and foremost is his combination of quick lateral movement and length which gives him the ability to keep opposing players in front of him. Also good at playing the passing lanes, Warner could possibly be one the city leaders in steals when its all said and done this season. And on the offensive end I’ll use the adjective explosive to describe his play. He can shoot the ball from deep, especially in transition, can get to his spots off the bounce and showed over the summer more usage of his mid-range game.
As for his summer workouts, it wasn’t just about working on his skill-set and conditioning. “I spent a lot of time over the summer breaking down film of some of my favorite players. Guys like CP3 and Dennis Smith Jr. Seeing how they break down defenses and things like that. And learning to find a balance between passing and shooting was something I worked on as well,” Warner stated. It was refreshing to hear a young man speak about preparing for the game mentally, with so much time given to in gym work. And this is what will make Kaden successful as his career goes, he understands that being a student of the game is just as important as anything else in basketball. And it’s because of his preparation and love of the game that he is considered one of the top 2021 prospects in Ohio.