Prospect spotlight: Gary Best (2019)
Gary Best will be a vital component to the Palmetto High School basketball team this season.
The versatile senior perimeter player arrives as a transfer from Palmer Trinity.
“That kid is going to be a stud. He does a little bit of everything,” Assistant coach Steven Lopez said. “He can jump. He can shoot. He can dribble. He can play point, shooting guard and small forward. He’ll be a huge glue piece and a huge factor.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Best:
Name: Gary Best
Class year: 2019
Position: Point guard/shooting guard/small forward
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: N/A
Awards: Team MVP (sophomore and junior seasons)
What the awards mean to him: That means with my coaches and everyone that has watched me play at the level I played to deserve that award. It makes me want to get better and keep performing at that level and work harder to be on top.
His mindset on the court: To my play game offensively, which is not to rush shots and to create the best shot either for me or my teammate. Also to play defense, which is number one.
Strengths: I can handle the ball and my overall strength is my pull up jumper that I get off easily. I would say I get to the rim pretty easy also.
Areas of improvement: I would want to work on everything so I could be even better. But the main things I would focus on would be my outside shooting and playing off the pick and roll.
Favorite basketball memory: Playing for my dad’s AAU team when I was younger, which I really enjoyed. In Orlando we were a 15u team playing vs. a 17u team. We were playing a good team and we were just having fun and playing our game and not worrying about how old they were. When it came down to the end of the game I hit a pull up jump shot to win us the game.
What he loves the most about basketball: I loved to watch good players play and I wanted to be like those players and that made me love to play.
How he tries to be a good teammate: I try to communicate a lot with my teammates and push them to be better. I tell them to keep working because you could be better.
Best advice from his coaches: That you have to coachable where ever you go and to be respectful of other people. Don’t expect anything to be given to you. You’ve got to take it.
What basketball has taught him about life: Nothing is given to you and that you have to earn everything you want.
Player he looks up to: Collin Sexton because I just like his energy and his game. He started out unranked and he blew up in one summer and that’s how I want to be.
Colleges he’s most interested in: Auburn, Michigan, Texas A&M, Bryant, and University of Florida. There are more but those are my top five.
Goals on and off the court: To improve my GPA to get a scholarship to a good college and get better as a player.