Miami & USC offer Oakland Park Northeast 2021 Wesley Cardet
Oakland Park Northeast sophomore Wesley Cardet, ranked No. 2 in the state of Florida in the PrepHoops.com Class of 2021 rankings, picked up scholarship offers from Southern Cal and Miami on Monday.
USC offered in the afternoon and Monday night it was the Hurricanes’ turn.
“UM came by tonight,” Northeast coach Zach Gillion said. “Coach L [Jim Larranaga] offered Wesley after seeing how good he handles the ball and some explosive dunks.”
The 6-foot-5 Cardet averaged less than 15 minutes per game as a freshman on a talented, senior-laden Northeast squad in 2017-18. He exploded onto the national scene this summer playing with Team Breakdown on the Under Armour Association circuit.
“Playing with [Team] Breakdown really boosted his confidence, and going against some of the nation’s top competition showed him that he can play with anyone,” Zach Gillion said. Zach is the brother of Team Breakdown and West Oaks Academy coach Kenny Gillion.
PrepHoops ranks Cardet No. 33 nationally among 2021 prospects and second in the state of Florida behind Florida Prep 6-9 big man Moussa Diabate.
247 Sports ranks Cardet No. 18 nationally and Rivals.com lists him at No. 26.
Cardet also holds scholarship offers from Dayton, FIU, Florida, Iowa State, St. Louis, Tennessee Tech and USF.
“Coaches love his height for his position — 6-5 point guard,” said Zach Gillion. “That’s always the first thing they mention after they talk about his body — how big he’s got. His athleticism, court vision and competitiveness is what the coaches mention next.”
The two schools offering on Monday both have past ties to Team Breakdown and the Gillions.
Miami’s roster already features former Team Breakdown standouts Dewan Huell and Zach Johnson. Current USC guard Elijah Weaver, out of Oldsmar Christian, played with Team Breakdown.
Northeast fell one game short of making it to the Boys State Basketball Tournament in Lakeland last season. The Hurricanes lost at eventual Class 7A state champion Doral, 56-50, in the regional final.
Northeast (20-8) started five seniors: Jeremiah Saunders (now at Southeastern Louisiana); Brandon Swaby (Incarnate Word in Texas); Angel Smith (prep school in Orlando & committed to Tennessee Tech); Ricardo Jackson (prep school in Orlando); and Elie Cadet (JuCo in Nebraska).
Cardet says his mother is his driving force and hardest competition. She is a second-year medical student at LMU in Tennessee. Both are slated to graduate in 2021.
“It’s Wes’ time to fully showcase his talent,” Zach Gillion said. “This year will be his coming out party.”
If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com or via text at 954-661-9671.