Recruiting Report: Kaden Metheny (2020)

Kaden Metheny of University High School was one of the best guards we saw at 'DC Live' last month. He's a skilled shooter with impressive court vision, but also defends at a high level. Perhaps the most impressive attribute that Metheny possesses are his intangibles. He had three offers heading into DC, but It appears that his recruitment could go to another level after an impressive showing. Metheny has since received an offer from Penn, and this could be one of many more to come. During a recent interview with Prep Hoops, he discussed his recruitment and overall game.

PH: For those who haven't seen you play, how would you describe your overall game?

KM: "I feel like I'm an all-around point guard. I can score, I can pass, I can get my teammates involved, but if i need to go get a bucket, I believe I can go get a bucket. And I have range. I can shoot from deep when I'm rolling, and that can really help me stretch the defense out. That's when I drive and get the other teammates involved."

PH: Who do you model your game after?

KM: "I model game after a mixture of Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving. Curry with the shooting ability obviously, the deep range, and kind of being a smaller guard. Kyrie with his ball-handling and finishing around the rim."

PH: How are you able to keep calm and persevere even when your shot is not falling?

KM: Good body language. Not showing emotion. You look at Kawhi Leonard in the NBA, he shows no emotion. If a teammate sees me down, then they might get down with me being a leader on the team. So I don't want to set that example for my teammates."

PH: You seem to be responsible for creating a lot of offense for this team. How have you embraced your role?

KM: "We've played together basically our entire lives so that's how it's always been. I'm comfortable with it. They always look for me. It's how we play."

PH: What about on the defensive side?

KM: "I pride myself on my defense. Especially if my shot is not falling. I want to D up. Get some steals, get my confidence up. And that gets my teammates defense up. And then we start playing fast."

PH: What do you need to work on?

KM: "I need to work on finishing around the rim. Me being a smaller guard. Going up against the big guys. Getting more creative around the rim."

PH: Which schools have do you have offers from?

KM: "Western Carolina, Drexel, and Youngstown State. I've visited all three. They keep in contact all the time."

PH: Compare the three schools you've visited.

KM: Drexel, loved the campus. Right outside of Philly. Its pretty cool. I've got a great relationship with the coaching staff. They've done a great job recruiting me. Western Carolina. Same thing. It's in the mountains. I'm from West Virginia. A lot of mountains, so it feels like home. Coach Prosser and Coach Briggs have done a great job recruiting me as well. Youngstown State, its 2 hours away from home that's always an advantage. I like some of the players on their team. I can relate to how they play, and the coaching staff as well. I really enjoy talking to them."

PH: Which other schools have reached out and showed interest?

KM: "Penn, Longwood, Lafayette, and Bucknell."

PH: What factors are important in your decision?

KM: "I look at academics. I'm a big academic guy. How the coaches are. My relationship with the coach. And also the campus. I look at the campus. If the campus i s nice, but that's not a major concern of mine."

PH: What's your GPA and SAT Score?

KM: "I have a 4.1 GPA, and an 1130 SAT score."

PH: When do you anticipate ending your recruitment and committing to a school?

KM: "I'm wanting to end it before high school basketball season starts. We won state championship last year, so I want to focus on going back-to-back. So probably around September right before the season starts."

PH: What can you bring to a college program?

KM: "Leadership, and a good player to be around each teammate. I believe I'm a high character kid, I can bring that to the team. Also just a pure point guard, get everyone involved."