Prospect Spotlight 2021: Cole Hanin
Cole Hanin, 5’9″, PG, 2021. Bullis Bulldogs HS. Potomac, MD.
Grassroots Team: DC Premier 15U
We first saw Cole this spring working out in Rockville, MD, but we were not formally introduced to him until last Saturday at the DMV Elite freshmen Showcase in Bowie, MD. He played this spring & summer for DC Premier on the UAA Grassroots Circuit. DCP is one the most recognized Grassroots programs in the DMV & nation. Cole had an excellent season for DCP as their 6th man at combo guard providing high intensity, scoring & scrappy defense off the bench. DCP finished the spring and summer season with an impressive 42-10 record. The team captured championships at Pitt Jam Fest, Big Shots DC as well as a 2nd place finish at the UAA Championships in Atlanta.
As an incoming freshmen for the high powered Bullis Bulldogs Cole will play his more natural position as a True PG. On Saturday he displayed excellent ball handling, facilitate, & score from the outside or at the rim off the dribble. Cole can get thru small creases in the defense & beat his man off the dribble with quickness & dribble moves. He can go coast to coast & Cole is very shifty switching gears on the dribble & has the burst to blow by a defender.
Cole is easy to spot due to his headband & feisty style of play. Cole reminded us of Steve Nash with his lateral moves & handle skill. He has been known on the AAU circuit as Baby Steve Nash and “Headband” for his notorious trademark. Cole has intelligence & poise beyond his years. His skill set is made apparent after only watching a few short minutes of play. While it is very early in his career, we are convinced he can play college basketball at some level in the future. Cole’s ball-handling skills, handle & 3 point shooting are that good. He can really shoot the ball from 3 point range off the dribble with excellent mechanics.
Last season Bullis won the IAC Title and this season we rate Bullis & IAC rival Georgetown Prep as potential top 8 teams in the powerful Washington, DC DMV. This coming season the IAC could be the 2nnd best conference in the DC/DMV behind the WCAC who many believe is the best conference in the nation. Other excellent teams in IAC this year include a very dangerous St Stephens Agnes Saints team,an improved but always talented Episcopal Maroon squad & St. Albans Bulldogs with 2 D1 players & the Landon Bears having some talented young prospects. We are very familiar with Bullis whose 5 starters could be D1 players with Vado Morse just committing to D1 Mt. St. Marys.
Cole began playing Grassroots AAU at the age of 6 & he was always a natural athlete playing against older players. Cole loves to play & our family is always there for him. Cole played for MADE Basketball during his early playing days, starting to experience some higher level play with Havoc City and now with DC Premier.
It is easy to see Cole is a very hard worker & in timeouts or on the court he picks up instructions immediately & delivers. He works out 6 days a week on basketball & he is well known as being one of the hardest workers wherever he plays. Cole is a sponge & always wants to continue to learn & improve.
He has a well known trainer in Darren McLinton, who starred at James Madison University and has the experience in working with volume scoring guards. Cole is training with Darren 6 days a week and attributes his rise in play over the the past year to the assistance of Darren, his DC Premier coach Chris Douglas, and ball handling coach Byron Jones. Cole wants to improve his ability to finish at the rim through contact and continue to work on improving his foot speed and overall athleticism. Cole wants to improve his ability to finish at the rim through contact and continue to work on improving his foot speed and overall athleticism. He is most proud of his improved on the ball defense over the past year as he has traditionally always led his AAU teams in taking charges and steals. Cole is also working on his angles as an an off the ball defender.
Cole spent the latter part of the summer visiting a few college coaches as well as participating in Elite Team Camps. He finished the St. Francis, Pa. camp as the shooter with the most made 3/s in their two minute drill and averaged over 16 points a game at the Mount St. Mary’s event.
In the classroom Cole is an excellent student with a 3.8 plus GPA. He knows he will attend a college that will be a great fit academically and athletically. Cole may become another excellent DC/DMV player to play in the IVY League or high academic conference. However, this a long way off and the last thing we would want to do is place pressure on Cole.He refuses to get rattled or intimidated playing wih great heart, exuberance and confidence. We will be covering Bullis HS extensively this season and watching Vado Morse, Phillip Smith, Nendah Tarke, Linclon Yeutter & CJ Amsellem throughout the season. We are looking forward to watching Cole play this season and will be watching him and throughout his career at Bullis and with DC Premier.