Prospect Spotlight: Aidan Prukop (2020)
Mater Dei wing Aidan Prukop is one of those players who really took advantage of spring and summer basketball.
The sophomore saw spot minutes on a loaded Monarchs team as a freshman and had moments where he flashed a bright future.
Prukop, who played with Dream Vision’s 15U squad on the Adidas Gauntlet circuit, said that one of the biggest things he learned as a freshman on Mater Dei’s varsity was how to lock-in defensively.
“Probably the main thing I took over from Mater Dei into the spring and summer was defense,” Prukop told Prep Hoops So-Cal. “Mater Dei prides itself on playing good defense and team defense with rotations. Also, moving without the ball is another thing I took over.”
The Monarchs coaching staff had plenty of feedback for the 6-foot-4 Prukop after the high school season ended, and he made sure to work on the aspects of the game they wanted him to improve.
“The coaching staff emphasized taking more charges,” he said. “I also need to work on keeping smaller and quicker guards in front of me. I’m working on not being nervous when I first catch the ball and just seeing the floor and mismatches and going off of that.
“I would like to get bigger, faster and stronger,” he added. “I need to get more athletic overall and gain 10 more pounds of muscle.”
As far as strengths go, Prukop is one of the better young shooters in Southern California, but he believes his measurables are what will eventually set him apart.
Sophomore wing Aidan Prukop is eyeing opportunity this season at Mater Dei.“I would say definitely my shooting,” Prukop said about skills that are translatable to the collegiate level. “The height I am at the guard position is a big advantage. It helps to see the court and see mismatches over smaller defenders.”
As is always the case at Mater Dei, the expectations are set high.
The Monarchs return four starters from last year’s team which reached the CIF Southern Section Open Division finals and CIF State Open Division Southern California Regional Finals, dropping both to Bishop Montgomery.
Prukop, who boasts a 3.5 grade point average, said he’s making sure not to look too deeply into expectations and just focus on how he can help his team.
“I’m not really worried about that,” he said. “We have a good enough team to accomplish that. With so many great players on our team, the better defenders on the other teams will be focusing on that, and it’s a great opportunity for me to grow and blossom.”