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2022 guard Donald Hand Jr. scores a lot, piles up offers

Donald Hand Jr.
Donald Hand Jr. (Matthew Hatfield, VirginiaPreps.com)

Donald Hand Jr. comes in at No. 97 in the current 2022 Rivals150. The 6-foot-6 guard is coming off a big junior season at Landstown High.

“The season came and went really fast, we played well, actually lost in the semifinals, but it went well. I averaged 33 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists per game this year,” Hand said. “Coming out of quarantine and stuff, I really worked on all parts of my game, my athleticism, my ball-handling, creating my own shot. I really just stayed consistent with it, working out every day.”

With his ranking and the success he is having Hand Jr. has had a lot of contact with college coaches in the recruitment process.

“I think I have 14 or 15 offers right now, so things are going well with recruitment," he said. "I would say I am hearing from UConn, NC State, Louisville (I don’t have an offer there but I hear from them a lot), South Florida, Maryland, Clemson and VCU a lot.”

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MORE: Vanderbilt adds a pair of Rivals150 commits | Update on Furman transfer Noah Gurley

2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position

2023 Rankings: Top 30

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IN HIS OWN WORDS 

UConn: “Assistant coach Kevin Freeman texts me like every day. I have a good relationship with him. My dad actually played with him back in high school, so you know he’s like part of the family. Coach Freeman always compares me to James Bouknight, where I can play off the ball and make plays. Really, he likes that I can make plays from the one, two or three.”

Clemson: “They can really see me coming in and being an impact guy right off the bat, an impact freshman. They can see me as a big guard who can run off the screen and roll, stretch the floor and be able to guard really any position on the perimeter.”

Maryland: “I talk with assistant coach Matt Brady. He tells me they use big guards a lot, so they really like that about me, playing in the pick and roll. They like pressing, they know that my high school coach (Dwight Robinson) likes playing defense, so they know I will bring that to the table.”

VCU: “I talk with assistant coach JD Byers, and head coach Mike Rhoades checks in with me occasionally, but I talk with Coach JD a lot. They want me to come in a be a threat because they know I can create on and off the ball, that is what they like. They want me to come in and be like a "Bones" Hyland for them.”

South Florida: “They see me coming in to play alongside Caleb Murphy. They think we could make a dynamic backcourt together. They get up and down a lot, kick the ball ahead, shoot a lot of threes and let their guards play freely. I like that about them.”

NC State: “I know that they let their guards play free and really let their guards go. Assistant coach James Johnson was recruiting me, but head coach Kevin Keatts has taken it over for them here recently. He contacts me almost daily, really. He tells me he likes that I am a big guard. They don’t have a lot of big guards on the roster right now, so they see me coming in and being a big factor.”

Louisville: “They see me coming in a being another big-time guard (like) they always have, playing free as a combo guard, coming off screens, setting up plays and getting teammates involved. Really, just my style of play, how I already play is how they play. I talk to assistant coach Mike Pegues a lot and head coach Chris Mack some.”

Stanford: “I talked to Stanford most recently. They haven’t seen my play yet, so we will see how that develops.”

WHAT'S NEXT 

“Hopefully, by June or July I will have my schools narrowed down and then by early September I should be committed,” Hand Jr. said. “I am trying to see how life is like off the court, how can they set me up for life after I graduate, you know. In this process I am looking for someone who stays consistent with me and who keeps it real with me, you know not just saying what I want to hear but is honest with me and what I need to work on.”

Hand will be playing with Team Loaded VA on the Adidas Gauntlet this summer.

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