The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

WHILE prep basketball in Ontario, Canada, remains sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols, Romad Dean travelled to the United States to participate in the Big Shots Prep Nationals with Adidas Grassroots Elite.

Dean was profiled by Rivals.com to expand on his recruitment that has now featured several teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings.

“I’ve got offers from Arizona State, Seton Hall, Ole Miss, Minnesota, Austin Peay, Butler, Santa Clara, East Carolina, George Mason, Tennessee State, and Southern California. I would say I hear from USC, Seton Hall, and Arizona State the most right now,” Dean said to Jamie Shaw.

“[USC] I know it is a big school, a top-ranked academic school. They win games, they play together. I like their coaching style and their players know they have to come out and play.

[Seton Hall] They know how to recruit; they have been on me hard. They have a great coaching staff, and their teams play hard. [Arizona State] They got one of the top guys in high school last year to go there, I noticed that. They are a good school, a good programme.

“I am hearing a lot from Baylor, too. They have not offered yet, but I think they may be close.”

A 6’7” wing, Dean said his plan is to declare early and spend his senior season focused on his on court production.

“I am trying to go on official visits this summer, I would like to commit early so I don’t have to worry about any recruiting stuff during my senior year,” Dean said. “I will be looking closely at the school’s academics first and foremost, without the academics I won’t be able to play basketball and go far with it. I want to go to a school where the guys play hard and go to a programme where the style fits me and I have a defined role with what I do. I want to play pro basketball, so a school who will help me get there.”

Dean averaged 14.1 points, 13.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in his last season with the Crestwood Prep Lions. He led the team in both rebounds and blocks but is looking to diversify his game once play can resume. “I have always been a tremendous rebounder, I am long and athletic. I can score the ball off the dribble and I am shooting the ball well,” Dean said.

When the calendar flipped to 2020, Dean concluded the second half of the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association season with a series of dominant performances for the Lions which included double doubles in six of seven games. He totalled 25 points and 14 rebounds against Lincoln Prep on January 7, followed with 25 points and 19 rebounds against Fr Henry Carr on February 6, posted 24 points and 18 rebounds February 19 against Athlete Institute and concluded with 22 points, 14 rebounds, three steals and four blocked shots in the regular season finale against Ridley College.

He concluded the Lions’ playoff run with 26 points and 18 rebounds in a 94-80 loss in the OSBA quarterfinals. He shot 10-12 from the field and 3-4 from 3.

Dean also went on to help lead the Lions to win the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations Boys Basketball AAA gold in March. He was also nominated for Canada’s premier prep basketball showcase as one of 198 players named to the BioSteel All Canadian Games - 2020 Boys Nominees List.