2010 Prep Focus: Donnie Hale
Labels:
Donnie Hale,
Kentucky Wildcat's Basketball,
Kentucky Wildcat's Basketball Recruiting,
New Albany High School Bulldogs
Donnie Hale is a fast rising 2010 prospect playing for New Albany Bulldogs in New Albany, IN. Hale stands 6'7 and weighs 180 pounds. Five games into his sophomore season he was averaging 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 block shots. Hale finished his sophomore campaign averaging 12 points, almost 7 rebounds and over 4 blocks per game. His Bulldog's squad finished with a 26-1 record but fell short of the class 4A title.
Hale is a solid player and should develop his game further the kid could be 6'8 or 6'9 by the time he steps foot on a NCAA campus. In a game in early February at Providence High, Hale exploded posting 25 points on 11-11 shooting and 6 rejections that altered the flow of the game. The Bulldogs won the game 67-44. After the game New Albany head coach Jim Shannon spoke highly of Hale's performance:
“We could have made things easier on ourselves, if we hadn’t forgotten about Donnie,” said New Albany coach Jim Shannon. “No one could handle him, there was just no way.”
“When we make mistakes on defense, Donnie covers up for a lot of that with blocks for us,” Shannon said. “People know that when they go inside, he’s going to be there.”
New Ablany's roster is very balanced, as far as the stat sheet goes. The team is guard oriented and relies on a consistent perimeter game, like a lot of high school programs tend to. However the deep back court does open things up a bit more for the versatile Hale. As of now Purdue has offered a scholarship and Hale has been on IU's campus at least once. Hale said that the Wildcat's staff has been in contact with him as well. Xavier, Louisville and Oklahoma St. have also inquired about the talented youngster.
In May of 08' Hale had this to say to Jody Demling about where he stands:
"I'm pretty open right now," Hale said. "I'm going to play around with it and see what happens. I'll make some official visits and then see. I wouldn't mind playing close to home, but then again I wouldn't mind going away from home, either."
