Think back—for some waaaay back—to the time when you just turned 15 years old. Were college coaches, waving college scholarship paperwork in hand, pursuing you? Did you possess excellent shooting range and an exemplary hoops intellect? Were you already 6-foot-4?
Wearing a size 15 shoe, 6-foot-4 Blake Bastani of Miramonte High and the U15 West Coast Elite Under Armour travel team, can correctly answer yes to each question. A 2026 prospect, it won't be long before he will soon be inundated by texts and calls from head coaches and assistants pitching their respective woo.
Why so?
As he explained, "My biggest strengths are shooting overall and the catch-and-shoot. Right up there are "my passing and basketball IQ."
Bastani credits repetitions for his shooting prowess. "I take 500-600 shots a day during the season. It's 1,000 in the off-season." As for his basketball acumen, "I've played basketball since I was two or three years old. I watch a ton of film. If available, I watch every one of my games as soon as possible so I can learn from my mistakes."
Influences
Naming those with the most basketball influence on him, he first cited his father and mother for all the sacrifices each has made and then named Teohn Connor, a former St. Mary's player-turned-trainer who has worked with Bastani since sixth grade. Since May, Bastani has also worked with Mike Neal Jr., a conditioning and strength trainer who is also a sports performance consultant at St. Mary's.
Brandon Cole, an influential northern California coach and trainer, is Bastani's U15 West Coast Elite Under Armour travel team co-coach. "Blake rises in big situations and is a phenomenal human being. He cares about the success of others and doesn't get down on himself. He comes from a great family and has a smile on his face all the time. Blake also projects to 6-foot-6 by the time he finishes growing."
Chris Lavdiotis, an East Bay high school hoops fixture, is the Miramonte High boys basketball coach. "Blake is so serious about being as good as possible -- he is kind of obsessed. He is a wonderful kid who is very respectful, genuine and a good teammate -- the guys enjoy him. He wants to be held accountable, be told the truth and coached hard. There is still a certain innocence in him, because he's young -- remember he played varsity this past season at age 14."
Lavdiotis added, "Blake already takes care of his body with his eating and rest habits. He wants to play D1 and further on."
Add in both a father and an uncle having played college-level basketball and Bastani's understanding and knowledge of the game is understandable despite his tender age.
Regarding leadership, Bastani is coming off a freshman season yet keenly offers this advice: "set the standard for a winning culture, be the first one there."
He also sports a 3.5 grade point average, a solid feat considering the number of hours required and necessary to succeed in a high school and travel team sport.
Asked to recall his best hoops moments despite his underclassmen status, Bastani offered, "Last year as a varsity freshman, I got my first start and scored 19 points." Call that a major contribution and confidence booster or as Bastani said, "that was really big in my career."
Right now, he expects to play as a two guard in college although he isn't yet finished gaining height.
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