6-foot-4, 185 Caleb Asante earned co-Junior Most Valuable Player honors for his exceptional play in his league this past season. He plays for Leigh High which is located in Silicon Valley, home of more different types of engineers than any other piece of territory in the world but not exactly a basketball hotbed. Coaches and assistant coaches do not necessarily flock to the area looking for new talent to fill their respective rosters. But they should be checking out Asante, a lefty who can play inside and out and sports a 3.8 grade point average--"I take my studies seriously"-- so he won't be creating any worry at all about his eligibility for the next four years.
Asked to detail his strengths on the court, Asante said, "I'm crafty with my ability to get to the rim and I've also improved my outside shooting. I'm creative offensively and also a good rebounder." Regarding leadership, he offered, "I'm definitely a leader, being a captain, and I look to help my teammates with different aspects of the game." He's strong and aggressive inside the paint.
What has aided the development of Asante's overall game is the different styles he plays during school and summer. At Leigh High, he plays for Coach Joe Goydish, and the team runs disciplined sets with him generally playing in and around the paint. Come summer, it's with West Coast Elite Coach Frank Saric, an acclaimed shooting coach, "I have more freedom and can move out to the wing. He has really helped me with both my shooting and my recruitment by making contact with college coaches." The dual styles "have increased my basketball knowledge and awareness. I've definitely improved and gotten better."
West Coast Elite Coach Saric on Asante
Here is Coach Saric talking about Asante: "One word that comes to my mind when I think of Caleb is consistency. We played 40 games during the summer and he never had a bad game and averaged a double double every single time. Players are under a lot of pressure during the summer period to perform in front of college coaches but Caleb never showed any weaknesses is his game. I remember coaching against Team Curry which is one of the best teams in the country and every time we needed to score I trusted in Caleb to deliver. We worked countless hours in practice on shooting and making shots under pressure and he delivered every single time. Sometimes during the games when he had to play extended minutes and preform at a high level on both ends of the floor I was thinking to myself is this guy even human. Ultimately he earned my trust in practice as he never missed any of the 5 practices a week we had. A Leader and Warrior who never quits!"
Asante also credits his longtime trainer Ameer Shamsud-din of Elite Basketball Performance (Menlo Park) and trainer/coach Anthony Gardner for his skills development. Plus, "I have a great appreciation of my parents for supporting me and giving me the opportunity to play basketball."
This Season
It's early but in two games thus far this season, Asante is averaging 24.0 points and 12.0 rebounds while shooting 68%.
As for his college position, "I'll probably be a wing, like a two guard and a small forward.
Asked for what he feels is his best basketball memory, Asante offered, "last year at home against Branham, our rival school, our team played really well and I had 29 points and a monster dunk." Leigh won 52-51.
Regarding recruiting, his visits are in the planning stage but he did attend five college camps last summer. First came Stanford and then USF in June, followed by Cal Poly in late July and then Menlo College in August and finally Cal State Fullerton also in August. "I wanted to see how I compare and get myself on the radar."
Asante is looking to major in marketing and entrepreneurship. If he approaches these goals as he does basketball (which is likely), expect him to appear on the television show "Shark Tank" sooner rather than later.
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