As fall turns to winter, and winter turns to spring, the number of quality unsigned seniors in high school basketball dwindles down to next to nothing. Over the past couple weeks, I have taken a look into the play and recruitment of Friends' Central's Devin Coleman, who is arguably the best unsigned senior guard in the city of Brotherly Love. Today we are going to move into the frontcourt and look at Roman Catholic senior big Fortunat "Junior" Kangudi. According to most that follow Philadelphia high school hoops, including Ted Silary, Junior is the best available big-man in the city.
Junior is a 6'8, 220-pound post player at Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High School. Originally from Montreal, he is in his second season at Roman playing under head coach Chris McNesby.
At 6'8 and 220, Junior plays the 5 for Roman Catholic, but is being recruited to play the power forward spot in college. A very strong finisher around the rim, Junior possesses great athleticism and loves to run the court. He runs well and thrives in the open-court. On the defensive side of the ball, Junior is a shot-blocking and rebounding presence. In a big win last Sunday over Archbishop Wood, Junior had 20 points, 9 rebounds,and 4 blocks. Roman Catholic plays their opening-round Catholic League playoff game today at Father Judge, and will likely take on Neumann-Goretti if they are to advance. Last week, Roman fell to Father Judge by a point, missing a shot at the buzzer that would have won the game.
I got to catch up with Junior on Wednesday night, and he gave me an update on his recruitment. A native of Montreal, Junior's native tongue is French, which has played a significant part of his recruiting process. At the moment, he is awaiting his most recent ACT scores. Junior took the ACT last week and will receive his scores shortly. Once those scores come in, and his high school season comes to a close, Junior's recruitment will begin to pick up steam.
At the moment, Junior has a wide range of schools calling and inquiring about him, ranging from the Big East to the Big 12 to the CAA. Seton Hall is one of the schools pursuing Junior the hardest at the moment. In addition to the Big East school, Missouri is another school that has recently jumped into his recruitment. Rutgers, Drexel, VCU, and Fairleigh Dickinson are also in the mix. Coach Marcus Toney-El at Fairleigh Dickinson is making a hard push for Junior, as well as unsigned senior guard Carrington Ward, also from Philadelphia.
While these schools are currently involved with Junior, he is also open to hear pitches from new schools. In no rush to decide, he wants to take visits once his qualification is settled and his high school season is over.
When asked what he was looking for in a school, Junior said that he most wants the opportunity to compete early for minutes. Junior told me that he is aware that minutes will not simply be given, but that they have to be earned. That being said, he has no interest in taking a redshirt next year.
As things develop with Junior's recruitment, I will continue to provide updates here. With so few quality unsigned players around this late in the year, expect to hear a lot about Junior this spring. Quality big men are always at a premium, especially those with Junior's athleticism and mobility.
