Delshon Strickland, a 6-4 senior guard from Minnetonka (MN) High, decided to not sign in the early signing period and instead focus on his final year of high school basketball.
Delshon Strickland, a 6-4 senior guard from Minnetonka (MN) High, decided to not sign in the early signing period and instead focus on his final year of high school basketball. The former Holy Angels standout has helped lead the Skippers to a solid season in the ultra-competitive Lake Conference.
Strickland is averaging a team-high 14.7 points per game for a balanced Skippers’ attack that has five players scoring double figures.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Strickland to learn more about recruitment.
Gopher Hole: What is the latest on your recruitment right now?
Delshon Strickland: Right now, I’m just kind of tasking it easy. I’m kind of waiting for April to come up and see how everything is going. Watching the schools play right now and seeing what is best for me.
Gopher Hole: How many visits did you get a chance to make in the fall?
Delshon Strickland: I took a few unofficials, but the only official trip I took was to Auburn.
Gopher Hole: What are you hearing from the homestate school?
Delshon Strickland: Not much. They just check in with me every now and then to see how I am doing.
Gopher Hole: What schools are you hearing from the most?
Delshon Strickland: Pretty much the same six that I had. Auburn, I talked to. I talked to Florida. Coach K (Eric Konkol) from Miami, Coach (Jason) Gardner from Memphis, Coach (Andrew) Moore and Coach (James) Johnson from Virginia Tech and the same Minnesota guys like Ben Johnson and Pitino.
Gopher Hole: Is it a little stressful because I assume that a lot of your friends who aren’t basketball players know where they are going to college? Is that ever tough for you not knowing where you are going yet?
Delshon Strickland: No. I like to have a little fun with it. Keep everyone guessing. It doesn’t really get stressful. It is kind of fun for me.
Gopher Hole: Have you thought about playing AAU in the spring or would you just pick a school?
Delshon Strickland: It was something that I think about. I like to talk it over with my AAU coaches and they give me some input along with my high school coaches and figure out what is best.
Gopher Hole: Have you done everything you need to do academically or are you already a qualifier?
Delshon Strickland: I am.
Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factor that makes you pick School A over School B or School C?
Delshon Strickland: Just the perfect fit for me. The relationships with the coaches. Just a good environment. I want to play at the best stage to get the full impact of the collegiate level
Gopher Hole: To me you have really improved your game a lot even since last year. What things have you been really focusing on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Delshon Strickland: Just being more vocal on floor. Being a leader. Keeping patience. Body language, too. Coach talks about body language a lot, You never know who is watching. I have concentrated on getting better at ball handling. Being more consistent with free throws.