At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned senior prospects. Last season, over fifty players from North Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today’s edition will highlight Deandre Downing of Washington County High School.
We were able to see Downing at the most Good Guys versus Cancer, where we stated, “Few teams have been more balanced than Washington County, and Downing has been a leader for most of the season. He’s long, wiry, athletic, and fairly versatile on both ends of the floor, which makes him a constant threat to wreak havoc unto opponents. Downing handles the ball and creates effectively off the dribble, both for himself and others, but typically works without the ball in his hands. Although his form is somewhat unorthodox, he shot the ball pretty well from the perimeter throughout this contest.”
In many ways, Downing stood out as the leader for this Washington County squad. His nightly averages of 13.6 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 4.2 APG, 3.5 SPG, and 2.2 BPG led to being one of the North Carolina leaders in double-doubles. His willingness to do everything and consistently affect all facets of the game is a large part of what brought this team to a 23-3 record. He’s long, wiry, and looks to get downhill whenever possible but also shoots the ball at a respectable rate from distance. At this point, there should be no doubting in Downing’s ability to play at the next level, which will make it quite interesting to see where he ultimately ends up.