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Lafayette nabs PG of the future in Petrie

08/24/2016, 7:15pm EDT
By Josh Verlin

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Even though he announced his intentions last summer to reclassify from a 2017 prospect into the 2018 class, Alex Petrie knew he’d always have the option to re-enter his original class if he found the right situation.

In Lafayette, he found just that -- the ability to be the next in a line of four-year starting guards, following up two of the program’s all-time greats. So the St. Christopher (Va.) went public on Wednesday with the news that not only would he be finished with high school in the spring, he’d be a Leopard in the fall.

“They bring in one point guard every four years, and so you get to learn from your mistakes early on and play through it,” he said. “Just (get) the ability to play through your mistakes, and a leadership role that you get early on, you get to really develop. It’s one thing to be second string -- you get better in practice, but playing in a game and getting that valuable experience, it goes a long way in your development.”

Petrie will be brought in as the heir apparent to Nick Lindner, who’s already fourth on the school’s all-time assist list (401) and will be at worst No. 2 by the time this year is over (Tony Duckett has 622). The Germantown Academy product, who averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.2 apg as a sophomore in 2014-15 to lead Lafayette to a Patriot League championship and NCAA tournament, enters his senior year with 1,108 points, good enough for 31st on the school’s all-time list and in striking distance of the top 10.

Lindner was successor to Tony Johnson, sixth on the school’s all-time career assist list (374) and a near-1000 point scorer (935) in his own right. What they’ve been able to do over the last seven seasons is a big-time inspiration for Petrie.

“I look at the current point guard in Nick and the one before that in Tony Johnson and just hope I can build off their success,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to really play, and the style and fit, I think I fit their system and I think I can do well in the Patriot league. So it’s just a good situation all around.”

Where Petrie differs from Johnson and Lindner is in his build. The current Lafayette point guard stands 5-foot-11, an inch shorter than Johnson, but Petrie is somewhere around 6-3, which will make him one of the biggest lead guards in the Patriot.

Highlight films show off his talented passing and scoring ability for both St. Christopher’s and the River City Reign, with whom he starred this summer on the AAU circuit. Crafty with the ball, Petrie can hit tough shots around the rim and is an above-average shooter from the perimeter.

“I can handle it pretty well, I have pretty good vision and I have good size for my position,” he said. “I think I need to work on my explosiveness a little bit and my defense a little bit, but those are things I’m going to be working on over the next year before I go up there.”

Last summer, Petrie made the decision to publicly enter the class of 2018, leaving himself open to take a year at prep school after finishing up at St. Christopher’s this season. But a strong summer left him with numerous college offers: Drexel, Northeastern, Towson, Wofford and Radford, among others.

What year they were bringing him in for varied from school to school.

“A few of them were ‘we’ll recruit you as 2017, but if you decide to reclass, we’ll still recruit you,” he said. “Wofford was heavily involved but got a commitment at end of July; Mt. St. Mary’s was very involved (as well).”

Last season, the 21st under head coach Fran O’Hanlon, Lafayette went 6-24 overall (3-15 Patriot League), a 14-win drop from the March Madness appearance the year before. They'll be focused on a big bounce-back season, led by seniors Lindner and Monty Boykins, plus junior big man Matt Klinewski.

Petrie gave a lot of credit to Lafayette assistant coach Jimmy Fenerty for playing the point role on his recruitment. Fenerty, the son of Germantown Academy head coach Jim Fenerty, is entering his second year on the Leopards’ staff.

“He texted me, called me constantly, just really connected with me,” Petrie said. “More than just ‘I want you to come to our program’ but as a person as well. He would contact my high school and AAU coach, he did a really good job and I’m looking forward to coming up there and working with him.”


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