Coach: Laszewski "Loaded With Talent"
Early in his prep career, Nate Laszewski proved he’d be able to hang – and excel – against top talent.
“He was MVP of the NEPSAC AAA Championship Game as a sophomore,” Northfield Mount Hermon head coach Jay Carroll said of Laszewski, a 2018 forward out of Massachusetts.
“He scored 26 and had 17 rebounds. That game went on to feature probably 18 Division-I guys in it; Villanova, North Carolina, Davidson, UConn, Penn, Dartmouth, Iona, you get the idea.”
But Laszewski and his game have continued to grow, which has resulted in him blossoming into a true national prospect with offers from schools Villanova, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Miami, Nebraska, Baylor, Wake Forest and, most recently, Notre Dame.
“He’s loaded with talent,” Carroll said. “He’s now 6-foot-10. He’s a three-point shooter. He’s now rebounding above the rim, which I think is the addition college coaches are most excited about. He’s winning power plays, rebounding outside of his area and his multi-positional. I think he was second on the adidas circuit in offensive efficiency.
“Offensively, you could move him all over the place. You can definitely play him at 3, 4, 5. He’s not a back-to-the-basket 5, but more of a European 5. He’s clearly going to be a stretch-4 in most offenses in college. Defensively, he’s just got to improve skills to the defend the athletic 3s, but the 4 and 5-spots, he’s in pretty shape right now.”
Carroll added, “There are a lot of reasons why Notre Dame is attracted to him.”
Laszewski has been on the Irish’s radar for years now and after seeing him in recent weeks, they knew they needed to pull the trigger.
“ACC is tough basketball and Notre Dame likes to play tough basketball,” said Carroll. “They wanted to make sure at the power play position, he could make those plays. He’s been demonstrating that more and more throughout the spring, but he’s really taken it to another level this summer.
“They were down in Atlanta to watch him. He shot the lights out at a very, very high clip and was rebounding and making those plays, which kind of sealed the deal for him.”
It’s a school Laszewski has always had interest in as well and he has already been to South Bend for a football game in the past.
“It’s a school he mentions just about every single time we speak about recruiting,” his coach said. “His family is a Midwestern family. Dad went to Wisconsin, Mom went to Wisconsin. Mom did her grad program at Northwestern. The school fits them geographically, philosophically. They fit basketball-wise. It’s just a really good fit across the board.”
Laszewski has hinted that he'll sit down and evaluate his options soon, but his coach wouldn't be surprised if he avoided making a snap decision.
“He’s not a kid who is going to narrow his list. Just by being the kind of kid he is and what he’s looking for in a school, narrows his list as it is. I think every kid would like to get it done sooner than later. I’m guessing he’ll make a couple of visits in the fall and make a decision shortly after that.”