Rising wing Brice Sensabaugh talks USF offer
In the state of Florida, one member of the 2022 class who did not receive many early offers but saw his recruitment take a big jump forward this week is Brice Sensabaugh.
The three-star wing’s phone was very busy this week. USF and Stetson offered on Monday – joining SMU who offered Sensabaugh last year – plus he heard from Air Force, Belmont, College of Charleston, Drake, Florida Atlantic, UNC-Wilmington, Pennsylvania, Virginia and others.
Sensabaugh spent his freshman year at Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.) High School then transferred to Lake Highland (Orlando, Fla.) Prep.
About his sophomore season Sensabaugh said, “I feel I played pretty good. We had a pretty deep team and, with me coming in as a new player, they had a spot for me to shoot and score the ball and help in late game situations. I feel I played that role as well as I could, obviously I could have played better, but I’ll get better as time goes on.”
He continued, “Coming from Hagerty to Lake Highland, you know, public-to-private school, the gym is open and the weight room is open at all times. I live pretty close to the school so I’m in the gym a lot more. I’m getting stronger, faster and jumping a lot higher. Coming from a great coach at Hagerty to another great coaching staff I felt that I learned a lot more about the game these past two years. That, plus the change in my body really elevated my game.”
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound wing averaged 18.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game at Lake Highland while shooting 53.2 percent from the field and making 41.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Of note is that Sensabaugh attempted nearly the same amount of two-point field goals (153) as three-point field goals (150) this season.
“I work a lot on my three-pointer, he said. Obviously the game is changing and you don’t see a lot of people shooting mid-range jumpers. If I catch a pass at the three-point line I feel very comfortable catching and shooting the ball or getting a three-point shot off in one or two dribbles. If I’m not shooting a three-pointer I’m getting to the rim, laying it up and getting an and-one or I’m dunking it.”
On the recruiting front, Division I programs took note of Sensabaugh’s skill set and came-a-calling this week. Bulls head coach Brian Gregory called Sensabaugh on the first day Division I coaches were allowed to, June 15, and extended a scholarship offer.
“It was a great conversation,” Sensabaugh said. “He was real cool and down to earth about it. He was telling me what he liked about me and my game. It was a great conversation. Having a coach reaching out to you and not having to feel like you are a robot in the conversation, like, being able to talk to someone and them being cool and down to earth and understanding really helps.”
With coaches able to call Sensabaugh directly for the first time, he says things have been busy.
“The first couple of days were a little crazy. It was kind of overwhelming,” said Sensabaugh. “I feel like I made it a lot easier on myself by taking notes and separating the information.”
RUSS’ REACTION
Having seen Sensabaugh play in both of his high school seasons I was happy to see this offer by USF. He is a high academic, skilled wing with size and good strength, who can really make perimeter shots. Sensabaugh is not afraid to take the shot with the game on the line, has some playmaking ability and a high basketball IQ.