Dorman stars grow into state’s hottest basketball recruits. And they’re only juniors
Dorman basketball coach Thomas Ryan calls P.J. Hall and Myles Tate two of the faces of his program. College coaches have taken notice.
The two juniors both had big years in helping Dorman to its second straight Class 5A championship and strong summers on the AAU circuit, playing for Upward Stars. They’re now two of the most sought-after prospects in the state.
“Both of these guys are winners and do the things the right way,” said Ryan, a former Lexington High standout. “They have kind of become the face of our program. Winning last two state championships, Myles made big plays in both games and last year P.J. was instrumental. It is neat to see these guys who have been part of their program since fifth and sixth grade work so hard and become major key cogs in a program. And we feel the culture really rallies around kids they are.”
Hall has been slowed by a knee injury suffered in the preseason during a dunk and is expected to miss about a month, which will keep him out for Dorman’s matchup against Oak Hill in early December. But the injury hasn’t slowed down his interest. Ryan said North Carolina called about Hall last week.
South Carolina and Clemson both have offered Hall, who is the top-ranked recruit in South Carolina for the Class of 2020 by 247Sports and ranked in top 150 nationally, saw his recruiting take off over the summer. The 6-foot-9 big man also has offers from Clemson, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia and Pittsburgh.
Hall’s sister Thayer, a former high school All-American, plays volleyball at Florida but said being closer to his sister won’t be a factor in his decision. He likes Clemson and South Carolina a lot, and it’s no secret Gamecock coach Martin has taken a liking to versatile big men.
Hall isn’t a back-to-basket big guy and loves to shoot the outside shot. He averaged 7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2 blocks last season, but those numbers are likely to go up this season.
“Coach Martin, they feed the big man and they feed them inside and out and play nitty gritty basketball, and that is what I like,” Hall said Monday at the S.C. Basketball Coaches Media Day at the Columbia Convention Center.
Tate has been on the Cavaliers’ varsity squad since eighth grade and was the team’s leading scorer last season, averaging 18 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game. He had 18 points in the 5A championship victory against Irmo.
Tate has visited South Carolina and stopped in Charlotte a few weeks ago. He will visit South Florida in the future. Ryan said Tate’s recruiting is coming along a little slower than Hall’s because point guards get evaluated slower than 6-foot-9 post players.
Tate also has offers from Wofford and College of Charleston, but the Gamecocks definitely are high on his list.
“I like how they play. They play fast a pace game and they are very disciplined under Coach Martin,” Tate said. “They do things the right way.”
Neither Hall nor Tate mentioned a timeline for making any decisions related to their recruitment.
Dorman, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, will play a challenging non-conference schedule, which includes three trips to Columbia for the Bojangles’ Bash, Farm Bureau Classic in Lexington and Chick-fil-A Classic.