Player Preview: Nelson Kaputo

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Player: Nelson Kaputo, 6-1, 160, freshman guard

The low down: Kaputo is the type of under-the-radar recruit Mark Schmidt has made a career off of. The Toronto native was rated one of Canada’s top prep players last year and was perhaps the country’s finest true point guard. Still, he didn’t get many looks from the bigger schools. A lefty, Kaputo is more of a playmaker than incumbent Jay Adams and has greater ability to get the rim off the dribble. He is also a decent shooter from the outside. Don’t be surprised if Kaputo makes an immediate impact for the Bonnies.

One interesting fact: Kaputo goes by the nickname Nelly McFly. We aren’t sure why, but it could be because he can fly in the open court. As for employment, he lists “A Gym Near You” as his place of work on Facebook.

Last Year by the numbers: Kaputo led St. Michael’s College to a 37-0 mark and to acclaim as one of Canada’s top prep teams. He is also a member of his country’s junior national team.

Biggest Strength: McFly is fast and tough to handle in transition – so as long as he doesn’t run into Biff Tannen. He is also very good off the dribble and kicking to open teammates off penetration.

Glaring Weakness: The college game is quicker and Mark Schmidt likes a fast but controlled pace. McFly must slow down his game, learn to run the offense and protect the ball.

Quotable: “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” – Kaputo, via Twitter.

Best Case: Kaputo is so good that Schmidt can’t keep him on the bench for very long and employs a three-guard lineup of McFly, Swaggy J Adams and MP3 Posley. Kaputo may be capable of making the conference all-rookie team like Adams was on pace to do last year before he was injured.

Worst Case: Kaputo has trouble with turnovers, Doc Brown … err Mark Schmidt doesn’t trust him to accelerate the DeLorean to 88 mph, and he is buried on the bench – only to come in when Swaggy needs a breather.