Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) & Matthew Ryan (@matthewryan02) The second weekend of Philly Live 2021 wrapped up on Sunday, with eight final sets of action to conclude the two-weekend-long, massive event at St. Joe’s Prep. Here’s one final notebook of coverage from the event, featuring a mix of hig
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Michael Walz (2022 | Conestoga)
This summer has been an eventful one for 6-10, 235-pound center
Michael Walz. The rising senior at Conestoga is in the heart of his recruiting and is juggling that with the grind of the high school offseason and AAU season. Walz is using his AAU and high school games as a ‘release’ from all the mayhem happening off the court.
On the final day of Philly Live II, the big man had an impressive showing against St. Joe’s Prep in front of numerous colleges. Walz dominated inside and showed his shooting ability knocking down two threes. Walz finished the game with a double-double registering 24 points and 13 rebounds, giving the ball an empathic slap after coming down with some of his boards.
Walz is working on improving his strength around the basket, which he showed Sunday finishing through contact, his ability to drive, and becoming more of a playmaker in the sense of setting his teammates up to succeed in every way possible.
“Playmaking doesn't necessarily entail just handling the ball,” Walz said. “Setting up your teammates to be in the right position to score, directing them throughout the offense, being a captain. We don’t have captains on the summer team but trying to take that role of directing your guys letting them know what's up. Letting them know where they're supposed to be. I think playmaking there’s more than one element.”
Shooting and defense are two aspects Walz is also working on, specifically trying to improve his footspeed and guard more wings which he mentioned is important when playing AAU ball and having to guard 6-8 players that can handle the basketball.
Walz currently holds offers from Bucknell, Richmond, William & Mary, Lehigh, St. Joe’s, La Salle and Penn State, which he picked up following his big game on Sunday, and has been in recent contact with them all. Walz has also been in communication with Davidson, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, George Washington, Towson, Iona, Stony Brook, Northeastern, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Delaware, Brown and Drexel.
Walz is doing his due diligence visiting schools, taking unofficial’s to Lehigh, William and Mary, Richmond, Princeton, Bucknell, and St. Joe’s which he also visited officially. He currently has an official visit set up for Lehigh on Thursday and mentioned the possibility of visiting others schools with Holy Cross, Stony Brook, Lafayette, Delaware, and La Salle — who tried to set up a visit with him but both parties schedules didn’t match — along with the possibility of other schools getting in the mix.
When it comes to Walz’s next step in his hoops career, he has three pillars that are important to him, the first being academics. Walz wants a respected degree that he can use ‘once the ball stops bouncing,’ adding that business is his top major choice. The second is a place where he can win. The third and final pillar is a place where he feels like part of a family.
“It’s always nice to know that within your little college basketball community there will always be someone to have your back, inviting you places, caring for you like brothers and sisters or parents,” Walz said.
Walz has four schools that are going to be when he cuts his list down, declining to mention any by name, and is still open to more schools getting in the mix. As for now, Walz is going to keep his options open throughout the live period, where he'll be playing on the Under Armour circuit with Philly Pride during stops in Georgia, Texas and Indianapolis.
“We’ll have a lot of national exposure, we’ll see if any other schools reach out but I think that’s the plan that my coaches and I and my family have come to,” Walz said.
— Matthew Ryan
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