By SAM LANCE
FISHERS, IN — Five-star class of 2027 guard Gabe Nesmith had a sophomore season to remember playing with Prolific Prep.
Nesmith was surrounded by a great group of seniors, headlined by No. 1 overall prospect and Kansas signee Darryn Peterson, who were all able to teach him the intricacies of the game. The young sophomore was all ears.
“This was a really special group,” Nesmith told ZAGSBLOG. “They all since day took me under their wing and gave me pointers. Kept me on my p’s and q’s and showed me how hard they work and that I could put that into my own game. Just watching over me and staying on me. Not allowing me to slip up.”
The 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard had a bench role with Prolific Prep this past season. At Chipotle Nationals, Nesmith played 13 minutes and knocked down a key 3-pointer against Long Island Lutheran in the quarterfinals. Even in limited time, Nesmith was able to grow and learned a lot from the veterans.
“Stay in the gym as much as you can, stay poised during big moments,” Nesmith said of what he took away from the seniors. “Just don’t take any moment for granted.”
Nesmith has a versatile game and can do a little bit of everything on the wing. His shooting touch stands out, as well as his ability to take key one-on-one matchups defensively. He had several quality games during the high school season and was even named game MVP on one occasion.
“For me, whatever that game needs,” Nesmith said of his skillset. “If I need to score a lot, and assist the ball and rebound and do all of that stuff, I’m going to do that. If I just need to score, if I just need to facilitate, I’m going to do that. Just whatever the game needs I feel like I got that in my bag. Play defense, defend, lock down the best guy, I got that.”
Right now, Nesmith believes he’s best at shooting off the dribble and getting downhill. But what is he working on most to improve?
“My defense,” Nesmith said. “The whole year [Prolific has] been staying on me and putting me in situations where I can get better. Even though I may or may not succeed, they just put me in those situations so they can develop me as a school and just really help me out.”
As far as his recruitment, Arizona State, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA and USC were all in to see Nesmith during the high school season. He’s taken unofficial visits to both UCLA and USC. He’ll take a few more during the summer or next school year, with UCLA being one he wants to see again.
Here’s the five-star’s breakdown of some of the schools in pursuit:
Kansas: “My guy Darryn Peterson is going there. I’ve talked to their assistant coach a little bit. I like what they got going over there. I feel like they really breed NBA prospects like Darryn is going to be. I just think they got a good situation over there.”
Kentucky: “I like Kentucky. I feel like they build guards. They played pretty good this year, and I like what all the coaches got going there.”
North Carolina: “It was really like their whole coaching staff. I talked to them for a little bit. They were pretty cool. They talked to my coach and said some good things about me because we had a little workout.”
UCLA: “Coach Mick [Cronin]. He’s the main person recruiting me there. He’s really cool. I’ve built a good relationship. Most of the other coaches are just talking to my coaches and stuff about me.”
USC: “Coach Quincey [Pondexter]. I think he’s going to Washington now but when he was there, he was the main person recruiting me.”
When Nesmith starts taking more visits, he’s looking for a quality education and just “good people” and culture surrounding the program. Nesmith will play basketball this summer with Vegas Elite, joining his Prolific Prep teammate and fellow five-star sophomore Obinna Ekezie Jr.
The five-star sophomore isn’t the only athlete in the family. His father, Ernest Nesmith, played college basketball at Johnson C. Smith University. Then you have his older brother, Isaiah Nesmith, who’s a wide receiver at Midwestern State. Nesmith also has a little brother who’s 6-years-old.
Nesmith is ranked the No. 12 overall player in the 2027 class by 247Sports. His favorite NBA player is LeBron James.
“I think his best strength right now is passing,” Prolific Prep head coach Ryan Bernardi told ZAGSBLOG. “Gabe has great length for a guard. And I think as a passer and a scorer, he’s got a chance to be a high level player. He’s going to grow as a consistent shooter. He’s going to grow as a scorer. But he’s got a high-level feel and is a high-level player.”
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