By SAM LANCE
FISHERS, IN — Class of 2027 guard Antonio Pemberton may have been the youngest player on Brewster Academy this past high school season, but that didn’t stop him from making an impact. Pemberton steadied the point guard position with the absence of Iowa State commit Killyan Toure and showed his maturity playing against mostly seniors.
“He’s poised, passionate,” Brewster head coach Jason Smith told ZAGSBLOG. “Really really bright future. Tough kid.”
In two games at Chipotle Nationals, Pemberton averaged 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists while playing 26 minutes per contest. While he didn’t score a ton, Pemberton played great defense and frequently set up his teammates for success.
“Coming in here I wasn’t expecting to be on the top team because I saw all the other guards there,” Pemberton said. “But I was just saying to myself that I’m going to push myself to just get to that top team. And when I hit the top team I was like, ‘All right, I know I’m not going to be the scorer.’ Because we got Killyan, Sebastian [Wilkins], Ebuka [Okorie]. So I was like, ‘How am I going to stand out?’ And it’s defending, facilitating for my teammates, getting open. Just trying to win the game and being a tough-nosed guard, playing hard really.”
Pemberton describes himself as someone who plays with great pace.
“I don’t let the defense speed me up,” Pemberton said. “I’ll slow the game down, speed it up or anything. And I just like to get my teammates open. I like to see my teammates score, and then after I’ll get hype and play more defense. I’m just an energy guy really.”
With a year against the top competition under his belt, Smith hopes Pemberton emerges as a vocal leader next season for Brewster as a junior. Pemberton will also have an opportunity to show more of his scoring prowess playing with the Mass Rivals on the Adidas 3SSB circuit this summer.
“I’m looking forward to getting my name out there even more, getting on the radar, getting my rankings up,” Pemberton said. “Picking up some offers maybe in the summer when I’m allowed to. Just like kind of playing more on the ball and scoring the ball more because that’s what Rivals wants me to do this year. So that’s really what I’m getting ready for.”
On the recruitment front, Pemberton holds offers from Albany and Rutgers, as well as the old staff at Bryant under Phil Martelli, who’s now the head coach of VCU. The guard also had staff members from Iowa State and Texas A&M (now Maryland) in to see him at Brewster.
Pemberton hasn’t taken any visits so far in the process but is looking forward to going to Iowa State sometime this summer because they really want him up there. Below is Pemberton’s breakdown of some of the schools in contact:
Albany: “I talked to KJ Baptiste. He’s very close with one of my AAU coaches. I talk to him here and there. He’s always checking in. They love to play defense so he told me if I go there I could get better at defense. And I’d just be another good guard for them.”
Bryant: “There was a coaching change. They went to VCU. When they were calling me, they just said they love my game, they loved how I played. They wanted me to go up to the campus, but now they switched to VCU so I don’t really know what’s up right now.” Assistant coach Ryan Daly mainly in contact.
Iowa State: “[Coach Nate Schmidt], he’s checking up on me a lot, making sure I’m in the gym. Asking questions. They like to have family involved too. So I like that he reaches out to my family, talks to my family. He just reaches out whenever. After a good game, bad game, he tells me what I do wrong, what I do right. So he just tells me to have fun out there so I just have a lot of respect for them.”
Rutgers: “I talked to T.J. [Thompson]. He came up to a few of our games. He just likes my game. He likes to talk to my family. He texts me here and there. I like their school. It’s Rutgers. Big name and close to home too. So I really like their school too.”
Pemberton was in contact with Wabissa Bede at Texas A&M, and he followed Buzz Williams to Maryland.
When the guard starts taking visits, he wants to see first and foremost great academics. But basketball wise?
“I want to be somewhere where its like family,” Pemberton said. “Where I feel like I’m at home. Just like a brotherhood. Coaches they love you and that’s really it. Good campus and family. That’s really all.”
Pemberton is ranked the No. 58 overall prospect in the 2027 class by 247Sports. His favorite NBA player is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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