Meet Freddie Dilione, Trinity Christian basketball's latest big-time Division I prospect
Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer
During his time as head coach of the Trinity Christian boys’ basketball program, Heath Vandevender has coached his share of elite scorers.
Add Freddie Dilione, the Crusaders’ latest Division I prospect, to the list.
“He can score about as well as anybody that we’ve had,” Vandevender said of Dilione, a 6-foot-5 junior who is averaging 22.7 points per game through three games this season.
“. … Probably Dennis (Smith Jr.) No. 1, right now. Joey (Baker), Greg (Gantt), Au'Diese (Toney) and some of those other guys were also great players but maybe not where (Dilione) is offensively.”
Baker, Gantt and Toney are currently playing college basketball for Power Five Conference programs.
Considered the top player in Trinity’s 18 years as a program, Smith spent one season at N.C. State before becoming a lottery pick in 2017 when the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the ninth overall pick in the NBA draft.
Once his prep career is complete, Dilione hopes to follow a similar path in playing for a high-major program before taking a run at “the league.”
Currently, Dilione has scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky, Florida International and Penn State. Vandevender said Wednesday that Providence and Maryland are the latest Power Five programs to show interest and added that Wake Forest has been “pretty involved.”
“He’s doing some good stuff for us. … I think he’s a Power Five kid,” Vandevender said.
“I think he’s one of the most under recruited kids that we’ve had. Some of that may be due to COVID as well and the dead period being extended with a lot of people not being able to see him play. But he’s going to be just fine. He’s a good kid.”
For Dilione, being a recruit in 2020 has presented its fair share of challenges.
“It’s been rough with coaches trying to reach out to you since the pandemic,” he said. “. … I was very blessed to have those three offers with hopefully more to come.”
Despite those obstacles, Dilione made a statement in the opening game of his junior campaign with 36 points and eight rebounds on Nov. 19.
“He believes in me as much as I believe in myself,” Dilione said of Vandevender. “He always tries to put the ball in my hands to create or score. That’s what I really like.”
Through three games, Dilione is averaging 22.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals.
“The thing Freddie’s gotta do is continue to understand the defensive end, continue to work on his motor — that’s what a lot of the Power Five guys are looking at,” Vandevender said.
“. … Hopefully, as the season moves forward and we can play 15-20 games, as a coaching staff, we will figure out the different places that we can put him on the floor. He can score the ball any given night. He’s got to understand that he has to play defense every single night, regardless if the ball is going in the hoop or not.”
During an eventful offseason, Dilione focused on improving his lateral quickness so he could become a better all-around defender.
Controlled and efficient with his ability to handle the ball and find lanes to attack the basket, Dilione feels shooting is a “very underrated” skill of his.
Rodd Baxley
The Fayetteville Observer
During his time as head coach of the Trinity Christian boys’ basketball program, Heath Vandevender has coached his share of elite scorers.
Add Freddie Dilione, the Crusaders’ latest Division I prospect, to the list.
“He can score about as well as anybody that we’ve had,” Vandevender said of Dilione, a 6-foot-5 junior who is averaging 22.7 points per game through three games this season.
“. … Probably Dennis (Smith Jr.) No. 1, right now. Joey (Baker), Greg (Gantt), Au'Diese (Toney) and some of those other guys were also great players but maybe not where (Dilione) is offensively.”
Baker, Gantt and Toney are currently playing college basketball for Power Five Conference programs.
Considered the top player in Trinity’s 18 years as a program, Smith spent one season at N.C. State before becoming a lottery pick in 2017 when the Dallas Mavericks selected him with the ninth overall pick in the NBA draft.
Once his prep career is complete, Dilione hopes to follow a similar path in playing for a high-major program before taking a run at “the league.”
Currently, Dilione has scholarship offers from Eastern Kentucky, Florida International and Penn State. Vandevender said Wednesday that Providence and Maryland are the latest Power Five programs to show interest and added that Wake Forest has been “pretty involved.”
“He’s doing some good stuff for us. … I think he’s a Power Five kid,” Vandevender said.
“I think he’s one of the most under recruited kids that we’ve had. Some of that may be due to COVID as well and the dead period being extended with a lot of people not being able to see him play. But he’s going to be just fine. He’s a good kid.”
For Dilione, being a recruit in 2020 has presented its fair share of challenges.
“It’s been rough with coaches trying to reach out to you since the pandemic,” he said. “. … I was very blessed to have those three offers with hopefully more to come.”
Despite those obstacles, Dilione made a statement in the opening game of his junior campaign with 36 points and eight rebounds on Nov. 19.
“He believes in me as much as I believe in myself,” Dilione said of Vandevender. “He always tries to put the ball in my hands to create or score. That’s what I really like.”
Through three games, Dilione is averaging 22.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals.
“The thing Freddie’s gotta do is continue to understand the defensive end, continue to work on his motor — that’s what a lot of the Power Five guys are looking at,” Vandevender said.
“. … Hopefully, as the season moves forward and we can play 15-20 games, as a coaching staff, we will figure out the different places that we can put him on the floor. He can score the ball any given night. He’s got to understand that he has to play defense every single night, regardless if the ball is going in the hoop or not.”
During an eventful offseason, Dilione focused on improving his lateral quickness so he could become a better all-around defender.
Controlled and efficient with his ability to handle the ball and find lanes to attack the basket, Dilione feels shooting is a “very underrated” skill of his.
