If you’re drafting a starting five of the best shotmakers in New England prep basketball, Anthony Vick has to be one of the picks.
The Boston, Mass. native was a crucial piece of Cushing’s Class AA championship season this past winter. Vick was the Penguins’ third-leading scorer while shooting a touch under 38 percent from 3-point range as he made difficult shots look easy. The 6-foot-4 guard – who checked in at No. 30 in our inaugural Top 50 rankings for the 2027 class – has carried over his success to the grassroots season with Team New England, where he recently picked up another Division 1 offer from Gardner-Webb.
While sharpshooting might be his greatest strength, there’s more to Vick’s game.
For our latest prospect watch, we caught up with Fabian Lara, who has coached Vick over the last year at Cushing and with Team New England, to break down the guard’s skills and potential.
Premier shotmaking
“I think it’s the ability to shoot in a variety of situations. It could be off the dribble, it could be on the move. Obviously on the catch is great, but his ability to make shots in a variety of ways from all kinds of range. He had a game earlier this year against Newman where he had seven 3s at TD Garden and it was just a barrage of transition 3s, corner 3s, kind of shaking up out of the corner on a pick and roll. In that game, he didn’t do a ton off the dribble, but just his ability to shoot at any time from anywhere. It’s just super dangerous. … (His range) is far beyond past NBA range. … When he gets going, it’s a true microwave.”
An underrated facilitator
“His ability to pass off the dribble is actually really underrated. … As he gets better at handling pressure, like there’s been plenty of times where he can come off the pick and roll and be a really talented passer, either left or right hand on the move and can really fling the ball. For someone who’s really been a one-sport athlete for most of his life, his ability to pass, like sometimes you see some of the best passers are guys who play baseball or football, like they can really throw. He’s somebody who can just come off the pick and roll, can be attacking downhill and can find guys left and right hand, so his feel and IQ are excellent but his ability to pass on the move is really, really awesome.”
Defensive instincts
“He’s not going to be out there being Lu Dort, Marcus Smart, a big bruising guard. That’s not really going to be him. But for the same reason he’s a great offensive player, his defensive feel and IQ are high and he’s now being able to use that more often. … Anticipating, being in the right spots, understanding the feel of a game to impact it on that end to make up for the lack of the size. Like Theo (Edema) is a great counterpoint. Theo has a great feel, but Theo will find ways to use his length and be around the rim and just protect it. Ant can use his ability to make sure he can get into a couple passing lanes or anticipate screens and fight around them, not because he’s strong but because he understands what’s happening, and that’s where he’s gotten better.”
High IQ and charismatic personality
“Coaching him has really shown that — it’s one thing that’s really hard to see until you coach him. His ability to learn quickly, he’s a fast learner, he understands the game very well, he understands even the emotional IQ that needs to come with basketball sometimes. Like, hey, certain guys haven’t got touches, or identifying trends in the game quickly, He thinks the game. One area that I’m hoping he grows a lot in the next two months is, can you grow into a leader where everything that you realize — like, wow, this kid knows a lot going on — can you start to vocalize it and lead? He has a lot of charisma. He is an awesome kid. He’s going to coach basketball some day, he’s one of my easy picks for someone who’s just going to end up being a coach at some point. ... Somehow I don’t even see him coaching college hoops, I can see him just being like a Boston coaching legend because he’s just going to come back and know everybody and be the mayor.
“He’s kind of that kid. He’s gonna come back, be the home guy who coaches in all the leagues and goes to all the local events and understands everyone and wants to make it great for the community. He has that kind of charisma and then allowing himself to be that. I don’t know if people have noticed that enough in him to cultivate that, where it’s like, dude, you got it. You have IQ, you have charisma, you got this, now let it out. Don’t be afraid to lead, don’t be afraid to be that guy who’s not just Ant Vick the really good shooter, but it’s Ant Vick, you know what the hell you’re doing and you can persevere through tough basketball and you know how to do this. I think he’s got certain qualities that can really make that happen for him and others that he’s just not really cultivated before.”
College potential
“I think if he gets hot and is a really good shooter, he can project to a mid-major level. I think at the most part though, he’s going to find the most success and recruitment at the low-major Division 1 level because his skillset is obviously so coveted in his ability to shoot and his ability to shoot in a variety of ways. There are guys who can make a catch-and-shoot 3 and there’s guys who can fly around the court making shots any time, anywhere, and he’s more that level.
“If he can continue to grow his skills as an on-ball guard — ‘I can run an offense, I can handle pressure, I can make plays and I can also get stops’ — then I think down the line in college there’s an ability where he can be someone who out-projects really well, he beats his scout down the line because he has the skill that everyone wants, and then you add the things that you can low-key control. If he gets stronger and he gets tougher, he can control that, but those might take some time. … I think he’s a no-brainer Division 1 player that’ll find a good spot to start and then he’ll have a chance to grow as a combo (guard) from there.”
