Upon initial encounter, Scotland Campus Sports’ Clarence Nadolny doesn’t exactly have “freak athlete” written across his forehead.
The words don’t exactly fall off the page. You might not instantly suspect the wildly explosive 6-foot-3 guard to put his head through the rim.
Yet when he leaks out into the open court and levitates, Nadolny’s sheer lift off prowess is present. The native of France is capitalizing on a breakout summer, having tuned up his recruitment considerably on the high major scales.
New Mexico, Iowa State, and Georgetown have been most consistent in Nadolny’s recruitment.
Beyond his aerial game, Nadolny will lean on a playmaking acumen quite similar to another guard of the same neighborhood and nickname: former West Oaks guard Sylvain “Frenchie” Francisco.
After toiling in relative obscurity at two prior locations, Francisco morphed into a flame thrower during a storied senior season at West Oaks.
Two years later, Francisco is authoring a professional career in France.
He went from facilitator to scorer to one of the country’s premiere playmakers his senior season, leaving a rather tough act to follow.
“(Sylvain) is like a big bro to me,” Nadolny explained.
“He’s always keeping in touch about the game, touching on what we have to work on to be the best in the game.”
During his final scholastic season at West Oaks, which also featured high-scoring guard L.J. Figueroa (now at St. John’s) the original “Frenchie” would blossom.
“Frenchie was always one big play away from breaking the game wide open,” said Alex Arias, a then assistant under Kenny Gillion on that nationally ranked West Oaks team.
“He was a competitive spirit who never stopped. He was the best combination of speed, hops, and a deep ball threat I’ve ever encountered in any point guard I’ve had the honor to coach.”
Arias continued, “He brought some swagger as well. No one can tell me they’ve seen a cooler archer than my boy. We knew he was a certified pro in Europe, once he made the decision to chase his professional dream back in France.”
Buoyed by a similar explosive style and instinctive scoring skill set, Nadolny has grand plans to etch a similar legacy at Scotland Campus.
Chief among a chock full of guards on an oceanic-deep post graduate core, FRENCHIE 2.0 is flanked by the likes of DeQuarius Nicholas, Weber State-commit Judah Jordan, Austin Galuppo, Jaylin Fleming and several others.
Head Coach Chris Chaney, who has nurtured guards such as Koreem Ozier (Sacred Heart), Dwight Hardy (St. John’s), Shawne Williams (Memphis/NBA), and myriad others, said Nadolny’s role is ramped up in importance.
“We’re definitely looking for him to be a leader on and off the court, someone who brings that energy on a daily basis and plays an all around game in all aspects,” Chaney said.
“We believe he has improved in a lot of things already, especially with the intangibles.”
