{"id":3512,"date":"2017-10-02T15:48:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T15:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/?p=3512"},"modified":"2017-10-02T15:50:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T15:50:09","slug":"basketball-standout-returns-to-williston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/2017\/10\/02\/basketball-standout-returns-to-williston\/","title":{"rendered":"Basketball Standout Returns to Williston"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Ed. note: This story originally ran in <\/em>The Willistonain. It was written by Staff Writer\u00a0Oskar Lee ’18<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In a rare move, Duncan LeXander, rising basketball star, turned down a college scholarship and returned to Williston as a postgraduate.<\/p>\n

Duncan signed his letter of intent to play at Presbyterian in South Carolina on November 16, 2016. In May he graduated from Williston. On June 29, 2017, he announced on Twitter that he had de-committed from Presbyterian.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful consideration, and talking with my family, coaches, and those closest to me, I have decided to de-commit and ask my release from Presbyterian College,\u201d he wrote. He went on to thank everyone for their understanding and ended by thanking former Presbyterian Coach Gregg Nibert for recruiting him. Coach Nibert resigned on April 12th after 28 seasons.<\/p>\n

Duncan then played for his summer league team. Team Magic Elite, in Memphis for two-and-a-half months in tournaments throughout the United States such as Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Kansas City.<\/p>\n

On September 6, Duncan announced on Twitter that he would be making his return to Williston as a PG.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is weird knowing that most schools don\u2019t let you take a Post-Grad year but I am happy to be back,\u201d Duncan told\u00a0The Willistonian<\/i>. \u201cIt\u2019s great seeing everyone from last year and meeting some new people as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite many options, Duncan chose to return to Williston was because of the \u201cWilliston community and coach Farmer.\u201d Duncan continued, \u201cI had a great year last year. Knowing that if I came back I would know people already and I am used to how it works so I wouldn\u2019t need to fix anything. This played a big factor in my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

With his return Duncan adds more depth to a team that successfully went 15-7 last year. As three more basketball PG\u2019s will join with the team this year, Duncan hopes to be leading the charge.<\/p>\n

His ultimate goals are \u201cWinning a NEPSAC championship, and I would like to have another good year at Williston like I did last year and hopefully trying to get more offers.\u201d This was another factor that played into Duncan\u2019s decision to do a post grad year. He said that \u201cHigh major Division 1 schools wanted me to do a PG year to get stronger and more consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duncan already has offers from Charleston Southern, UNH, and East Tennessee State (All NCAA Division 1 schools) and hopes that this season shall open more opportunities for him and hopefully receive more offers from other schools.<\/p>\n

Not only is it Duncan\u2019s second year but it is Coach Farmer\u2019s second year at Williston, too.<\/p>\n

Farmer remarked, \u201cIt feels great having him back, it is not only good for the basketball team but great for school. We talked over summer and discussed how he was in between a couple different options. In the end, he felt that Williston was the best fit for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a new team this year as the Varsity team lost five seniors last year but both Duncan and Farmer are not affected by this at all.<\/p>\n

Duncan said, \u201cLast year our strengths were in different areas compared to the team this year. It is a different playing style. It is not only my second year but Coach Farmer\u2019s as well with the team.\u201d He continued, \u201cYoung players from last year have grown and will contribute more. Players this year know what to expect and how to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Farmer also commented about this year\u2019s team, saying, \u201cI think on paper we look pretty talented, it all comes down to how much work and effort people put in during the offseason. We just really focus on trying to improve every single day individually and as a team\u201d.<\/p>\n

Duncan\u2019s talent as an athlete is undeniable. He is also apart of the varsity track & field team; last year he placed 5th in the high jump in the NEPSAC Championships last year with a height of 6\u20190. Despite his athletic reputation on campus, being at Williston was more than just basketball for him.<\/p>\n

Coach Farmer said \u201cI think it\u2019s an incredible decision given everything going on in his life up to this point and to decide last minute. I think this extra year is going to help him improve as a person on and off the court and will make him very successful in college.\u201d<\/p>\n

His teammate and roommate from last year, Abood Abuissa \u201918 said, \u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine going another year without him so I am thrilled he is back, he helped me adjust to life in the US when I first came last year. It\u2019s lob city. It\u2019s awesome to be able to graduate together with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abood was also recruited here last year as junior from Qatar. After playing one year with Duncan, he expressed his excitement to have Duncan back.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is going to helps us a lot in terms of basketball,\u201d Abood said. \u201cHe is experienced and his basketball IQ is impeccable. Off the court he is one of the nicest people I know. I think a lot of people are happy to see him back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ed. note: This story originally ran in The Willistonain. It was written by Staff Writer\u00a0Oskar Lee ’18. In a rare move, Duncan LeXander, rising basketball star, turned down a college scholarship and returned to Williston as a postgraduate. Duncan signed his letter of intent to play at Presbyterian in South Carolina on November 16, 2016. … Continue reading Basketball Standout Returns to Williston<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-athlete-profile"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3512"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3512"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3516,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3512\/revisions\/3516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}