Hawken graduate Paul headed to Syracuse

Guard will be a preferred walk-on

Hawken graduate Brendan Paul, now at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, will join Syracuse’s basketball team as a preferred walk-on next season.

Brendan Paul and Buddy Boeheim became fast friends before they arrived at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H.

The Bobcats’ incoming shooting guards competed against each other on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball circuit during high school. They messaged back and forth about playing at Brewster, and which one of them was the best shooter among prep players in the New England area.

Soon after school started, Buddy’s father, Jim, planned a trip to watch an open gym at Brewster. Before Syracuse’s head coach arrived, his son relayed Paul’s high interest in joining Boeheim’s powerhouse program.

Paul said his play during the open gym in late September, with Boeheim and other college coaches looking on, was his best since he arrived at Brewster. Later that night, when Paul was studying in the library, he received a life-changing call.

Jim Boeheim was on the other end, telling the Hawken graduate he would love for Paul to come play for the Orange.

Paul accompanied Buddy Boeheim to Syracuse’s campus this past weekend for the school’s family weekend, and committed on Oct. 18.

“It still doesn’t feel real,” Paul said. “I’ve been thinking about it for awhile.”

The Shaker Heights native will join the team as a preferred walk-on. The possibility exists for Paul to earn an athletic scholarship in 2019. He will room with Buddy Boeheim at Syracuse next year and possibly Gahanna Lincoln’s Matthew Moyer, currently a freshman at Syracuse.

Paul chose Syracuse over opportunities from many low- to mid-major Division I schools, D-II teams and D-III elite academic programs.

“Being able to play in the ACC and experience watching Boeheim coach,” Paul said, “learning all the things from him, going to his house on the weekends, all that kind of stuff, that’s just the experience I wanted.”

Paul led the Hawks in scoring with 14.2 points per game during his senior season. He finished fifth in the area with 57 3-pointers.

Hawken head coach Shawn McGregor expressed delight at the opportunity earned by one of his most dedicated players.

“We have a saying that you get what you deserve,” McGregor said, “and through his constant hard work and belief in himself, he has accomplished a goal that he set for himself at a young age. I’m thrilled for him. He has worked so hard to be the player he is and to put himself in a position to succeed. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Paul plans to enroll in Syracuse’s Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics to study sports management and analytics. Falk College is named for alumnus David Falk, the basketball super-agent who represented Michael Jordan, who donated $15 million to the university in 2011. Paul also intends to pick up a communications minor from Syracuse’s prestigious Newhouse School of Public Communications.

“To have such a good education at Syracuse also is going to be a huge priority for me and my family,” Paul said.

Paul is enrolled in two advanced placement classes at Brewster Academy. Between his studies this year and Hawken’s rigorous curriculum, where Paul excelled academically, he will begin studying at Syracuse next fall with a plethora of credits.

In the meantime, Paul will also hone his basketball skill. His teammates include top prep players committed to Washington, Oregon, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Connecticut.

“I’m playing with and against the best kids in the nation like every day,” Paul said.