Pre-season performances don't tend to hold much juice as far as credibility.
Statistics soon fade into irrevelance. The experience is ultimately valued over the results. A sterling performance or a gaudy stuffing of the statistical book is whittled into meaningless material as soon as the season officially kicks off.
Yet it is these initial stages of the prep basketball campaign which tend to reveal who is who and who is capable of what.
And so Believe Academy's (TN) Dexter Dennis and his veteran poise in an 18-point performance during a loss to Athlete's Institute in the Hoop Exchange All American Jamboree in Florida last weekend elicits promise.
The 6-foot-5 Dennis took a hard dribble, levitated, seized the quality hang time and proceeded to punch home a thunderous one-handed dunk in the first quarter.
Moments later, Dennis drilled a straight-away 3-pointer. He would again get free in transition for another powerful dunk which injected spirit into the arena.
Providing energy, two-way athleticism, and a readiness in knifing to the rack, Dennis was easily the best player on the court Sunday.
He even drew more attention than 6-foot-4, 200-pound Athlete's Institute guard Luguentz Dort.
Dort, who would commit to Arizona State just a few days after the tournament, averaged 24.5 PPG at The Conrad Academy (FL) as a junior.
Dennis entered Believe without the same lofty expectations as other more acclaimed recruits.
In supplying immediate energy and sustaining the killer instinct that's hard to come by at the post-grad level, Dennis has taken the first steps in elevating his Division-1 profile.
As a senior at Baker last season, Dexter adapted to a role of multiplicity. He was the primary stopper on the press. He crashed the boards and battled with bigger forwards in the trenches. While a slasher at heart, Dennis invested extra time in the gym to develop a dependable mid-range and beyond the arc game.
While Nicholls State offered Dennis during the embryonic stages of his recruitment and soon made him a priority, programs such as Lafayette, Northwestern State and Southern (LA) have become involved.
UNC Asheville has offered recently and Pepperdine has expressed interest. IUPUI, with head coach Jason Gardner on hand in Athens, Tenn. on Monday, has offered.
"He's as good off the court as he is on it," said Believe Prep head coach Tyson Waterman, who starred at Winthrop.
"He's a special kid. He's an everyday guy who is steadily getting better. He's being missed right now, under the radar. He's a high-major player."
Dennis currently holds holds a 3.7 GPA. In showing out with vertical explosiveness and elite level athleticism, Dennis exemplifies an overlooked prospect who could make a late quantum leap in recruitment. A six-month window of prep basketball, which includes marquee matchups on The Grind Session, will be a considerable gauge of this.
"He's an elite level athlete, he puts his head on the rim at 6-5," said Brad Traina, the Associate Head Coach at Believe Prep.
"He has SEC, ACC potential with his level of athleticism."
Recruiting has forever been regarded as an inexact science. Every kid of Dennis' style and know-how can turn a corner on some of the country's massive stages.