Two years ago, Rakease Passmore was forced to make a decision that, in retrospect, seems like the no-brainer of no-brainers.
Back then, he was a promising eighth-grade quarterback prospect consistently eluding the defensive pressure and gunning precise passes to his receivers for the Mighty Ducks (Palatka, Fla.).
“I was nice too,” Passmore says. “I loved football. Being from Florida, I thought that was gonna be my lane. I wanted to play for the Gators and all that.”
Still, on the rare instance that his shifty footwork fell short and ended with a violent blow that resulted in Passmore suffering from a concussion, Passmore’s mother, Takshia Russell, called for a shift of his said grand plan, effective “immediately.”
“She was done with football,” Passmore says. “She wanted me to focus on basketball, and, man, I was mad at first. I’ll be honest; I used to say basketball was for softies. It turned out to be the best decision I ever made.”
The acclimation curve from the gridiron to the hardwood wasn’t painstaking, but shifting the focus from pinpointing passes to draining jump shots from 22 feet certainly had its obstacles.
“I always played, but not organized,” Passmore says. “I always had guys in the community that played ball and I’d just be around dribbling and stuff like that. It was mostly a timing thing, but things started to click after a while.”
J. Coleman Moore
Last season at A.C. Reynolds (Asheville, N.C.), he pumped in 19 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He kicked it up a notch this summer against some of the stiffest competition in the country, averaging 21 points a game for Garner Road (N.C.) in the Adidas 3SSB circuit.
Passmore’s summer stardom upgraded his offers from mostly mid-majors to a Power 5 party, reeling in offers from Auburn, NC State, Tennessee, LSU and Texas A&M, among others, while Oregon, Iowa State and UCLA have upped their interest in the last week.
“It feels pretty crazy to be in this position,” says Passmore, who will transfer to national hoops powerhouse Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.) next season. “I know I put a lot of work in, but when it starts to pay off it just feels good. It makes you want to go harder.”
At 6'6" and boasting a 46-inch vertical, Passmore’s athletic ability creates wow-factor plays over the course of a game that tends to overshadow an impressive skill set.
He is adept at slashing to the lane, using his length to finish through traffic, but also has an improving stroke from the perimeter to keep the defense off balance.
“Rakease is one of the best upcoming players in the country,” Combine Academy coach Michael Wright says. “His skill development is trending upward to match his athleticism. He defends, rebounds and play makes. Kease is such a humble kid, so big things will continue to come his way. My staff and I can’t wait to work with him daily.”
When asked about what he focuses on improving in his daily workouts, Passmore matter-of-factly says, “Ballhandling and shooting.”
“I’ve gotten a lot better, but I try and push myself to get to a higher level every day,” he says. “I think my background as a quarterback helps my vision. I see things that other guys don’t see sometimes. It helps me as a playmaker. That opens up everything for me on the offensive end.”
Passmore has already taken unofficial visits to Tennessee, College of Charleston, Appalachian State, Western Carolina, Wake Forest and NC State.
“I’m hoping to get out to some official visits soon,” Passmore says. “Just being able to talk to the staffs in person and see everything is exciting.”
He’s also hoping to catch the eye of one blueblood in particular. While Passmore grew up doing the Gator chomp with a future in football in mind, his endearment went due north once he traded in the cleats for sneakers.
“Duke was the team I really liked when I started getting into basketball,” Passmore says. “I would love to hear from them, so we’ll see what happens. For me, I just appreciate all the schools reaching out. It wasn’t that long ago that I wasn’t even thinking about basketball; now all of these top coaches are calling all the time. It makes me think about how much further I can take this. That’s what I’m motivated by.”
