Oakland County stars Canfield, Pardon to WHAC

Cole Pardon, a 6-5 Ortonville Brandon senior, has committed to Lawrence Tech.

Neither their high school teams or the college squads they’ll eventually join have started their seasons yet, but recruiting doesn’t sleep. Which doesn’t preclude dreaming, and the staffs from Concordia and Lawrence Tech don’t want to wake up from theirs after landing two of the top 2021 prospects from talent-rich Oakland County. with Bloomfield Hills’ Mason Canfield committing to Concordia and Ortonville Brandon’s Cole Pardon to Lawrence Tech.

A Bloomfield Hills grad, Armand Cartright, was an All-WHAC point guard last season as a senior for Rochester. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Canfield similarly honored as a Concordia upperclassman. He’s as battle-tested as most anyone at the high school level, starting since his freshman season in one of the state’s strongest leagues, averaging 13 points and 5 rebounds over those three seasons.

“Mason is a true floor general, it’s like having a coach on the floor at all times,” Bloomfield Hills coach Phil Kurajian said. “He has elite basketball IQ, such unreal vision with the basketball that I’m still trying to figure out how he has made some of those passes. And he can really shoot it. “He’s a great competitor, leader and teammate who makes everyone around him better.”

Pardon is a 6-5 wing guard who is committed to Lawrence Tech. He combines talents that are often disparate in high school prospects and is a college player as a result — can push it in the open court or slip open in the half court; cocky and a good teammate; shooter and a driver; crafty and athletic. LTU coach Josh Perkins struck gold when he went to the hinterlands of Oakland County landing Milford’s Gunnar Gustafson in 2019, he went on to start every game of his sophomore season and average 12 points and 7 rebounds a game, and looks to have landed a similarly talented prospect here.