As his AAU team, the New York Gauchos, boarded a plane to Dallas for a Nike EYBL event in late April, rising senior guard Brian Bernardi was not with them. Instead, he was with his high school team, Xaverian (NY), preparing for Hoop Group’s Providence Jam Fest.

The 6’3” guard decided to pass up the lights of a national showcase to get more quality time with his high school team in a regional tournament. For Bernardi, it was not a matter of playing time, as he starts for both clubs, but more about building camaraderie with his Clipper teammates.

“To him, it was more important to travel with his high school team,” said Chris Alesi, an assistant coach at Xaverian, who has been coaching Bernardi since 2009. “I think that says a lot about the kid and what he stands for.”

The Staten Island native chose to play high school ball in the New York City Catholic League, regarded as one of the city’s best, and his coach sees an improvement in his game because of it.

“He’s a very driven kid. Most kids growing up on Staten Island don’t make the leap,” said Alesi. “He always gets better. From year to year, from week to week, he’s gotten better. From where he took his game after his sophomore year to his junior year, he’s taken off.”

With a smooth and compact three-point stroke, an unrelenting motor and toughness, and a dribble-drive as powerful as a fullback bursting through the line, Bernardi has a mix of fundamentals and intangibles that are getting him noticed.

He was honored as an All-City Second Team player this past season at Xaverian in Brooklyn, as well as making the All-Tournament team at Boo Williams while playing for the Gauchos 16-Under team.

Right now, he has offers from Hofstra and Fordham, but higher-major programs like St. John’s, Providence, Georgetown, and Boston College are starting to take an interest in him.

Recently, a Big East assistant coach went as far as to say Bernardi “shoots like a pro” after watching him play.

“The conventional wisdom has been that, the higher level he goes, the more of a specialist he becomes, but I disagree with that,” Alesi said. “Some people think he could only be an Ivy League kid who sits out behind the three-point line and shoots, but he’s more than that.”

Alesi notes the progress Bernardi has made since coming to Xaverian as a freshman, when he was heralded as an outstanding shooter, but was limited otherwise. Since then, Bernardi has developed the other aspects of his game in anticipation for college-level basketball.

“I’ve been working on my ballhandling and being able to slash to the hoop and drive,” Bernardi said. “So, that lets me pump fake and drive to the hoop. I’m not just a shooter, I have the triple threat. [The defense] has to worry about everything.”

According to Alesi, interest from St. John’s is “lukewarm” at the moment, but assistant coaches Rico Hines and Tony Chiles have watched him work out and there has been “dialogue” between the two sides.

Bernardi attended a St. John’s elite camp under former coach Norm Roberts and a skills camp after Steve Lavin took over at the helm. He was also invited to the inaugural Midnight Madness at Carnesecca Arena last October.

“When St. John’s is good, there is nothing better and that is very attractive to him. St. John’s can offer him the chance to be part of something special,” said Alesi. “Also, there is the possibility of linking back up with Jevon Thomas.”

Thomas, a highly-ranked point guard who is committed to play for Coach Lavin from the Class of 2012, is a teammate of Bernardi’s with the New York Gauchos. Bernardi says he and Thomas are “good friends” and Alesi says the two have developed an efficient inside-out game with Thomas’ driving skills and Bernardi’s shooting.

Steve Lavin is trying to find a way to shuffle his scholarships around as the program moves forward, and perhaps Bernardi fits into the mix. With a rise in interest in the program, he will be competing top-tier talent for a scholarship with the Red Storm.

“I like that it’s close to home in New York and that they play in the Big East,” said Bernardi. “I think I would fit in by giving them an outside shooting threat to go with the athletic players that can attack the rim.”

He took a visit to Georgetown in the Fall, and is still drawing interest from head coach Ed Cooley, who recruited Bernardi at Fairfield, and is now at Providence.

“Right now, I’m not sure where I would like to go,” said Bernardi of where he is in his recruiting. “I’m going to see what schools I can get and try to figure what would be the best fit for me. I need to talk to my coaches and parents and see how they feel would be the best fit for me to go to.”

The key to his development appears to lie ahead, this upcoming July. If he can have a strong showing with his AAU team and at individual camps, he could shoot up some team’s boards and his recruitment could pick up.

He may not be done growing and needs to add muscle and bulk to be able to hang with the physicality of high-major basketball. And his coach has confidence that there are no limits on Bernardi’s development.

“He is a very high character kid. His work ethic is off the charts,” said Alesi. “He’ll practice with us on varsity, then go to a shooting academy where he puts up 1000 shots. Because of that, I don’t think you can define how high his ceiling is.”