By ADAM ZAGORIA
Jalen Duren, the 6-foot-10 big man from Montverde (FL) Academy and the Team Final AAU program, ended the suspense Friday evening by committing to coach Penny Hardaway and Memphis.
Ranked the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2022, Duren is expected to reclassify to 2021 and enroll at Memphis for the 2021-22 season. He chose the Tigers over Kentucky, Miami, the NBA G League and the Australian NBL. He is already projected as a top-5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, according to several mock drafts.
Duren had this to say of Memphis when speaking to ZAGSBLOG last month:
“The pro experience they have in Penny Hardaway and Larry Brown is tremendous. And Cody Toppert helped develop Devin Booker into an All-Star [with the Suns]. Coach Brown is a Hall of Fame coach and the pro experience is a huge factor. I like what they have over there. Since Penny came over, they’ve been building and they’re on the rise.”
Last month at Peach Jam, after going for 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks in the semifinals against the NY Rens, Duren came back with 17 points, 10 boards and three assists in the itle game win over Brad Beal Elite He was named to the All-Peach Jam First Team on ZAGSBLOG.
Montverde coach Kevin Boyle, who had seven players chosen in last week’s NBA Draft, believes Duren is a future NBA player who must continue to develop his offensive game.
“I thought Jalen really improved his motor, skills, basketball understanding and intensity,” Boyle said. “He is a terrific player and has the unique ability to trap and or switch on ball screens. His perimeter offense improved dramatically and after a year in college will be very comfortable facing the basket at the highest levels of competition. We appreciate his major contribution to our National Championship.”
One NBA scout who saw Duren at Peach Jam last month said of him:
“Jalen looks like a grown ass man right now. He plays almost as if he’s in a supporting cast and then the next thing you know he catches a ball in the dunker’s spot and he’s got his nose on the rim. I would want him to be more dominant but it’s obvious that he has the physical attributes and the athleticism
“You want him to demonstrate a skill set and an acumen outside of just being a dunker and a shot-blocker. I want him to be more dominant, truthfully.”
Memphis also remains in the mix for superstar Emoni Bates, who was ranked the No. 2 player in ’22 behind Duren before he announced Wednesday he will reclassify to 2021 and is considering Memphis, Michigan State, Oregon and the G League. He hasn’t set an announcement date and could pop at any time for one of his options after decommitting from Michigan State in April.
Duren and Bates are friends and were teammates briefly this summer with Team Final when they won the Southern Jamfest. After Bates returned to Bates Fundamental for Peach Jam, he sat behind the Team Final bench urging them on during their run to the Peach Jam title.
The addition of Duren — and potentially Bates — will amp up the pressure on Hardaway and his staff to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time. In three seasons at his former school, Hardaway is 63-32 with no NCAA Tournament appearances although the Tigers won the NIT title last year.
“I think that we want the pressure,” Hardaway told me in 2019 for Forbes. “…The pressure of having really good players and then putting that on us, and say, hey, you need to get here, we understand what that means, and we want that. That means that you have a great team and you have the opportunity to win a national championship when they start putting that type of pressure on you.”
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Jalen Duren, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2022, class announced on Monday night that he will be making his college decision on Friday, August 6th, at the Team Final Headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.
Coverage for his commitment will begin at 6:00 PM ET and run through 7:30 PM ET, he posted on Instagram.
The 6-foot-10, 230-pound big man is down to a final five options consisting of Kentucky, Memphis, Miami, the G League and the NBL.
In early July, Duren broke down each of his finalists in an interview with 247Sports.
G League: “It’s just the development aspect and that’s something that goes with all five honestly. Just knowing that those guys are like the baby NBA kind of thing and they’re teaching guys terminology and everything they need to take that next step.”
Kentucky: “Kentucky, their program speaks for itself, they got a crazy legacy. Talking to coach Cal and his new coaching staff was great, even some of the new guys on campus, just getting a feel for everything. I had never been up there before so kind of seeing everything that they got to offer and them talking to me about my development and what he has done for past guys like me and where he has got them to and how he got them to be ready for that next level.” New York Launches New Policy For Cars Used Less Than 50 Miles/DaySponsored by Walletgenius Why Did No One Tell New York Drivers About This?See more
Memphis: “Talking to Penny [Hardaway], just kind of picking his brain about his pro career and seeing all the things that he did and what he did in his years at Memphis, sending guys to the League and developing guys and even added on Hall of Fam coach Larry Brown. Just having a coaching staff, he has a great staff there and will add into the development piece and learn how to be a pro and just teach me a lot more about the game.”
Miami: “Of course the whole world knows that one of my guys is the assistant coach there and I have a great relationship with him but I also have a great relationship with coach [Jim] Larranaga. They have been recruiting me the longest out of any school and just seeing their team, I clicked with a lot of guys on their team. They have an older team, they will have one of the oldest teams in college basketball, they have a lot of seniors and a lot of fifth year guys on their roster. Seeing the way they compete, I love the energy of Miami and I feel like it was great visit when I went down there. They even had a full plan on how they would develop me too, they gave out a great presentation on their plans for my development and their plans for my career in college basketball.”
NBL: “Just talking to some of the guys that have gone over there and some of the guys that run that league, them telling me about the physicality about it, the betterment of it. It’s not like the NBA, it’s got a lot of older guys playing over there, a lot more physical guy and I feel like that aspect will get me ready to play against older guys anyway on that next level and just how they develop over there. A lot of overseas guys go through the leagues and learn to play on the perimeter more and that’s something that is appealing over there.”
Where do things currently stand heading down the final stretch?
It has been very difficult to gauge a leader over the last two months for the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 class. Miami and Memphis appear to be ahead of the pack with the G League and Kentucky following not too far behind. The NBL option is the one option receiving the least amount of buzz but with how tight Duren’s hand is being played, you can’t rule anything out.
Miami made a hire this summer in DJ Irving, Duren’s former coach at Roman Catholic High School and with Team Final, where the two grew a strong relationship over the years. We have seen a growing trend in recent years of hires being made with strong ties to elite prospects and the hiring of Irving could play a big part in Duren’s decision come Friday. Miami have also recruited Duren the longest and have been consistent throughout regardless of many expecting him to take the professional route early in his high school career. New York Launches New Policy For Cars Used Less Than 50 Miles/DaySponsored by Walletgenius Why Did No One Tell New York Drivers About This?See more
On Memphis, Penny Hardaway and his staff have developed a strong relationship with Duren. They have an immense amount of NBA experience on their staff with Hardaway, Larry Brown and Cody Toppert, an aspect in which Duren is intrigued by as he covets a place that will prepare him for the next step in his career.
While the ultimate destination is too tight to place a Crystal Ball, the college route is expected to be the ultimate pathway Duren will take, where he could make more than seven figures off his name, image and likeness in the collegiate ranks.
Another expectation on Friday is that Duren will announce whether he will be reclassifying to the 2021 class or staying in the 2022 class, a hot rumor on the trail this summer.
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