By JAMES MADDEN & SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY, KS — SJ Madison — a 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard in the class of 2026 — has begun to attract the attention of many different schools in the western part of the country.
From Redondo Union (CA), Madison is spending the summer with Team Why Not. He has played in 11 games for his squad, averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, playing part in their 6-5 record so far this season.
Madison plays much larger than his frame and is incredibly versatile. He tries to do everything he can to will his team to win on both ends of the floor, no matter the situation.
“I can do almost anything,” Madison told ZAGSBLOG. “I can rebound, shoot, drive the ball, play against bigger people than my size and guard little guards.”
Just like his favorite NBA player, Jaylen Brown, Madison prides himself on his defensive ability and toughness and views it as one of his best all-around traits.
“Definitely my defense, that probably stands out the most,” he said. “I pretty much can stop anybody that I’m guarding and make it a tough time for everybody.”
On the recruitment front, Madison holds offers from Loyola Marymount, Montana, UC Riverside, UNLV and UT Arlington. He’s also receiving interest from a number of programs out on the west coast. Loyola Chicago, Santa Clara, UCLA, UNLV and USC have been out to see him during high school or during the live session in Memphis.
The four-star hasn’t taken any visits yet but will be setting some up this summer. Here’s Madison’s break down of some of the schools involved:
Loyola-Chicago: “They told me a lot about it. They have a really good school. They said you can go to the NBA from there. I can learn a lot from that school, like developing my game. That’s what they were telling me about when they called me.” Assistant coach Brendyn Taylor in mainly in contact.
Montana: “They’ve called me a couple times. I think they really like me at Montana. That’s a good option, but that’s pretty much all I know. They also made March Madness. So they’re a pretty good school to go to.”
Santa Clara: “They’re really good in academics. I know they also coached Jalen Williams and Brandin Podziemski. [Herb Sendek] actually coached James Harden when he was at ASU. I also know a lot about that. They’re like a big guard school and they shoot a lot of threes. They made like 20 threes in a game before. They put up a lot of numbers.”
UNLV: “[Josh Pastner] came to see me during one of my practices, so it was pretty cool. He told me a lot about how they still want me at their school. Because, you know, the coaching change, they came out to see me.”
The four-star guard mentioned the importance of seeing how teams practice and how different practices are run, which is something that will be very important to him when visiting schools.
Madison is ranked the No. 125 overall prospect in the class of 2026 by 247Sports. His stock could be on the rise with a great showing at Pangos All-American camp so far.
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