Where could Jalen Duren land? Rivals insiders say it's anybody's guess.
alabama.rivals.com
Does anyone have access to this article?
There are college announcements, and then there are college announcements.
Jalen Duren will make his this Friday night in what will be the most anticipated ceremony of the summer.
Duren will choose between Kentucky, Memphis, Miami, the G-League, and the National Basketball League. Where he will go is by all accounts totally up in the air. When he will arrive at his next stop isn't nearly as dramatic. It is considered a lock that he will reclassify into the Class of 2021 and forego his senior year of high school. There have been few commitments of this stature with cloudier forecasts than Duren's. To gauge the temperature of the room we were fortunate enough to receive input from insiders around each collegiate program.
Gary Ferman is the publisher for
CaneSport and is an insider around the Miami program. Isaac Simpson is the longtime basketball analyst in Memphis at
Tiger Sports Report. Travis Graf and I also will attempt to give it our best shot along with the others to let you know where things stand today and what might happen on Friday.
Travis Graf - Cats Illustrated: "This Jalen Duren recruitment is really a breath of fresh air. It sounds like it's really coming down to the wire, without a clear favorite at the moment. You can get so many different answers and angles depending on who you talk to. Some national sources say Miami and G-League. Memphis sources say Memphis and G-League. Kentucky sources say Kentucky or Memphis. I'm going to stick with my Memphis FutureCast for the time being, but it's very low confidence."
David Sisk - Cats Illustrated: "You've all heard the old line about asking five people a question about a topic and getting five different answers. That is literally the case with Jalen Duren's recruitment as it boils down to the final few days. Travis indicated in his summary that each school has a different opinion of who is in the lead. I have asked several media members who cover each program and educated individuals close to each program and gotten different answers from each one. Here is what I have deducted from my detective work. Each program thinks they have a legitimate shot, but nobody really knows for sure. I also spoke this week with a high-level employee of a professional basketball league, and he believes Duren may choose that path.
That route had a ton of momentum at one time, but now the question mark is how much Name, Image, and Likeness figures into that equation. I have heard from some who believe going pro would cut into his pocket book when one looks at the money tree he could shake at the highest level of college basketball. In the end, those same people on the professional side feel that he needs the unlimited practice and development time that option provides, and that Duren and his people should be aware of that. I have thought all along the odds were strong that he would end up either in the G-League or the NBL. Although that confidence is not as firm as it one was, I still feel that is the most viable option until I hear something different."
Gary Ferman - CaneSports.com: "Miami has been a surprise player for Duren from the very beginning but provides an intriguing option as an ACC school with a roster that he would complete. Miami with Duren would be a likely ACC title contender. So there is an opportunity there that some might not realize on the surface. That said Memphis has been making a hard push down he stretch and whenever Kentucky is involved it commands obvious respect. So while I think Miami is firmly in the mix, it is difficult to predict who will be the last team standing."
Isaac Simpson - TigerSportsReport: “The recruitment of Jalen Duren has a lot of moving parts. First and foremost, he is still currently a member of the class of ‘22 but is almost assuredly going to reclassify to ‘21 in addition to making his commitment on Friday. Unlike a lot of recruitments this late in the game, you usually have a good sense of what direction it’s heading. Duren is set to choose between five options (Memphis, Miami, Kentucky, G-league, NBL). From the Memphis perspective, they feel really good about where they are. Word is he was absolutely blown away by their NIL presentation. If anyone knows how to build a brand it’s Coach Hardaway and I feel like that’s a big plus for them landing the 5 star big man. Three days out though, this one seems anything but settled. You talk to Miami people and they feel like they’re right there. I’ve heard from some Kentucky people that they’re completely out and some think they still have a punchers chance. You also can’t count out the guaranteed money that would await him by going the pro route either. I waited awhile before making a Futurecast to try to get a better read on it. I finally forecasted him to Memphis this weekend but I’m not super confident in it. If anyone outside of Duren and his inner circle says that they know what decision he’s going to make on Friday don’t believe them. My gut says Memphis, but I also wouldn’t be stocked of it went a different direction."
