ESPN 100 guard Jalen Gaffney tells ESPN that he has committed to UConn https://t.co/ixy1utXtIf pic.twitter.com/Vjt1m7Cztn— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) September 24, 2018
Great pickup for Hurley and staff, may not be highly ranked on Rivals but ESPN has him as a top 100 4-star and everyone is saying his stock is rising. He's a tough, playmaking PG that's very much in the UConn mold and seems to complement's Hurley's first 2019 commit James Bouknight quite well... chose the Huskies over Clemson, Pitt, Florida, Xavier, St. John's From the Finkelstein article: "Coach [Dan] Hurley laid out five things that stuck with me," Gaffney told ESPN. "The style of play, opportunity to make an immediate impact, exposure, player development, and trust. I trust Coach Hurley, he's won everywhere he's been, and I trust the entire staff and have a great relationship with them." Assistant coach Kimani Young, who also spearheaded Bouknight's recruitment, has a relationship with Gaffney's father that dates back almost three decades, and was pivotal to UConn's ability to make up ground when the new staff arrived this spring.
Welcome to Uconn Country: Jalen Gaffney......PG....6-2/175..... Columbus, NJ (Westtown School , PA) Final 6- Clemson, Connecticut, Florida, Pittsburgh, St. John's and Xavier Must of been a great visit this week-end. Guess those planned visits to Xavier, Clemson and St. John’s won't be needed? Also noticed he jumped up about 70 spots recently on the 247-National rankings and is now a 4 star with them too. Plus he's grown from 6-0 to 6-2/ 6-3 (depending on who reports it), and as I posted in the other threads, his AAU coach( Mike Rice) said his body is just now catching up to his skill set and “He’s a great decision-maker with Russell Westbrook like athleticism.” Borges NHR- Jalen Gaffney commits to UConn men's basketball team 1000% COMMITTED HUSKY NATIONNNNNN @UConnHuskies @UConnMBB @BillionBus pic.twitter.com/WXgWT5LRO5— Jalen Gaffney (@jalengaffney) September 24, 2018
Very, very good start for the Huskies this fall. Look for them to place a greater priority on their frontcourt in the months ahead, that being Achiuwa, Akok, Wahab and Cockburn. Best part about the two guard commitments is that each can play on and off of the ball and, more specifically, each can really shoot the basketball.
Guess I should move this pic from the other thread: 🔥🔥🔥🔥#UConn pic.twitter.com/qj6rPIVAjX— CUE THE MUSIC (@Cue_the_Music) September 22, 2018
That’s really good news. I hope Mike Rice’s comparison of his athleticism to Russ Westbrook is valid. Westbrook is the most athletic point guard I have ever seen, other than maybe Iverson. Westbrook, however, is a 30% career 3 Point FG shooter and that has held him and his team back IMHO. Hopefully the reports that these two guards can shoot a little bit are true. Gaffney looks like a rising late bloomer
He looks good in video. He doesn't look close to Russell Westbrook athletically but should be really good for Huskies.
I don't think anyone is close to Russ Westbrook athletically, except possibly Alan Iverson. On the break, I have not seen anyone that can do the things Westbrook does regularly, which are really, really freakish. If he could have shot the ball better, I would say he is the best point guard ever. I find Steph Curry to be a much more reasonable point guard template for young kids, because the things Westbrook does cannot be replicated, while the things Steph does are all the product of tremendous fundamentals in shooting, passing and dribbling the basketball.
One more story with quotes from Jalen: Basketball Recruit Jalen Gaffney Commits To UConn, Says Presentation 'Blew Me Away' https://t.co/LozwCSA4rb— Dom Amore (@AmoreCourant) September 25, 2018
True to both you guys.... I think these coaches go a little over the top in comparisons, but Gaffney looks like his body and strength are just starting to fill in with his growth spurt. He looks taller than Dan Hurley(6' 2") in that pic above so he has a good base and current athleticism for Sal Alosi to build on to.
What I like about both Gaffney and Bouknight is they both look long to me. I like the combination of athleticism and length and some shooting ability. Guys like that, with proper work ethics, and working with Alosi, can hopefully be developed into serious players.
New story: “I remember Russell when he was in high school, he kind of looked like Jalen,” Rice said. “He was just a skinny, wiry jumping-jack with tremendous speed and quickness. And he had hops. So does Jalen.....“You kind of don’t expect it,” the coach said. “You expect him to lay it in, and he windmill dunks it on somebody.” Full read from Borges @ the NHR: Mike Rice compares UConn men's basketball commit Jalen Gaffney's athleticism to NBA superstar Russell Westbrook
