dacomeup
Supporter
- Jan 20, 2006
- 26,607
- 37,554
Given the talent pool in NYC as of late, that ain't saying much. Big step for Canada though given the "history" and size of NYC.
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, he def had one and done talent,
Nah im just saying he def would have been a 1st round pick had he left after his freshman year, but you will see this year
Adam Rowe said...
Just got off with Jahlil. Asked him about the package deal. His response: "The same thing I've been saying since my freshman year. I'm going to school with Tyus. It's as simple as that."
These kids need to just take the schools off their list that they have no intention of considering. I'm just waiting for the day a coach of one of these schools publicly pulls an offer from one of these recruits.
Totally understand the need to build hype and get your "marketing" on, but you just look silly dragging this stuff out. We don't need all these tweets saying what everyone has known for months and months.
These kids need to just take the schools off their list that they have no intention of considering. I'm just waiting for the day a coach of one of these schools publicly pulls an offer from one of these recruits.
Totally understand the need to build hype and get your "marketing" on, but you just look silly dragging this stuff out. We don't need all these tweets saying what everyone has known for months and months.
How was the first day for you at USA Camp?
Jahlil Okafor: Oh, it was good, the morning we started out early this morning and I had a slight ankle sprain, nothing major, but I’m sidelined for the rest of the weekend. Everybody has been competing here, we’ve got a lot of young guys from the 2015/16 classes here, but we also have a lot of the top 2014 players here who are trying to prepare for the Hoop Summit a little early from the last two years.
How hard is it for you knowing you can’t participate in the rest of the camp?
Very hard, I’ve been playing USA Basketball for like the last four years, since I was a freshman, and I was really looking forward to coming out here and playing with guys like Tyus Jones, Stanley Johnson, Kevon Looney and all these other guys. I was a little disappointed because I’m always playing against these guys and I was looking forward to playing with them. I still support them even when I’m off the court.
Switching gears, what’s it like for you being the big man in Chicago now that Jabari is in college?
It’s pretty cool. With Jabari gone, and it’s my senior year, I’m really excited to be a senior, and I’m the guy that everybody looks up to this year and a lot will be expected of me and I remember back to when I was a freshman and we had all these guys that were seniors and now I’m that guy, I’m the senior. I just gotta finish out my high school career and move onto college, it’s very exciting.
What kind of advice has Jabari given to you about handling being the main guy in Chicago now that he’s gone?
Just to be myself. Always be myself and to stay humble in everything I do.
In reading your Scout.com interview earlier today, you mentioned Jabari has talked with you about what it’s been like for him working with the Duke staff, can you share any of the highlights for you from those conversations?
It's nothing to specific really, he just told me he’s really enjoying himself down there and he really loves the whole vibe down there with the fans. He’s really enjoying himself with his new teammates. Overall, he’s happy to be a part of the Duke family.
How much, if any, does Jabari's feedback and ability to provide you an inside look at Duke factor into your evaluation of the Duke program?
It’s not too much of a big deal to me, because Jabari is such an amazing talented player that I don’t expect him to be there next year when I get there next year because of the level of basketball player that he is. Because of that I don’t expect him to be there next year. He’s just trying to be helpful to me because he’s down there and he can tell me what’s going on and I know he will always tell me the truth about everything.
With your quote today that it’s 99.9% likely that you and Tyus Jones are playing together in college, I’m curious, is there anything that could cause you guys not to play together?
Nothing that I can think of. We’ve narrowed it down pretty much to the same schools and we’re pretty much on the same page right now, so, nothing I can think of. Unless it’s a family emergency type of thing, but I couldn’t really see anything. I don’t want to say something wrong, but I don't see anything.
It looks like your dad has a big influence on you in your decision as evidenced by your thoughts earlier today on his thoughts you may not be ready to decide, can you share any insight into what his reasons are for not thinking it’s potentially the right time for you to decide?
It’s just such a huge decision, my dad doesn’t want me to rush anything, he wants me to make sure that I told him when I was ready and what school I want to go to. November might be the date, but my dad, he’s kinda doubtful, and he’s not sure I’ll be ready, but I think I will be. I’ve got two more official visits to take, then I think I’ll have my mind made up.
Do you feel like his doubts could help steer this into a longer process? No, whenever I’m ready, once I assure him that I’m ready to decide, then he’ll be fine with that. The decision is all about me.
With the Duke visit coming up at the end of the month, what’s the communication been like with Coach K and the Duke staff?
Pretty much the same as always, he contacts me at least twice a week, and it’s the same thing with all the schools recruiting me, that’s kinda where I’m at with all the schools, constant contact.
In wrapping up, having the Duke visit last, was that by your request, or was that by Duke’s request?
That’s just how it happened, with schedules.
Jahlil Okafor, Scout.com’s top ranked prospect in the 2014 class, is down to Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky.
“It’s pretty much those four,” Okafor told Scout.com in an interview following the first session at the USA Basketball Developmental Camp. “I haven’t actually said that yet, but it is pretty much going to be those four.”
Another important piece to Okafor’s recruitment is Tyus Jones. The two prospects have developed a close bond and are planning to play in college together.
“Tyus is my brother,” Okafor told Scout.com. “We are going to school together. We have pretty much that four I told you, is pretty much his four also. We are pretty serious about it. It’s going to happen.”
Jones told Scout.com that the chances of he and Okafor playing together in college is “99-percent.” Okafor said the percentage is even higher.
“99.9-percent,” he said. “That’s about right.”
So why do Okafor and Jones want to play in college together?
“I think first off it starts with him being a true point guard,” Okafor said. “The first game [at USA Basketball] he had 10 assists in eight minutes. That speaks for itself. Me being a true big man I think we would really complement each other well.”
“Off the court we are the best of friends,” he added. “Everybody here at USA basketball knows that’s my best friend and I’m his best friend. They always know we are together. We go eat together. They put us in the same room. With us having such good chemistry on the court and liking each other so much off the court, it’s perfect for us.”
Okafor and Jones visited Baylor together the weekend of August 31st. While Jones had visited the Bears previously, it was Okafor’s first trip to Waco (Tex.).
“That was an amazing trip,” Okafor said. “I was really surprised. I think Baylor’s campus is very underrated to me. I just didn’t know anything about Baylor. I just knew Tyus had been there previously. He told me it was a great campus. I loved it.”
“It seemed like all the players really loved the coaches and respected them,” he added. “The coaches also respected the players. I was really surprised at how amazing my visit went.”
During the visit, Okafor spent quite a bit of time with Baylor coach Scott Drew. He left the visit impressed with Drew’s demeanor and the way he coaches.
“He was telling me how energetic he is,” Okafor said. “I could just tell that by watching him interact with his players and how he’d force me every day to get better and won’t let me settle. With how high energy of a guy he is he said hopefully that would be contagious to me and would make me work hard.”
A little more than a week after the Baylor trip, Okafor visited Kentucky officially for their alumni game festivities on September 7th.
“It was a lot of fun,” Okafor said. “I got to see DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Anthony Davis, Eric Bledsoe, all of those guys come back to the program and interact with the players. It was just a lot of fun.”
John Calipari’s pitch to Okafor centered on his recent success with Chicago-based players.
“He had a little joke that the last two players he had from Chicago he made into number one draft picks with D-Rose and Anthony Davis,” Okafor said. “The proof is in the pudding basically. Kentucky pretty much speaks for itself. So everything he was saying, wasn’t new to me.”
Of the four schools on Okafor’s list, it appears there is one school that appears to be on the outside looking in for Jones. Kentucky, who had Okafor on campus in early September 7th, recently took a commitment from Tyler Ulis, which led to Jones cancelling his official visit to UK.
“I was talking to him about that last night actually,” Okafor said. “This was my first time actually getting to talk to him in person about that so I’m trying to tell him. He said he doesn’t want to do that because Tyler [Ulis] is already there. But I just tell him it should be about you, not about Tyler. I’m trying to talk to him about that now.”
Okafor and Jones are taking official visits to Kansas and Duke together. He will visit Kansas the weekend of October 18th and Duke the weekend of October 25th.
With Kansas, Okafor says the draw is his relationship with Bill Self, assistant coach Jerrance Howard and how much success they have had recently with post players.
“I just love coach Self and they also have coach Jerrance, who was one of the first coaches to ever recruit me when he was at Illinois,” Okafor said. “But coach Self is really selling to me that they are a big man school and how well they did with their past big men and he thinks I can be even better than that.”
“Just the high-low offense and all the different things they do with their bigs and really their player development is what I like about Kansas,” he added.
Okafor said Duke has been recruiting him for more than two years and he’s developed a strong relationship with their staff.
“I just love Duke,” Okafor said. “I love coach K. He’s been recruiting me since I was a sophomore. Him and my family really have pretty good relationships and I just really love the atmosphere of Duke”.
“I’ve been able to talk to Jabari [Parker] and he tells me it’s even better than what he thought. I just like Duke a lot.”
Originally, Okafor was planning to sign early, but he’s not sure if that will happen anymore.
“That was the plan, but talking to my dad he told me I still not be ready,” Okafor said. “That’s kind of true because I still don’t know where I want to go yet. I would like to get it out of the way and announce early, but it’s not looking too good right now.”
Kelly Oubre tweeted that he had "Big News" tomorrow,this worries me since he just got done with his Kansas visit and hasn't even visited UK yet....