Fairfax Senior High School head coach Harvey Kitani has been fortunate enough to play a part in the lives of some special student athletes during his time as coach, but none have been more special than the time he has spent with Jamal Boykin. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound small forward from Los Angeles, CA., is one of the most talented players in the class of 2005, and is being recruited by some of nation’s most elite colleges.

“So many schools are interested in Jamal right now,” Coach Kitani said. “Illinois, Georgia Tech and Louisville are some of the newer schools that have become involved in his recruitment. Louisville came by for a visit last week and offered Jamal a scholarship, so they are definitely interested in him. California, Iowa State, Kansas, Oregon, USC, Stanford, Washington and Pepperdine are some of the other schools that have shown quite a bit of interest in Jamal.

“There is a chance that Jamal could take some unofficial visits this summer, but he hasn’t made a decision about that yet,” he added. “I would imagine he will take some official visits in the fall. I do know that he plans to make a decision in November, so he will definitely be signing during the early period.”

Coach Kitani has had the privilege of coaching some extremely talented players during his time on the hardwood, but no player has been more special, both on and off the court, than Boykin.

“I don’t think I have ever coached a player that has been more special to me than Jamal,” he said. “He is such a unique individual that has a great work ethic and a great personality. He is so special. I really do not know what school Jamal will decide to attend, but when that coach eventually retires, he will look back on his time and Jamal will be one of the top five players he remembers the most.”

As far as his summer goes, Boykin will likely attend the Nike All-American Camp, the NBA Players Association Camp and the USA Developmental Festival. When he is not playing with his high school AAU team, Boykin will attend a number of events with the Belmont Shores AAU organization.

Rivals.com ranks Boykin No. 54 on the Rivals100 list.