Five-star Jalen Green focused on college

DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- When it comes to 2020's No. 3 ranked player Jalen Green, there's been no shortage of speculation. Will he go overseas? Will he go to college? The five-star shooting guard answered them over the weekend.

For now, the 6-foot-5 scoring machine says that college is in his best interest but he has been speaking with 2019 five-star R.J. Hampton who is currently playing in Australia.

“I think I want to go to college right now as it is," said Green. "(Pro) could be up there in the air but college is in my best interests right now.

“I talk to R.J. all the time. R.J. is telling me how it’s different over there and how he likes it and he is trying to get me to come out there and things like that. We’ve talked to his pops but I’m just staying on that path to college."

A native of Fresno who is now at Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep, Green had been planning to commit on Christmas day. Instead he backed off that and it only fueled speculation that he could go pro.

“I set myself up for that one by pushing my recruitment back," said Green. "So, I’m going to have to deal with it and it doesn’t really bug me that much. I assumed it was going to happen.”

Not only does Green say he's been focusing on college, his actions show that there is sincere interest. He doesn't have a formal top five but he's visited Auburn, Fresno State, Memphis, Oregon and USC making them a top five of sorts even if he's remaining open. He broke down what he liked about visits with each program.

Auburn: “Just how (Bruce Pearl) came at me. He came at me different. Instead of telling me things that I want to hear and stuff like that he was straightforward with me and I think that really just stood out to me.”

Fresno State: “It was good. I’m already close with (Justin Hutson) and them up there. I’ve known them for a minute now. I knew the campus already, some of the athletic directors and knew the players. It was fun catching up with them and seeing what their plan is for me.”

Memphis: "Mike Miller and Penny (Hardaway) they are close to me, they are like family. I like the facility out there, it’s really enclosed you can lock in and focus. Memphis is a good school.”

Oregon: “It was good, (Tony Stubblefield) is a good coach. Good facilities, the facilities are crazy. The same thing you know."

USC: "L.A. is a big stage and they were just telling me about my brand and stuff like that. They have good coaches over there like coach (Jason) Hart.”

You have to appreciate the approach that Green is taking. He handles his business on the floor as a dynamic athlete and scorer and he is about as open as a teenager can be with the media. Especially given the rampant speculation that he could skip college altogether.

In the meantime, he's done a nice job of settling in at a new school and taking advantage of what is available to him at Prolific Prep.

“It’s good, it’s everything that I needed," said Green. "I was looking for weight training and being in the gym a lot more. Things like that I didn’t have in Fresno so I think getting away from Fresno and just being put on an island by myself really just helped me lock in and focus on my craft.

“I’ve still got a long way to go. I can’t be satisfied with it. I’m starting to work on my halfcourt game. Really just bringing the ball up, having the ball in my hands a lot more and I’m trying to work on my shot more, get it lined up and nailed down.”

Since, Green is saying that the college route is his preferred route, we've got to take his word for it until he says different. In that case, his moving of a decision date is all about watching what happens and evaluating his options.

"I don’t really have a top five that I have out there but I want to see how they are together. How the coaches are coaching, how the players are playing and talk to them and see what their view of it is.

“I think I’m going to just leave it open because anything could really happen. I took those five officials at good schools but I don’t think that’s my top five.”