Four-star Carey's high-scoring exploits have schools interested
Four-star junior Jalen Carey, a scoring point guard from Monclair (N.J.) Immaculate Conception, has multiple schools in the Northeast vying for his services, and even powerhouse Kansas has come calling.
UConn, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Kansas and defending national champ Villanova have all showed different degrees of interest during his recruitment.
Carey was phenomenal at the Primetime Shootout last weekend as he tallied 25 points in the first half alone. He is playing with confidence that seems to be infectious with his teammates. Bringing good size to the lead guard spot, the 6-foot-2 prospect comes more in your new era type of a floor general as he primarily looks to score first rather than creating for others. However, this isn’t a major issue, especially when you take into account the vast scoring abilities from the Immaculate Conception product.
“I have been focusing on my shot a lot more; that is going to take my game to the next level,” Carey said. “I have been working on catching and shooting and simplifying my game and getting easier buckets.”
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Carey discussed three teams that have stood out lately during his recruitment.
Seton Hall: “They show a lot of interest. They hit me up every day. I am actually going to the Seton Hall-Villanova game next Saturday. They show a lot of interest and I really appreciate that.”
Rutgers: “I love their program. Coach (Steve) Pikiell hits me up a lot. He calls me often. He lets their guards play and he wants a guard like me that can get them over the hump.”
UConn: “They have been hitting me up often lately. I spoke to Kevin Ollie; he actually was the one that offered me. I like the way that they play. I was able to get out to their campus and I loved it.”
WHAT'S NEXT
The process doesn’t seem to be speeding up any time soon for Carey as he would much rather wait things out before coming to any sort of college decision.
“I am just worried about my season,” Carey said. “I want to just get more offers and probably sometime around the end of the AAU season and during my senior year I can make a better decision.”
Carey will run with the New Jersey Playaz on the Nike EYBL circuit during his final few months on the travel circuit beginning in April.
RIVALS REACTION
We had been waiting for this type of performance out of Carey and he pulled through in an impressive manner. While his team went down in defeat, the fact that the junior guard scored the ball so efficiently, kept his team afloat pretty much singlehandedly and bought in on the defensive end showed that he is squarely in the mix for a bump during the next rankings update.