Four-star Jaiden Delaire remains a high-major prospect

RANKINGS: 2018 Rivals150 | 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150

Last summer, Jaiden Delaire really emerged as a high-major prospect with schools all over the country hoping to get in on the Connecticut native. His junior season did nothing to change his status as a highly-coveted prospect in the 2019 class.

He’s helped lead his team to a 15-6 record so far and is contributing 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. He says Stanford, Virginia, UConn, Yale, UCLA, Northwestern, Notre Dame, USC, Indiana and others are still in constant contact with him. He took visits to UConn and Yale last June.

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UConn: “I’ve always liked them growing up. It’s the state school, the big basketball program in my state. They have a great reputation. When I visited, the facilities were great. I love coach [Kevin] Ollie.”

Stanford: “I talk to them a lot. I talk to coach [Jerod] Haase a lot. I used to talk to coach [Adam] Cohen in the past. They offered me last July and I’ve kept in touch with them and they’ve been here to see me. That’s definitely a phenomenal balance of academics and athletics, so that’s definitely a good option for any high aspiration kid to play in.”

USC: “Their coach came up to see me recently. I sat down and talked to them and they gave me a virtual tour. I talked with them about the school and my major and some other interests. They also have a good balance of academics and athletics.”

Virginia: “I talk to coach [Tony] Bennett often. One of the deans at my school went there and I’ve talked to her about the school a few times. It’s one of the top public universities. That’s definitely a good situation knowing I would go there and get a great education, and obviously the whole country knows their basketball program is dominant as well. That’s another place with a good balance of the best of both worlds, which is what I’m looking for.”

It’s pretty obvious after listening to Delaire talk that he’s looking for a school with a strong academic reputation as well as a good basketball program. Virginia is currently the No. 1 team in the country and one of the top academic institutions in the country, so expect the Cavaliers to be a player for him. He also mentioned he wants to get out and see the schools in California recruiting him, which is a good sign for Stanford, UCLA and USC. He doesn’t appear to be in a rush to make a decision as he has a long list of schools he wants to do research on before making a verbal commitment.