Published Jan 31, 2014
Junior shooting guard validates his status
Eric Bossi
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst
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THE RIVALS150: Class of 2014 - Class of 2015
Make no mistake about it, four-star junior Jalen Coleman hasn't rested on his reputation. He continues to improve and has spent the winter backing up his lofty ranking.
A native of Indianapolis, Coleman moved a few hours away from home to attend La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere as a junior. The No. 34 player in the country has been putting in work ever since he got there.
While he's always been a fluid scorer with a good looking jumper, Coleman had consistency issues with shooting from deep. Those seem to be worked out.
"I've put in the work," Coleman told Rivals.com. "After practice I get shots up. I had the fundamental mechanics, it was just repetition and putting up many shots before and after practice."
Standing 6-foot-3 with long arms and wiry strength, Coleman has good athleticism and an ideal basketball body. He can create off the dribble, score from deep and is one of the better perimeter defenders in his class. Though he plays primarily off the ball at La Lumiere, he sees himself as a combo guard down the road.
"I'm being recruited as a combo," said Coleman. "Overall as a combo I'm able to dribble the ball and slow things down or push it and use my length."
Already, Coleman has been to the campuses of Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois and Ohio State and he has offers from all of them. Other offers have come in from Notre Dame, Providence, Cincinnati, UCLA and Arizona.
For the most part, Coleman's father Phiankhi has been handling his recruitment back home in Indianapolis.
"My dad has been talking to them mostly and with me being distant from my dad, I haven't really talked to them that much," said Coleman. "When I get some free time I think we'll sit down and discuss it more."
What Coleman does know, though, is that he is in no rush to make a decision and he's focused on finishing his junior season strong.
"I'm not sure yet. Probably later on and no time this year. I'm taking it slow and focusing on the school year," said Coleman when asked if had any plans to cut down his list or make an early decision. "I'll look for a good school that has a good coaching staff. Somebody who is willing to work on your development. I want to see a system of developing players."
Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.
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