Solid spring brings Cylla offers
Class of 2015 small forward Jeantal Cylla, an unranked prospect from tiny Lake Worth Christian High School (Fla.), has picked up new offers following a solid spring effort and a junior season where he averaged 24.4 points per game.
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"Spring went great I picked up more offers, I got to showcase my talents and I feel like I'm getting better," Cylla said. "I'll be ready for July."
The 6-foot-7, 198-pound Cylla said he has picked up recent offers from East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Houston and Virginia Tech to add to offers he held from Memphis, American, UNC-Greensboro, Old Dominion, Florida International, Florida Gulf Coast, USF, Cal State-Bakersfield, Stetson and Texas-Pan American. A few of those schools could get unofficial visits before the summer is over.
"ECU, FAU and Houston are on me pretty hard, and Wichita State is coming along there too," Cylla said. "I plan on taking a couple of visits. One to East Carolina, I don't know the date yet but I should be taking a visit in August. I think Houston is one of them too and Florida Atlantic."
Off the court, Cylla's personality is very easy going, but the opportunity in front of him is definitely recognized and appreciated.
"I'm blessed," he said. "I came from a long ways. A couple of years ago I was just playing basketball on the corner with my friends, then as I grew I got better, and I felt like I could see a future in this. So I played hard, and thanks to this game I can go to school for free. So I feel like it's a great opportunity. Basketball has helped teach me how to be a man, outside the court and on the court."
We've had the opportunity to watch Cylla on more than one occasion. He is an energy guy that loves to get to the basket where he uses his body well to shield defenders from affecting his shot. He can grab rebounds and push the ball on the break but he needs to improve his jump shot. At the other end of the court, Cylla is a more than willing defender.
"I've got a high motor, my team needs that," Cylla said. "So I bring that to the table every game. I feel that the harder you work, you'll produce more. I like attacking the rim. I like defense, I like rebounding. But definitely bringing energy to the court. I'm working on my outside shooting, I'm getting better at it. I feel like I've improved some but hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have a great three-point shot.
Cylla's travel team is the Showtime Ballers, which features the class of 2015's No. 33 prospect, Dwayne Bacon, and the No. 89 prospect, Corey Sanders. Cylla knows he's benefited by playing with them the past two years.
"It's helped me a lot because a lot of people come to see them," said Cylla. "And when they see them I get a chance to showcase my talent too. So they put me on a big stage so it benefits me a lot playing with those two guys. It's [practice] competitive, you're going against Top 100 guys so they're going to work you. So it's competitive. They push me hard and I push them hard that's how we get better. Those guys are really talented."
Russ Wood is a basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com and Inside the Gators. You can click here to follow him on Twitter..
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