Recruiting Report: Jaylen Sebree (2017)
The elegance of Class of 2017 wing forward Jaylen Sebree has lured in several top basketball offers. He caught the eye of Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean in July of 2015. During AAU Nationals in Louisville, Coach Crean watched the…
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Continue ReadingThe elegance of Class of 2017 wing forward Jaylen Sebree has lured in several top basketball offers.
He caught the eye of Indiana Head Coach Tom Crean in July of 2015. During AAU Nationals in Louisville, Coach Crean watched the six-foot-six angular wing dance around the floor, defend multiple positions, and generally ooze potential.
“Indiana is talking to me,” said Jaylen Sebree. “VCU, Xavier. Oklahoma. Oklahoma State. Western Kentucky. Northern Kentucky University. Marshall. That is about it.”
The 6-foot-6 wing from Hopkinsville, Kentucky has offers from Indiana, Samford, Xavier, NKU, VCU, Marshall, and WKU. Manhattan feels like a lapsed offer.
This winter Sebree visited Xavier, Indiana, Louisville, and Kentucky. What did the slinky star think of Xavier?
“I really like the pace of their game, the tempo, and the style of play that they play,” said Sebree.
What impressed him most was that Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack came to one of his home games.
“I like him a lot,” said Sebree. “I think I could fit in there.”
Indiana is another strong option. Sebree hears from them alot.
“They really like my overall game,” said Sebree. “They like what I can do on the offensive and defensive end. I can defend.”
Of all his current suitors, Sebree has one visit in mind.
“VCU in the spring,” said Sebree. “We are planning still. We don’t know a date.”
The point man for Sebree’s VCU recruitment is Assistant Coach Rasheen Davis. He was wise to spot the potential of Sebree early.
Dozens more schools could benefit from the versatile scorer/defender.
All About That Life
For most basketball recruits the NBA is the big draw. Many college basketball recruits do not watch or know much about college basketball. Still Sebree did watch Oklahoma play Kansas in that instant classic featuring a cosmic Buddy Hield.
“I saw it,” said Sebree. “That was a tough game right there. It was a tough game.”
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are both recruiting Sebree and their distance from Hopkinsville serves as a bonus rather than a deterrent. Sebree really wants to move away for college. Really.
“As far away as possible,” said Sebree. “This is where I live and this is not a place where I want to stay.”
He continued.
“The community…I just wouldn’t want to stay there,” said Sebree.
Rare is this unequivocal tone so apparent. For the junior wing distance truly does not matter. This revelation is interesting because it opens up a much bigger recruiting region.
He could ultimately choose schools thousands of miles away. The only restriction now becomes what coaches evaluate him during AAU. His AAU team, the Louisville Magic, has strong visibility with adidas. They also play in very heavily-populated Midwestern events like the AAU Showcase and Spiece events in Indiana.
Last summer they even played in Atlanta, which opens up southeastern recruiting.
Again this summer Sebree’s game and style of play will alert the recruiters.
Grace is a commodity few humans truly possess. The grace of Sebree’s game suggests a high ceiling. In the coming months Sebree will surely soar up both national and state rankings.