Recruiting Report: Jalen Sanders (2017)
The 3-point line is typically not the area of a basketball court you want to glance at if you are looking to find shot blocking. That changes when Jalen Sanders is on the court. For the versatile 6-5 Valor Christian…
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Continue ReadingThe 3-point line is typically not the area of a basketball court you want to glance at if you are looking to find shot blocking.
That changes when Jalen Sanders is on the court. For the versatile 6-5 Valor Christian senior, protecting the rim starts just about anywhere.
Take a recent game at Green Mountain. On three different plays, Rams shooters lined up their feet behind the arc and lined up the rim, believing they had the space necessary to let if fly. Only on each of those plays, they didn’t account for the lengths and smarts of Sanders, who snapped like a cobra toward the ball and blocked the shots.
That said nothing of the shot blocking he did in the paint. Or the transition offense. Or the outside shooting. Or the deft passing ability. Or the consistent rebound. Or the ability to guard nearly every position on the floor.
On seemingly every possession during a game, Sanders will pull out some tool that is a part of his Swiss Army Knife set of skills.
“Boy, not many,” Valor Christian coach Troy Pachner said when we asked how many players like Sanders he’s coached in his career. “I’ve had maybe one or two in my whole career. Jalen, whether it’s the scoring, the rebounding the shot blocking, he’s an unbelievable passer — I think that’s his best trait, his passing ability — it’s just everywhere. He’s such a presence.”
The ability and production by Sanders has generated recruiting attention at the Division I level. He’s heard of late from Hawaii, Cal State Fullerton and South Dakota, which saw Sanders play in a win over Mead early last week.
Still, it’s puzzling Sanders does not already have more offers to his credit. In an increasingly positionless landscape in the sport, Sanders has skills that adapt to all areas of the game. What he may slightly lake in athletic burst — again, slight — he makes up for with a great frame, high IQ and a strong fundamental grasp of multiple components of the game.
“Same as last year, I just tried to get better at each aspect of the game,” Sanders said of his past offseason, which included a strong spring and summer run with Billups Elite.
Marinate on this state line this season for Sanders: 21.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.5 steals and 3.4 blocks per game.
Good luck, Division I schools, finding many players who bring that many different elements to the table.