Recruiting Report: Jared Merkley (2018)
Elk Point-Jefferson (EPJ) Senior Jared Merkley has had a nice last year. The dual-sport athlete has developed into a nice player and he has big hopes for his future.
“We lost to Canton in the first round of regions last year,” Merkley said. “I definitely want to make a deep run this year, hopefully making it to state.”
The 6’3” wing is an interesting prospect. He is a very nice athlete, long and gets the rim pretty well. Merkley has worked on his shooting and although he is confident when shooting it, he understands he has room to improve.
“Obviously everything can improve in my game, but the thing I need to work on most is my 3pt shooting. Last year I didn’t shoot a great percentage and that needs to improve moving forward.”
Merkley will be joined by six other seniors as they will start their basketball season this fall. Four of the seven seniors (including Merkley) have been playing since they were sophomores. A few of his teammates played on summer teams and they also all played together at a few summer team camps that EPJ attended. Merkley spent a lot of his summer weekends playing with one of the Pentagon teams.
” I loved playing with the Pentagon this summer. It was a lot of fun to not only meet new friends but learn from other coaches. I think I grew as a player in my time with them.”
Before basketball season gets underway, Merkley has football as a focus. His goal is to make it a winning season for EPJ who has not had a winning football season in recent memory. Also on his mind is college. Briar Cliff has talked with him and he seems interested.
“They’re (Briar Cliff) they only school that has contacted me so far. Not sure what I am going to do yet. When I think about playing college athletics I go back and forth on it. Me and my other seniors are just going to remain focused on our goal of state. We have had that goal for a long time and that will be our main mission.”