Recruiting Report: Jamal Mashburn Jr (2020)

2020 combo guard Jamal Mashburn Jr is a top 100 junior and this weekend the 4-star combo guard is taking his first official visit and it's to the University of Minnesota.

Mashburn Jr is the son of former Kentucky standout Jamal Mashburn who averaged 19 points and nine rebounds in his 98 games played for the Wildcats. Mashburn was named a first team All American in 1993 and then was then drafted by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1993 draft. Mashburn Sr played 13 seasons in the NBA with the Mavericks, Heat, and the Hornets averaging 19.1 points per game in the 611 NBA games he played.

This summer when Jamal Mashburn Jr played up at the 17u level with Team Breakdown in the UAA league, he averaged a coincidental number of 19.8 points per game for his team (a top five total in the Under Armour league).

"Jamal is a tremendous talent," Coach Jason Smith, Mashburn's high school coach,  explained. "We are very excited to have him join our community and program at Brewster Academy.

"He has an outstanding mid-range game and is a great scorer. He possesses an excellent work ethic and desire to improve daily. Jamal has been very impressive in our workouts. I expect Jay to be one of our leaders this year, despite being one of the youngest kids in program."

Notre Dame, Miami, UConn and Florida State are some of the schools also pursing Mashburn Jr with high effort as all have offered Jamal scholarships as have Illinois and Florida plus IVY League schools are in pursuit.

The first official visit for Mashburn Jr though is to the University of Minnesota where Jamal will spend Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the program of Golden Gophers Head Coach Richard Pitino. What's interesting is that Jamal Mashburn Sr played for Richard Pitino's father Rick Pitino at Kentucky. That relationship of course plays a part in this recruitment.

"I know Mr Mashburn has a very close relationship with Coach Pitino Sr," Coach Smith said. "I would imagine that is an important factor. The relationship is and will always be very strong with Pitino family.

"Coach Richard Pitino’s relationship with Jay (Jamal Jr) and his family are the reasons why he’s taking an official visit. (Coach Pitino)’s done a nice job of developing a relationship with Jay."