Jarell Martin, a 6-foot-9, 223-pound combo forward from Baton Rouge (La.) Madison Prep, has cut his list to 10 schools and will be down to five later this summer.
As has been reported, Martin, a 2013 forward, trimmed his list to Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Oklahoma State, St. John’s, Texas A & M, Tulane and UCLA.
“We’re going to look at at the end of July possibly by then cutting it down to five,” Madison Prep coach Jeff Jones told SNY.tv Friday.
Jones calls Martin, who will attend the Kevin Durant and LeBron James Skills Academies, “more of a face-up four who can play the three. He knocks down 3-balls, puts it on the floor. He’s in the mold of a Terrence Jones at Kentucky. He has a little bit better handle at this stage.”
Here are Jeff Jones’ comments on each of the schools:
Alabama — “Coach [Anthony] Grant is a real sincere guy. He’s doing a great job recruiting him. A lot of his recruitment has come from the head coach perspective. Coach Grant’s a classy guy, a good guy for Jarell to play for and someone he has a lot of respect for.”
Arizona — “Next to CULA they probably got he best recruiting class coming in. What stands to be there when Jarell gets there is an outstanding recruiting class. With the tradition of Arizona, that’s what makes them stick out.”
Kansas/Louisville — “Two national powers, two teams coming off Final Four appearances. Kansas just won the national title a few years ago. It’s a major TV market, major TV exposure. Playing in two power conferences with two of the premier coaches in college basketball is intriguing to him.”
LSU – “LSU being the local school, it’s always big. The local school that makes them relevant. We have to wait and see what coach [Johnny] Jones does in his first year and what kind of talent he can bring in.”
Oklahoma State – “Coach [Butch] Pierre has done a phenomenal job recruiting him and has always been in the picture. Brian Williams who plays there, he’s a kid that Jarell kind of looked up to growing up. Him begin at Oklahoma State and Butch Pierre there makes them very relevant. It’s a good situation down there.”
St. John’s — “A lot of the recruitment has been done by the head coach. Steve Lavin is a classy guy and coach Tony Chiles have done a wonderful job recruiting Jarell, seeing him whenever they’re able to.
“They came down to a practice last year which was big. The kid’s excited about the opportunity to play in Madison Square Garden, the same arena as Carmelo. It’s a power conference, the Big East. Steve Lavin and Tony Chiles have done a great job, that’s why they’re on there.”
Texas A&M — “Caoch Billy Kennedy, another head coach that’s putting his work in. Coach [Glenn] Cyprien has been really hands on. Texas A&M moving to the SEC really helps them. He has a good feeling for those two coaches and them moving to the SEC makes them intriguing to Jarell.”
Tulane — “It’s a local school. Trevante Drye played at Glen Oaks. Jarell kind of looked up to him. It was the first school to offer him a scholarship. [Head coach Ed] Conroy and [assistant] Ronnie Hamilton have don as good a job as anybody in the country recruiting him.”
UCLA-– “They have Shabazz Muhammad, Kyle Anderson, Tony Parker, Jordan Parker and they got a commitment from [2013 guard] Zach LaVine, one of the hottest guards on the circuit right now.
“UCLA definitely has the talent like Arizona. Not only is there a spot for him but there’s a chance for him to go deep in the NCAA Tournament. All the pros that have come out of UCLA in recent years, that’s intriguing to Jarell. It’s a major market, that’s intriguing to him.”
