Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Jalen Warley is recruiting Top-40 big Dereck Lively II to Florida State
By JACOB POLACHECK
When Class of 2021 guard Jalen Warley announced his commitment to Florida State last month, he joined a loaded Seminoles recruiting class.
Now, with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2021 per 247Sports.com, Warley, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound combo guard from Westtown (PA) School, is looking ahead to the 2022 class.
“I’ve been recruiting my teammate, 2022 Dereck Lively [II], who’s on my Westtown Team, very hard since he picked up a Florida State offer during the pandemic,” Warley said in a Zoom Interview with ZAGSBLOG Thursday evening. “I’ve been kind of in his ear, telling him about how great the staff and how great of a program it is.”
Lively, the 6-foot-11, 200-pound center, picked up an offer from Florida State on June 26, adding to a large list of offers that includes LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Providence, SMU, Temple, UCLA, Western Kentucky and Xavier, among others.
“I know he’s probably annoyed because of how many times I’ve tried to give him the pitch,” Warley said. “But just to know that he’s going to be able to compete at the highest level and play against some of the best teams in the country.
“I know personally that we have a pretty good connection in terms of the pick and rolls and catch and lobs so if he’s watching this, make sure to catch a bunch of lobs if he comes down to Tallahassee.”
In July, Lively told ZAGSBLOG that Florida State was among the schools making him a priority, as well as Memphis, North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Miami and Pitt.
“I’ve had a Zoom call with them and they consistently keep in touch,” Lively said on the Seminoles. “I like their style of play. The ACC is always a tough conference to play in.”
Florida State was also recently included among eight potential destinations and four college options for Class of 2021 five-star power forward Michael Foster.
“I haven’t been in personal contact with him, but I’ve been talking to the coaching staff,” Warley said. “Just kind of staying on the same page on what, as a team, what our goals are for the rest of the 2021 recruiting class.”
Ranked as the No. 3 combo guard and No. 22 overall prospect in the Class of 2021, Warley is a key piece in a Florida State recruiting class that features four-star prospects Matthew Cleveland, Bryce McGowens, John Butler and junior college center Naheem McLeod.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling, honestly,” Warley said of the Seminoles’ 2021 recruiting class. “We have a lot of highly-rated players now, but I also think that there’s a lot of room for improvement in each of our games, let alone what we can do together as a unit.
“I think we bring a lot of size, a lot of length and a winning mentality. I feel like all of us in the class are underrated competitors. I think we compete at the highest level and we play really hard, so personally, I don’t think we have a ceiling, honestly. The sky’s the limit.”
