By JACOB POLACHECK
Class of 2022 five-star big Jalen Duren has named a Top 11, but only nine of those options are colleges.
Duren, the 6-foot-10, 230-pound center from Montverde (FL) Academy, lists Villanova, Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Penn State and Memphis as his top nine schools.
He is also considering the NBA G-League and Australian NBL.
“Jalen has a chance to be an NBA All-Star,” Team Final coach James Johns said. “He just continues to get better. If this is about potential then Jalen Duren is the No. 1 player in this class. Nobody has been able to be more productive and still have such a high ceiling than him.”
Ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 1 center and No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, Duren was part of a 2020-21 Montverde squad that claimed the program’s fifth national title in the past nine years with a win over Sunrise Christian (KS) Academy in the 2021 GEICO Nationals Championship Game.
The NBA G-League has become a popular avenue for elite high school basketball talent with Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd opting for this option during the 2020-21 season.
Just three days ago, elite 2021 recruit Michael Foster became the latest prep star to opt for the G-League over college basketball.
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