Five-star Jalen Haralson breaks down top nine, names more schools to officially visit in fall
By SAM LANCE
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Class of 2025 five-star small forward Jalen Haralson is planning official visits to Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga and Purdue, he told ZAGSBLOG.
Haralson — the 6-foot-6, 210-pound small forward from La Lumiere (IN) and the Indiana Heat AAU program — has already scheduled official visits to Indiana (Aug. 31), Notre Dame (Sept. 7) and Michigan State (Sept. 14). He would also like to revisit Auburn, his only official visit thus far.
Most recently, Haralson won a gold medal playing with Team USA 17u in Turkey. During the event, Haralson averaged 11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 49.1% from the field and 38.5% from deep. Haralson said the experience was “crazy.”
“I feel like we had one of the best 17u teams ever,” Haralson said. “We played hard. We defended. We shot the ball really well. Just seeing the overseas talent, seeing how those guys play over there, it’s something I could take here and use it as motivation. Because those guys are really good over there.”
Haralson said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl was in attendance in Turkey as well as an assistant from Kansas. Both Auburn and Kansas are in Haralson’s top nine in addition to Duke, Gonzaga, Indiana, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame and Purdue.
#iubb target, Jalen Haralson, had a tremendous performance en route to the 17U gold medal. He can shoot, he's long, cuts well, gets to the cup, plays off of two feet. He's going to be a special player. pic.twitter.com/uhZoGgMfAJ
— Tony Adragna (@CoachAdragna) July 9, 2024
Here is Haralson’s breakdown of his top schools:
Auburn: [The visit] was great. Coach Bruce Pearl, he texts me. He actually came to Turkey so they’re one of the schools that’s most involved with me. Coach Bruce Pearl is a head coach and involved, so that’s important to me. So it was amazing just seeing how I will fit in. He feels like he can get me to my ultimate goal, be a one-and-done and be an All-Star in the NBA. I feel like he will be able to get me there and I obviously respect that. I might be looking at another visit, but if I don’t, I had a great visit. Bruce Pearl is just a great coach.”
Indiana: “I’ve been there a lot. So it’s really just seeing how I will fit into the program. We’ll watch a lot more film [on my official]. Just connecting with the coaches one more time. What they did with Jalen Hood-Schifino that’s kind of what they compare me to, my situation. He’s a guy that went in there, got the ball in his hands. He was a one-and-done. And he’s doing well for himself right now. So that’s kind of what they compare my situation to. That’s kind of their main message.”
Michigan State: “Tom Izzo is one of the best coaches in America. The way he pushes his players, the way they get at it defensively, I feel like those are things I do very well. I get after it defensively. I haven’t really watched film with him. So the main thing will be watching film and seeing how I fit.”
Notre Dame: “Coach [Micah] Shrewsberry, I feel like he’s another one of the best coaches in America. He’s really detail oriented. He breaks down games with me right now. I watch film with him over my games. So he’s helped me a lot. So just getting down there, watching film, seeing how I will fit in the program is important to me.”
Gonzaga: “Coach [Stephen] Gentry is recruiting me from there. I feel like they have one of the best offenses in America. They are really good every year. They make the NCAA Tournament every year and win. That’s what I want to do in college is win.”
Duke: “They came to my game this morning. I played at Augusta live. They’re really interested. They hit me up a lot and the whole staff is recruiting me. So I feel like they are one of the most involved schools in my top nine.”
On coach Jon Scheyer: “He’s a young coach so he’s going to be there for a long time. He’s doing a great job. It’s not easy filling in for coach K. But I feel like he’s done it to the best of his ability. And he’s a great guy too. It’s fun talking basketball with him. I’m one of the first players in the 2025 class he offered. So that’s special.”
Kansas: “Coach Self is a really good guy. I think they came to Turkey too. Pretty sure they did. An assistant came. Them coming out to a whole other country to see me is special. So I have a lot of love for Kansas.”
Missouri: “They have a really good staff. I feel like they will help me get to my ultimate goal. I talk to them a lot. Coach Gates, he’s one of the coaches that has been up to La Lumiere the most to see me. We talk a lot. Not even basketball, just about life. And coach [Kyle] Smithpeters. That’s more of like a genuine relationship. We don’t even really talk about basketball anymore. We talk about me and my well being and I appreciate that.”
Purdue: “That’s the hometown school. Coach [Matt] Painter I think was my second offer. They are one of the best teams in the county consistently. So they’re really interested. I think they are coming this weekend. I’m trying to get up there for an official visit just to see the program.”
Haralson would like to make his college commitment this fall, but he’ll do it whenever he’s ready.
“I feel like that’d be best, but I don’t want to rush anything,” Haralson said.
The small forward would like to choose a school before the high school season starts, but if he commits a little bit after that it’s “no biggie.”
Haralson will be playing with the Indy Heat Nike EYBL AAU program this week during Peach Jam. His first game will be Saturday, July 13, at 6:00 p.m. ET vs the Oakland Soldiers. Haralson will go up against two of his 17u Team USA Teammates — AJ Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes — in that contest.
Basketball runs in the Haralson family. His father, Arthur Haralson, played college hoops for Nicholls State and overseas professionally in Norway.
A fun fact about Haralson is that he’s a great singer. He loves to bump and sing his favorite artist, Rod Wave, in his free time.
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