Per a report from Tipton Edits, Jalen Duren, the top prospect in the class of 2022, will cut his list of options from 11 to five on Friday. Duren was one of Villanova's first offers in the 2022 class, and the Cats were included in Duren's final 11. In addition to professional options in the G League and Australia, Villanova is joined by Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Penn State and Memphis.
If I had to take a guess at the finalists, I would guess that the G League, Villanova, Kentucky and Michigan would be included.
As you know, we've long projected Duren to take a professional route and I still believe that option is the leader. However, with progress being made on the Name, Image, and Likeness idea, I do believe the college route will get a big boost in being able to compete for the most elite prospects in each class. I've heard some estimates that the truly elite prospects who attend college would be able to make sums from NIL that rival those being offered by the G League. Likewise, the ability to build a brand and get a jump on endorsements/appearances at big time colleges is arguably easier than it is in G League cities like Cedar Park (TX), Walker (MI), Des Moines (IA), Lakeland (FL), Southaven (MS), Taylorsville (UT), Sioux Falls (SD), Frisco (TX), Oshkosh (WI), El Segundo (CA) and other cities that host G League teams.
That's not to say that Duren will elect to go the college route, or that the professional route won't remain an attractive option to elite high school prospects, but it does level the playing field in a big way and will give prospects an important angle to consider. While I still believe Duren heads to the G League, the latest NIL developments certainly make things much more interesting.
There were also reports that Duren was considering reclassifying to 2021, but those were refuted on social media by an account for his AAU team, so we're still waiting on some clarity there.
For now, we'll wait for Friday to see what the final five looks like.
If I had to take a guess at the finalists, I would guess that the G League, Villanova, Kentucky and Michigan would be included.
As you know, we've long projected Duren to take a professional route and I still believe that option is the leader. However, with progress being made on the Name, Image, and Likeness idea, I do believe the college route will get a big boost in being able to compete for the most elite prospects in each class. I've heard some estimates that the truly elite prospects who attend college would be able to make sums from NIL that rival those being offered by the G League. Likewise, the ability to build a brand and get a jump on endorsements/appearances at big time colleges is arguably easier than it is in G League cities like Cedar Park (TX), Walker (MI), Des Moines (IA), Lakeland (FL), Southaven (MS), Taylorsville (UT), Sioux Falls (SD), Frisco (TX), Oshkosh (WI), El Segundo (CA) and other cities that host G League teams.
That's not to say that Duren will elect to go the college route, or that the professional route won't remain an attractive option to elite high school prospects, but it does level the playing field in a big way and will give prospects an important angle to consider. While I still believe Duren heads to the G League, the latest NIL developments certainly make things much more interesting.
There were also reports that Duren was considering reclassifying to 2021, but those were refuted on social media by an account for his AAU team, so we're still waiting on some clarity there.
For now, we'll wait for Friday to see what the final five looks like.