If nothing had been turned upside down in his young career, Jalen Duren should have arrived at the University of Memphis this month to start summer school and prepare for his freshman season. But as you will see below, the logic was not respected: the pivot joins the university a season early to prepare to join the NBA in advance. Indeed, the interior is already ready, his mentality and his body can speak for him. And he intends to show in the League next season that age is ultimately just a number.
# ARE PROFIL GROSSO MODO
- Age: 18 years oldhe shares his birthday with Jason Williams, Thierry Dusautoir and Allyson Felix, not too bad.
- Position : Pivotprotector and circle aggressor.
- Cut : 211 centimeters
- Weight : 113 kilosthe weight of two models at their prime.
- wingspan : 226 centimeters
- Statistics 2021-22 : 12.2 points on 59.7% shooting success, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.2 blocks on 25.3 minutes of play on average over the season.
- Comparison : Dwight Howard and ceiling, et Steven Adams and plancher ?
- Prévision TrashTalk : 9ème place
Jalen Anthony Duren was born on November 18, 2003 in Delaware. Yes, in November 2003: that means he never knew the NBA without LeBron James, since the King’s debut in the League took place twenty days earlier. The young boy grew up near Philadelphia, where he began his high school years. At the end of his second, he decided to join the prestigious Montverde Academy (where many NBA stars have passed) to complete his course there. When he arrives in Florida, he still has two seasons left in high school, and is already considered the second best player in the high school class of 2022. At the end of the first year, the eyes fall on Emoni Bates, first in the class. 2022, who decides to reclassify, that is to say to integrate his university program a year earlier than planned. Jalen decides to do the same, and to join the same college as his comrade Emoni: that of Memphis, coached by Penny Hardaway. We’re not going to lie to each other, the Tigers’ 2021-22 roster is full of hype on paper, but on the pitch it’s not going to be the same. The team is very young, lacks experience, so Coach Penny rotates a lot, hence Jalen Duren’s less playing time (25 minutes) compared to the other prospects who are members of the Top 10 of the 2022 Draft. season will still go down in the history of college basketball, the young pivot is indeed one of the youngest players to play in the NCAA at the height of his 17 years at the start of the season. Today, Jalen Duren is the second youngest candidate for the 2022 Draft, behind Canadian high school student Leonard Miller, born a week following him. Beyond the stories of age and teats, the interior of the Tigers is having a very good season. Despite their third place in the AAC regular season – their conference – Memphis is having a very good campaign in March Madness, their first since 2014, which ended with a narrow defeat of four small points once morest Gonzaga and Chet Holmgren in the second round. On the stats side, Jalen finished with the best points average on the team, and was named AAC Freshman of the Year. We let you enjoy his regular season highlights, we apologize if the actions look a lot alike, but let’s just say that Jalen Duren likes to be close in circles.
A force inside the paint on both ends, Duren cemented himself as a top-10 pick with his combination of physical tools, power and explosiveness, while also showing glimpses of skill in terms of court vision and shooting range, giving him plenty of upside to grow into. Highlights: pic.twitter.com/kqGFjKOZ1K
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 18, 2022
In terms of physique, even with a year ahead of his time, he has not fallen behind the currently professional pivots. The pivots once morest whom he will defend next season in the NBA did not all have the stature of Jalen Duren when they were drafted. His physique was built very quickly during his sophomore year, right when the NBA was considering lowering the minimum draft age to 18, from 19 today. He made the choice to reclassify because he knew he was able to succeed in the NBA without waiting another year on the benches of high school. Jalen already knows how to cash in on contacts and return them to the other side of the field as identical, to say that he has an impact in defense would be far too weak a word. He weighs on the court and exerts a real influence in both racquets thanks to his height, his wingspan, his strong athletic qualities and his very good footwork. As the season progressed, he started to stray from mid-range and his shot from longer range is quite reliable: 36% success for a start, it’s not too bad. For the record, Jalen only attempted one 3-point shot on the season, but he unfortunately missed it. And even if his assist average is relatively low, he manages to find his teammates very well in relation between interiors or by bringing out the ball from 3-pointers. Seeing all these great qualities on paper, the Blazers recently wanted to see what the big guy with pigtails Pippi Longstocking was worth on the ground during an individual workout.
A look inside today’s pre-draft workout with @JalenDuren ???? pic.twitter.com/ZVL6FwvVIK
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 6, 2022
But of course, there are still areas for improvement for the kid of this Draft cuvée. Indeed, the fundamentals are still a little wobbly: in the game at the post, his dribble is very high and therefore easily intercepted by the little trickster leaders on the two-man shots. He loses an average of 2.2 balls per game, because of that in particular. The reading of the game on the movements without the ball is not yet sufficiently developed, and to succeed in competing with the current NBA pivots, Jalen Duren must learn to put down real screens. In NCAA, the interior of Memphis dominated thanks to its physique. But within the League, no more weaklings who are two heads shorter and welcome to fathers with big biceps. It will therefore be necessary to watch his adaptation during his rookie season, by stopping flashing at the basket thanks to slip-and-rolls, that is to say screen feints where he rolls directly to the basket to martyrize the circle on alley-oop. So to become more than a talented defender over his NBA seasons, he will have to learn how to better position himself in attack, to put down real screens and protect his ball in the post. Also for his aggressiveness towards the circle to remain effective within the League, it will be necessary to put more throws: 62.5% of success, it is not yet enough to be able to claim to be one of the best interiors of the vintage of Draft 2022.
# SO IF WE SUMMARIZE…
Points forts :
- Youth
- NBA-ready physique
- Reliable inside and mid-range shooting
Weak points :
- Fundamentals still to be developed
- Dominated too much in the NCAA because of his physique: see the adaptation in the NBA
- Reading and understanding the game
WHAT DOES IT SAY IN MOCK DRAFTS?
- ESPN announces Jalen Duren in 9th position.
- Bleacher Report announces Jalen Duren in 9th position.
- The Athletic announces Jalen Duren in 11th position.
- Draft Room announces Jalen Duren in 8th position.
- Tankathon announces Jalen Duren in 11th position.
In the mock drafts, we see a fight between Jalen Duren and Mark Williams of Duke, who both have the same position and the same style of play. The Blue Devil showed great things at March Madness and were finalists for win the title of national defender of the year. The Tiger is a real model of precocity and still has some nice surprises in store if it adapts to the NBA game. The two pivots are very popular but it is possible that each franchise lacking a 5 position will find its account in one of the two interiors.