A Closer Look at Jalen Adams

By Craig Leighton
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Updated: January 21, 2013

Throughout the 2012-13 season, Friarbasketball.com will take a closer look at a number of key Friar targets. Our staff will continue to provide in-person reports on these players all season, and provide updates on prospects that have been previously featured.

Prospect: Jalen Adams

Position: Point Guard

School: Cushing Academy (Mass)

AAU Program: Mass Rivals

Class: 2015

Overview:

Jalen Adams becomes the first 2015 player that Friarbasketball.com features in “A Closer Look”. Adams is the backcourt mate of Kaleb Joseph on both his prep school team (Cushing Academy) and his AAU squad (Mass Rivals). Along with Joseph he has been front and center on PC’s radar for quite some time. Adams has been offered by the Friars and there is usually a member of the PC staff present at all of Cushing Academy’s games whenever possible. Both Adams and Joseph will continue to be primary recruiting targets for the Friars going forward.

This Past Year:

Most recently I had a chance to watch Adams play at the Hoop Mountain Classic and also the St. Andrew’s Christmas Tournament, both held at St. Andrew’s in December. The first thing that strikes you is his great athletic ability. Take a look at this video courtesy of BallasTV. Pay special attention to the put back jam at the 1:10 mark. WOW!

At this point in his career Adams is a classic combo guard. If he was a baseball player he would be known as a 5 tool player excelling in all phases of the game including passing, handle, outside shot, speed, jumping ability and defense. This video courtesy of 2EZ Productions highlights all of Jalen’s strengths. Speaking of defense, watch what he does to Wayne Selden at the 1:29 mark.

After watching him in person several times I am convinced that Adams would be an ideal fit in Ed Cooley’s pressing full court system, and is exactly the type of player that Cooley is looking for. Maybe that is why every time I have been to see Adams and Joseph play Cooley has been there.

Last summer’s AAU Events:

This past summer Adams was running with the Mass Rivals along with Joseph, Noah Vonleh, Matt Cimino, and Josh Sharma. I was able to catch a few of their games at the Providence Jamfest this past April. Even though I was there to primarily see Joseph and Vonleh, I walked away very impressed with my first glimpses of Adams. I was not sure at that point what position he would play at the next level, but you could tell he had high major potential written all over him.

Adams continued to impress throughout the summer. He was one of the standouts in Indianapolis in July at the Adidas Invitational where he got nice reviews from both Paul Biancardi and Reggie Rankin of ESPN. He also performed well at the Super 64 in Las Vegas and the Hoop Group Summer Classic.

The Providence staff was watching the Mass Rivals team very closely this summer. Someone from the PC staff was at most, if not all, of their games. In addition, Providence hosted the Mass Rivals Basketball Club this past June on the PC campus. It is safe to say that at this point PC is very involved with Adams.

What Others Are Saying:

ESPN says that “Adams is a athletic combination guard that can score, handle and pass pretty well. He makes plays off the bounce on a consistent basis. Adams game is still developing although he is already very productive. Adams has tremendous upside.”

RIVALS notes that “this season the backcourt of Jalen Adams and Kaleb Joseph has terrorized opponents on the court. As Adams, a 2015 6-foot-1 shooting guard, and Joseph, a 2014 6-foot-2 point guard, working well together on and off the ball, the stats sheets are filling up and college coaches are catching on” (per Alex Kline of the Recruit Scoop).

NERR AJ Stokes refers to Adams as the “stock riser of the year in New England to date, the offer list out on Jalen is on the cusp of full blown mutation.”

SCOUT Evan Daniels says that “Jalen Adams is starting to turn some heads in the northeast. In just his sophomore season at Ashburnham (Mass.) Cushing Academy, Adams is averaging 16.2 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game.”

The Competition:

Providence was the very first high major program to offer Adams. Cooley has often said that it is important to get in early with a recruit and establish a long relationship with him and the Friars are doing that. Connecticut and Kansas State have also offered him and there is interest from Indiana among others. This list is sure to grow as he progresses during his high school career.

Bottom Line:

Very recently Jalen Adams has continued to improve, exploding for some huge games for Cushing Academy. Providence has been in there from the start with Adams, has been recruiting him very hard, and he will be one of their primary focal points for the 2015 class.

I Want to See for Myself:

For PC fans in the Providence area, Adams and Cushing Academy will be at the National Prep School Invitational at Rhode Island College for two games: