Jaron Faulds taking Ivy visit this week (2017)
Jaron Faulds is a classic post player with numerous D1 offers. Exceedingly active in his pursuit of more offers, Faulds and family took numerous college visits in the last seven months. “We went to Michigan and Michigan State, Oakland, Central…
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Continue ReadingJaron Faulds is a classic post player with numerous D1 offers. Exceedingly active in his pursuit of more offers, Faulds and family took numerous college visits in the last seven months.
“We went to Michigan and Michigan State, Oakland, Central (Michigan),” said Faulds. “We went to Michigan and Michigan State, Oakland, Central (Michigan),” began Faulds. “Harvard, Princeton, Northwestern, Creighton, Clemson.”
This month Faulds will ramp back up the visits. In fact, his father will take him to Yale this week.
“We are at Yale this weekend,” said father Travis Faulds. “Lehigh and Dartmouth want us to visit, but we have yet to schedule those visits and we may have to put that off (til later this month just because of previous commitments and a crazy June schedule). We are visiting DePaul for the second time (on June 22) to discuss their vision and Jaron’s role and they want to show us how construction is going on the new arena.”
DePaul is building an arena downtown Chicago. It has the potential to dramatically alter a long-dormant program. Previously the Blue Demons played way out in Rosemont in a spacious, soulless arena in front a smattering of alumni. With a downtown arena they should be able to attract young professionals, current students, and even unaffiliated fans in the area.
Faulds has a DePaul offer on the table.
“Right now I am hearing from most of the Ivy League schools, and hear often from Oakland, Central Michigan, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Clemson,” said Faulds. “Those kinds of schools.”
Jaron Faulds Recruiting Priorities
Faulds is not near a decision, but it is also interesting to hear recruits discuss the most important aspects in their impending selection process.
“Definitely how the type of program and coaches that they have,” said Faulds. “If I feel comfortable there and I feel that it is a good fit. Also, academics play a pretty big role in my decision.”
Faulds currently holds a 3.9 unweighted GPA. He has never earned a B (or lower), which is staggering for a senior-to-be. There are difficult classes for college bound seniors, but Faulds already conquered so many academic challenges to date.
From the outside looking in Michigan seems to be one of his favored schools. Unfortunately, his timing couldn’t be much worse as the Wolverines signed two centers in the Class of 2016. The Wolverines could find a place for him with several 2017 scholarships still open, but three centers within a single year of age can be a crowded locker room.
The state of Michigan is actually one of the best in the nation at producing true centers. That Dutch-Germanic height scattered throughout The Mitten comes in handy in this game of trees.
Faulds projects as a MAC-Big Ten player. He probably can wait and find a Big 10 home, but he might be second or third on their list. With Nike Meanstreets, Faulds sees his role clearly.
“It is great,” said Faulds. “I love the unselfishness of the team. I was playing with The Family, but I made the switch and I am happy with it. My role is to get rebounds and finish buckets when I get the ball.”
Lead by Brian Bowen, the Meanstreets got into several scrappy games in Atlanta Memorial Day weekend. Oftentimes bigs become forgotten in the pecking order of guard squabble. Faulds will be more of an emphasis at Holt High, and presumably at the next level. AAU can be harsh and exclusionary for proper bigs.
“I have been working a lot on my mid-range shot, so I want to continue to develop that,” said Faulds. “I also want to work on stepping out a little bit more, possibly the three a little bit. Ball-handling and shooting off the dribble, not just catch and shoot.”
At 6-foot-10, Faulds will be a hot commodity in the months to come. Wisely, he and his family are gathering information for the big decision whenever it should come. Seeing is believing and Faulds is seeing plenty of colleges and coaches on the recruiting trail.