Recruiting Report: Jal Bijiek (2017)
Des Moines North small forward Jal Bijiek has made the biggest ascension of any player since we started this website over two years ago. After attending Promise Academy in Ames, and not playing basketball two winters ago, he transferred…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingDes Moines North small forward Jal Bijiek has made the biggest ascension of any player since we started this website over two years ago.
After attending Promise Academy in Ames, and not playing basketball two winters ago, he transferred into Des Moines North for his junior season last winter. That, along with his exposure playing with Kingdom Hoops Elite, has put him in a position to showcase himself and his tremendous ability. And within one year, the 6-foot-7 wing has risen from unranked up to No. 4 in our 2017 rankings.
He picked up his first offer from North Dakota last year, and after a very strong junior season and a good spring, he’s starting to see some hard Division I interest come his way.
“It’s (recruitment) a work in progress, but it’s started to pick up a lot. Like yesterday, I got six calls from six different college coaches; Pepperdine, South Dakota, South Dakota State, and Drake were some of them,” said Bijiek.
“Wright State is really looking at me heavy, and there’s a few other mid-major D1 schools looking at me. UNI also, they came to an open gym during the high school season, and they send me hand-written letters. And come the end of July hopefully I can pick up a few more offers.”
Bijiek has built a relationship with North Dakota’s coaching staff, and went to a game last winter, so far they are the only school which has offered him. UND currently has extended offers to seven guys from Iowa’s 2017 and 2018 classes.
“I have a great relationship with their assistant Jeff Horner, who’s an Iowa guy, he’s awesome,” said Bijiek. “And I am in frequent contact with them even though they have offered a bunch of guys from Iowa. I went to a game there last year when they played Kansas State, me and John (Lamb) went. So it’s been a great relationship with them, and I love their style of play.”
After working relentlessly to improve his perimeter skill-set, Bijiek has now transformed himself from a slightly undersized stretch-four, to a player who can hit an outside shot and take his man off the dribble.
“I feel that I’ve made the most progress with my ball-handling,” he said. “Last year I was an OK shooter and I could drive the ball, but I just wanted to find more of my craft and become a better ball-handler, and being able to dribble and pass.”
Though he says he’s happy with his defense last winter at North — he set the school record for blocks in a season — Bijiek admits that he feels he and his team could have been better.
“I set the bar pretty high for myself, so in some aspects I feel like I may have underachieved,” said Bijiek, who averaged 14.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 4.7 blocks per game last season. “And I think as a team we underachieved by not making it to state. I’m going to become more of a leader next year and carry my team, and just lead my young guys.”
One of those young guys is sophomore-to-be Tyreke Locure. Bijiek talked about what it was like playing with the supremely savvy point guard, a top-3 player in Iowa’s 2019 class.
“I always know he’s going to give me 100 percent of what he has, and I’m going to give him 100 percent of what I have. And he’s always making smart plays, and he always looks to get me going — he’s very selfless and will look to get me shots before he gets his. I’m just blessed to have him on my team and on my side,” said Bijiek, who will look to have a big summer with Kingdom Hoops Elite 17U.
“This will be the biggest summer of my life because it will determine my future from here on out, and so I just have to give it my all, and show what I can bring to the table.”