Recruiting Report: Jaihon McCaleb
The Des Moines North Polar Bears have a chance to be really good again this season, and 6-foot-3 shooting guard Jaihon McCaleb is a big reason why.
Last season, he established himself as a key role player for North, canning 39 3s at a 48 percent clip while averaging 5.6 points per game.
With his size and sharpshooting ability, college coaches are becoming more and more interested.
“I just got of the phone yesterday with Graceland University and I talked to Midland University too,” said McCaleb during a recent phone interview.
“I definitely want this to be my best season, and I obviously want to play basketball in college. So getting that paid for would be a big thing for me to try and do this season.”
Shooting is certainly a strength of McCaleb’s, and he’s spent countless hours in the gym working to master that part of his game.
“Last summer, I just went to the gym for like 10 hours a day, and I would just shoot all day.That was my sophomore year going into my junior year, said McCaleb. “And once I see one shot go in, my confidence goes up, and then I feel like I can make anything, really.”
He spent this past spring and summer playing with a talented Kingdom Hoops 17U Red squad. McCaleb says his role was to rebound and stay hot from deep.
“My role was to score a lot and then to get a lot of rebounds, and that was the biggest thing I did for Kingdom Red,” said McCaleb.
“This summer with them, I really worked on my ball-handling and my defense.”
Now, as he heads into what could be an eventful season while playing alongside one of the state’s best point guards, Tyreke Locure, McCaleb is more ready than ever to show he’s one of the state’s best shooters.
“Playing with Tyreke is good because he knows how to get you open, and he knows how to open up the floor. And he makes sure that if you’re hot, you’re going to touch the ball again,” said McCaleb.
“My job will be to shoot well every single game, rebound, and just be a good teammate and support my team.”