Prospect Spotlight: Jalen Bryant (2021)
It isn’t common to see a varsity team lean on a sophomore for leadership, but when you consider the John Carroll rotation consisting of a slew of freshman and sophomores, you can begin to see why. The Patriots struggled to…
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Continue ReadingIt isn’t common to see a varsity team lean on a sophomore for leadership, but when you consider the John Carroll rotation consisting of a slew of freshman and sophomores, you can begin to see why. The Patriots struggled to get wins in a tough MIAA A Conference with their youthful group. Instead, the season was focused carefully on player development to ensure a bright future.
One of these sophomores that acted as a leader and developed immensely was Jalen Bryant. The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 12 points, 4.3 rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals per game. It was his first year of experience at the varsity level.
“It was a tough season for us,” Bryant continued, “with us being so young and having to play so many great teams, it was rough for us. We looked at this year as basically a big developmental year. We had our time throughout the season where we showed flashes like when we upset Annapolis Area.”
It didn’t take long for Bryant to realize that he would have to revert back to the things that he had learned from Immanuel Quickley (Kentucky) and Montez Mathis (Rutgers) when he was a freshman.
“Those guys really showed me what you have to do to be great.” Bryant told Prep Hoops. “There can’t be any off days. You have to get in the gym as much as you can. They really showed by example.”
Bryant was a consistent offensive threat for the Patriots throughout the season. His ability to slash and finish around the rim made it difficult for teams to keep him out of the paint. He showed the ability to be a capable three-point shooter. Bryant has a slight hitch in his shot at times, but on kick-out situations, he can get his shot off quickly.
It was on the other end of the floor that Bryant felt he improved the most.
“I think I stepped up on the defensive end a lot,” Bryant said. “I took on the challenge of guarding the other team’s best guard. It challenged me and got me a lot better.”
Bryant is playing AAU with Team Melo 16U and thus far has put together some solid outings. Despite wanting to rack up wins, he has other things in mind for this spring and summer in terms of improvements.
“I’m working on becoming more vocal on the court,” the 5-foot-11 guard replied. “Just becoming more of a floor general by letting guys know where they have to be when they’re out of position. I need to be ready to be a better leader for our team next season.”
Bryant currently holds a 3.5 GPA. He states that he hasn’t had any schools start to recruit him at this time.