Gerald Gittens Jr. Talks Recruiting and Upcoming Senior Season
“I feel and play like I am a hungry wolf,” said SJNMA point guard Gerald Gittens Jr. If Gittens is a wolf, then his counterparts on the AAU circuit this spring and summer were helpless deer. Gittens entered the spring as…
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Continue Reading“I feel and play like I am a hungry wolf,” said SJNMA point guard Gerald Gittens Jr. If Gittens is a wolf, then his counterparts on the AAU circuit this spring and summer were helpless deer. Gittens entered the spring as a wolf who was starving for his next meal. Now — after an incredible AAU season with Wisconsin RAP — Gittens has a stomach full of food. Because his hunger has been temporarily satisfied, the guard has more than enough food to sustain him until November. But make no mistake, he will be back on the hunting prowl very soon. When the high school basketball season returns, Gittens will be ready to devour his competition just like he did in the spring and summer.
The guard’s final season with Wisconsin RAP was not perfect. For Gittens and his teammates, it was a bumpy road that smoothed out at the end. “Coming into the AAU season, we started great by making it to the championship game and losing to Phenom [Univesity] in NY2LA. Then, after that, we started to lose our feel as a team.” Gittens and his teammates had hit a wall. A mindset change later helped them break out of their slump. Heading into July, RAP refocused and decided to make winning their only goal. “We all came together and said we don’t care who does good, or who scores all the points as long as we win we will be fine.” As soon as RAP subscribed to winning, they were much more successful. In July, Gittens and RAP won the Prep Hoops Summer Challenge and the Hard Work Region Finals.
When his team needed him the most, Gittens showed up. In his final AAU game, the 6-foot PG scored 30 points en route to the title game victory. “The feeling I had when we won was great. Besides me having a great game, I was proud of our team because we went through hard practices and trips for those tournaments. For us to come out as champions for our last time together was a special moment for all of us,” said Gittens.
Gittens and RAP won’t be able to join forces again next year, but he will now look ahead to his final year of high school basketball. The PG says that he wants to help SJNMA to a conference title and a state tournament appearance in the 2019-20 season. As for his personal goals, he says, “I would like to have higher numbers on the stat sheet.”
Despite being one of Wisconsin’s top performers during the 2019 AAU season, Gittens Jr. still does not have any scholarship offers. That, however, is on the verge of changing. The guard told Prep Hoops Wisconsin that he has been in contact with IUPI, UW Milwaukee, Buffalo, Lipscomb, UC Santa Barbra, North Dakota State, Abilene Christian, Nebraska-Omaha, and Monmouth. “The only thing they say that’s holding me back is my height.” He also said that college programs are a little concerned about the level of competition that he is playing against.
His meals during his final AAU season were plentiful. However, he still remains one of the most underappreciated prospects in Wisconsin. During his final year at SJNMA, Gittlens will look to reach the top of the food chain.