4-Star Guard Jalen Coleman Commits to Illinois Fighting Illini
By Daniel Tran
After missing out on 4-star point guard Jalen Brunson earlier in the year, the Illinois Fighting Illini recovered to pick up another Jalen to help them out in 2015. 4-star guard Jalen Coleman announced via twitter that he was verbally committing to Illinois and head coach John Groce.
Ranked No. 34 on ESPN 100, Coleman has spent his summer productively, performing well at the NBA Elite Youth Basketball League averaging 14.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the All Ohio Red who finished at the top of Division B. The 6’3 shooting guard is currently attending La Lumiere Prep School in Indianapolis where he has established himself as one of the best shooters in the Class of 2015.
The Illinois Illini are also getting a versatile player. Aside from his incredible shooting skill, Coleman also has good ball-handling skills along with a deceptively quick first step that allows him to get to the basket. He has shown decent court vision and can make the extra pass.
Coleman was also considering North Carolina State, Michigan, UNLV, Notre Dame and Indiana in June. Then it was reported last week that he had narrowed his list to two schools: UNLV and Illinois.
The Illini are building quite an impressive Class of 2015. Coleman is the third 4-star recruit to commit to Illinois, joining small forward D.J. Williams (No. 50 on ESPN 100) and shooting guard Aaron Jordan. According to 247 Sports Composite, Illinois has put together the 6th best Class of 2015 in the nation so far. Groce will look to improve upon that rank in the coming months as the recruiting process is forever ongoing.