NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Kentucky, Maryland showing interest in Karim Mane
Jalen Green garners interest from UNC
Consensus top-five 2020 recruit Jalen Green is currently seeking his third gold medal with USA basketball as he is with his U19 teammates at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Greece. The 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup MVP has struggled from beyond the arc in this tournament but he has been tremendous in transition and a menace on the defensive end. He has scored in double figures in three of the U.S.’s (4-0) first four games, averaging 11.0 points along with 1.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 20 steals and posting a plus/minus + 13.8 overall. The 17-year-old is shooting 42.9% from the field — making 65% of his 2-point shots — although he is just 2 of 15 (13.3%) from long distance, and 12 of 14 (85.7%) from the charity stripe.
“I think I’ve been playing solid,” Green told Evan Daniels of 247Sports. “My shot is not really falling, I’m trying to find ways to impact the game in other ways, defensively. But overall as a team, we’re pretty good, the offense is going and we play good defense, get a lot of stops.”
“My main mentality when I come out on the floor is just defense,” he added. “I’m coming off the bench, so I’ve got to have energy somehow, so I just step up on defense and let the offense come.”
On the recruiting front, the 6-5 wing said is pretty much the same as it has been with Kentucky, Memphis, Florida State, Oregon, Alabama, and California still prioritizing him. However, North Carolina is now kind of in the picture as Green said that assistant Hubert Davis facilitated interest while at the U19 training camp two weeks ago. The Tar Heels have not offered a scholarship yet.
“He was talking about how he loves the way I play,” Green said. “He contacted me in Colorado Springs. He said he loved the way I played out there and he wants to get in touch and build a relationship.”
Assistant coaches from Kentucky, Alabama, and Cal are currently taking in the action in Greece.
The Fresno (Calif.) native plans on visiting Oregon and possibly Alabama sometime soon. He already has taken official visits to Florida State and Memphis.