Arkansas Basketball: Razorbacks land top-100 forward Jalen Shelley
Arkansas Basketball lands its first class of 2024 prospect in Jalen Shelley. What does the top-100 recruit offer to the Razorbacks?
Coach Eric Musselman has become one of the best recruiters in all of college basketball these days. But it’s not just via the transfer portal these days, as he and Arkansas Basketball have been consistently landing top-100 talent right out of high school.
The Razorbacks have been part of a number of lists this offseason among top-100 prospects. One of them is Jalen Shelley, a 6’8 combo forward from the state of Texas that had some big names after him. The list of options he had included Houston, LSU, Marquette, and Texas A&M. In the end, he committed to the team with the top recruiting salesman in the sport.
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Shelley is the first commitment for the Razorbacks in the 2024 class. He fills a future need at the forward position, which is set to lose a lot of talent. Southern Miss transfer Denijay Harris and former Cincy guard Jeremiah Davenport are entering their final seasons, along with Memphis transfer forward, Chandler Lawson. And Trevon Brazile is viewed as a pro candidate and if he plays a whole season healthy, he could enter the 2024 NBA Draft as well.
That creates an opportunity for Shelley, who is a versatile and athletic forward that has a nice motor. So in the worst case scenario, he can be an effective role player for Arkansas and whoever they add in the next offseason.
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There’s always a chance that the Razorbacks land too much talent in the coming months to force Shelley on the bench to open his career. It’s a risk but like the other past players that have ended up in the NBA after playing for Musselman, this could be a commitment that pays off for both sides years to come.