ORLANDO, Fla. — Jalen Duren, the dynamic big man who helped power Montverde Academy to a national championship last March, revealed Friday night that he will bypass his senior year of high school basketball to play for the University of Memphis.
Duren, a chiseled 6-10, 230-pound post player, chose the college route and a Memphis coaching staff headed by former Orlando Magic great Penny Hardaway over options that included professional play. In a final five list he unveiled in early July, Duren listed Kentucky and Miami as his other two potential college choices. He also had two pro possibilities: signing with the NBA’s G League Ignite team or with a club in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL).
All of those moves set up Duren to be eligible for the 2022 NBA draft, and he is projected to be a possible No. 1 pick.
Duren, who is 17, announced his plans, which had been shrouded in secrecy for months, in a ceremony at the Wilmington, Del., headquarters of the Team Final travel team he played for this spring and summer.
Duren averaged 14.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game as a junior for a loaded Montverde team that went 24-1 and repeated as the consensus national champ of high school basketball. He made 63% of his field-goal attempts, with many of those baskets being rim-rattling dunks.
Montverde coach Kevin Boyle told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday that Duren steadily progressed in his one season at the Lake County boarding school and has immense potential.
“I thought Jalen really improved his motor skills, basketball understanding and intensity,” Boyle said. “He is a terrific player and has the unique ability to trap and/or switch on ball screens. His perimeter offense improved dramatically and after a year in college [he] will be very comfortable facing the basket at the highest levels of competition. We appreciate his major contribution to our national championship.”
Duren was thought by some to be leaning toward the two pay-to-play options until state laws and NCAA rules were changed this summer to allow college athletes to be paid for sharing their name, image and likeness (NIL) via sponsorship deals. Duren, who was named by MaxPreps as the national junior player of the year and the Florida player of the year last season, could be one of the big names who hits the jackpot with marketing deals.
In recent published reports, he said the NIL developments allow some college players to make more money than they could get in professional ranks below the NBA.
In a story by Jason Jordan of Sports Illustrated, Duren said: “College has always been the main option for me. That whole aspect of the NIL makes it an even stronger option, though. That’s something I think we all agree on.”
The G League Ignite franchise, based in California, was launched by the NBA as an alternative for elite players who opt to skip schoolwork in favor of paychecks.
The NBL also offered immediate paydays and competition against older professionals.
In a report by Travis Branham of 247Sports, Duren said Hardaway and his Memphis coaching staff, which now includes Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown, will help him “learn how to be a pro.”
As of Friday, Duren was rated as the No. 1 prospect in the 2022 graduating class by 247Sports and Rivals and No. 2 on ESPN’s list behind another big man, Emoni Bates, a 6-9 forward from Ypsilanti, Mich. Bates, also 17, announced Wednesday that he is bypassing his senior season of high school play and moving on to either the G League or college basketball. Bates listed Oregon, Memphis and Michigan State as his possible college choices.
Both Duren and Bates will soon be shifted to the top end of 2021 top-25 lists that include Michigan signee Caleb Houstan and Baylor recruit Langston Love off Montverde’s 2020-21 title team.
Duren made three official college visits to Miami (June 13), Memphis (June 23) and Kentucky (June 28).
UM added DJ Irving, who was an assistant at Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High when Duren played there before his move to Montverde, to its coaching staff this summer. Duren left Philadelphia in the spring of 2020 to enroll as a junior at Montverde.
This report was first published at OrlandoSentinel.com . Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com .
