Dwight Howard, Bam Adebayo, DeAndre Jordan. When the chiseled
6-foot-10 Jalen Duren comes crashing down on dunks, these are some
of the names that are evoked in scouts' minds. Duren, a former
5-star recruit and current freshman at Memphis, has been a
consistently positive force for the Tigers in a season that's been
full of ups and downs. His immense physical tools and stand-out
athleticism have had him on the prospect radar since he was a
freshman in high school. Thus far, Duren has not disappointed, as
he's been high on the big boards of scouts, teams and draft
analysts alike.
From Delaware to Florida
Duren, a native of Delaware, began both his AAU and high school
career with Pennsylvania roots. Duren played up with Team Final
(PA) as a middle schooler. He competed with their 15-and-under team
— showing no problem thriving in a league two age groups up, as he
is such an overwhelming physical force. During his middle school
run with Team Final, Duren blew up on the national radar, sparking
a frenzy from high schools looking for the right to have him don
their jersey. Duren decided upon Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High
School, a program that has produced the likes of Rasual Butler,
Brad Wanamaker and Lamar Stevens. The future Memphis Tiger linked
up with a future LSU Tiger, Justice Williams, at Roman Catholic.
During his first year with the private school powerhouse, the duo
rolled their way to a historic Philadelphia Catholic League title.
Duren brought home All-State honors following a strong debut
season.
Duren's sophomore effort looked to be much of the same, as Roman
Catholic seemed to be rolling their way to a third consecutive
title, until the COVID-19 pandemic abbreviated the season. Duren
and Williams opted to transfer to Montverde Academy for their
junior seasons. Competing in the new National Interscholastic
Basketball Conference (NIBC), the duo joined a team loaded with
high-major talent. Montverde recorded a dominant 24-1 record, in
which Duren earned All-American honors. Montverde reaffirmed their
spot atop the high school basketball ranks with a national
championship.
The Penny Way
In August of 2021, Duren made the surprising decision to
reclassify, in conjunction with fellow top 2022 recruit Emoni
Bates. The pair of consensus 5-stars pledged their college careers
to the Memphis Tigers and head coach Penny Hardaway in the same
week. Bates and Duren finished fifth and sixth in the recruiting
rankings respectively, and gave Memphis a consensus top-2
recruiting class in the country. The addition of the two 5-star
recruits and fellow top-50 player Josh Minott to a veteran-laden
Memphis team landed the Tigers at the pre-season No. 12 spot in the
country. The Tigers opened the season 6-0, featuring wins against
St. Louis, Western Kentucky and Virginia Tech. Duren averaged a
double-double — 13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game during their
run, while also adding 4.2 blocks per game. This impressive stretch
included a dominant 22 point, 19 rebound outing against Western
Kentucky's 7-5 Jamarion Sharpe. Duren was a physical monster,
beasting a talented Hilltoppers squad at every turn.
After peaking at No. 9 in the rankings, Memphis hit quite a bit
of turmoil, as a fissure began to form in the locker room following
a string of losses. In an interview with The Athletic, Penny said,
"We've got so much negativity in our locker room with veterans
being jealous. Everybody's trying to get to the NBA off the ranking
we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches,
anything. It's been miserable. You can imagine what a 17-year-old
is thinking as he's trying to figure it out." Duren has remained
positive for the team despite the turmoil, averaging 9.2 points,
5.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. I recently saw Duren take on
the Central Florida Knights in a game that wasn't highly contested,
as Memphis struggled.
Pregame, Duren warmed up and stretched largely individually. He
came sporting a very quiet, "I'm about my business" demeanor in
which he was locked-in and wasn't particularly jovial. Duren was
most impactful defensively during the game, where he registered 3
blocks and was an intimidator in the paint. Offensively he
struggled to get into his groove in a game where the Tigers were
severely short-handed (only 7 players played, as Jayden Hardaway
got injured early).
NBA Bound
Despite a volatile year for the Memphis program as a whole,
Duren's draft stock has remained relatively unchanged, as he is
still a likely top-10 pick on any reasonable draft board.
Additionally, Duren's physical tools have buoyed his draft stock —
he is a top .001% type of athlete.
Our Sr. Draft Analyst Matt Babcock shared what he has seen out
of the 6-foot-10 freshman this season:
"At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds of muscle to go along with a
7-foot-5 wingspan and good athleticism, Jalen Duren possesses
impressive physical tools. He's also a capable passer with a higher
skill set than what one might initially expect. Also, remember that
he's supposed to be a high school senior this year. However, he
chose to reclassify to attend Memphis a year early. It is yet to be
determined how high he'll be selected exactly — and I am concerned
with his selective motor — but I feel comfortable with the idea
that he will likely be the first true big man to come off the board
on draft night."
Duren currently sits at No. 6 on the BasketballNews.com 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
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