The signing period for basketball recruits ends this Wednesday May 18th. All recruits must sign their letter of intent by then. So where will Jarrett Allen play college basketballl?
Finalists for Jarrett Allen
Recently, Jarrett Allen tweeted that Kansas was still on his list after a reporter tweeted out that Texas and Houston were Allen’s final two schools. He did not mention Kentucky. I would be shocked if Kentucky swoops in at the last minute and gets the signature of this highly touted recruit.
What does he bring to each school?
Kansas
Jarrett Allen is very similar to Perry Ellis. A great basketball big that may not immediately fit into the NBA. Bill Self also has a good record of developing bigs to being superstars in college and many going on to become NBA lottery draft picks.
What he could bring is a continuation of the Kansas bigs legacy and he would get plenty of playing time because their front line is very weak.
Houston
The Cougars went 22-9 in Kelvin Sampson’s second year at the helm. Houston is building up its athletics in impressive ways and landing Jarrett Allen would go a long way to re-establish Houston as a college basketball powerhouse program.
Texas
While Texas has a few bigs ready to play for next season, the Longhorns have no true power forward for next season and Jarrett Allen’s versatility will add depth to a roster that could contend for a Big 12 title.
Who does Jarrett Allen sign with?
Getting anything out of Jarrett Allen is hard. He doesn’t talk, tweet or indulge the spotlight. While he might make some of the older generation proud that he isn’t a part of the “Me” generation, it makes covering his recruitment much more challenging.
With that said, I do believe Kentucky is out of the Jarrett Allen sweepstakes. Kentucky basketball fans are like Alabama football fans in that they believe as soon as their school expresses interest, recruits will automatically sign on the dotted line to go to school in Lexington. Jarrett Allen isn’t like most recruits and he won’t sign with Kentucky.
So that leaves 3 programs: Texas, Kansas and Houston.
Houston is intriguing but at the end of the day, he will not be a Cougar because that program needs more foundation players before Allen could shine.
That leaves Kansas or Texas. I believe he chooses the Kansas Jayhawks.
For Texas fans, I hope I am wrong. But if Allen was serious about becoming a Longhorn, he would have signed by now instead of waiting for the last day of the signing period to make a choice. Kansas has the pedigree to develop big men and he will fit into Bill Self’s system well in Lawrence.
Since he’s out of school for the summer, he is likely relieved of the pressure to sign with the hometown team. Again, I very well could be wrong but I fully expect Jarrett Allen to sign with Kansas.
