cavalier86
Member
Texas A&M transfer Jamal Branch, a freshman guard, is favoring St. John's over Arizona, Maryland, Marquette & UCLA, per @LennRobbins.
Good news for us if this pans out.
Good news for us if this pans out.
Jamal Branch to STJ
- Thread starter cavalier86
- Start date
Coaster1955
Member
Can he get here in time for Cincy game?
cavalier86
Member
ESPN had him as the number 51 player in class of 2011. Great get if we can get it done.
SJUhoopNUT
Well-known member
Maybe he's buddies with D'Angelo?
SJUhoopNUT
Well-known member
He's visiting this weekend per Zags. Also considering Marquette, Arizona, and Maryland.
cavalier86
Member
Team should be back saturday night and coach lavin may be on campus. Or he way just want to see how the campus is.
If Branch does end up coming here, it may show other recruits that players are still excited playing at st. john's.
Lerts hope for a win at cincy and nice sunny weather in Queens.
Class of 72
Active member
The team is back Sunday. He will get a whirlwind tour and hopefully Lav gets his talented point guard transfer. No eligibility issue and would be eligible by December 2012!
Floodgates my friends. We have to believe in floodgates with this program. Keep the faith. My last post for 2 weeks as I'm putting myself on probation for thinking Coach was coming back this year but it's all good since at least he is out recruiting.
No posts and no pm's from me for 2 weeks. See everyone on the 19th
Went to High School at a high level program in Texas and hails from the same part of the state as Harrison. Hopefully they have a relationship that is a draw for him to come join D'Angelo at St. John's. You can never have enough talented guards.
Here are some comments made about Jamal, his game and intangibles.
Jamal Branch
6-3 * 170 * Fr. * Guard
Arlington, Texas (Grace Preparatory Academy)
A consensus four-star prospect … a 6-3, 170-pound point guard who plays at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas … named the best defender in the Class of 2011 by scout.com and ranked No. 47 nationally ... rated the No. 8 point guard in the country and No. 53 overall by ESPN.com … a member of the ESPNU 100 … grades at 94 out of 100 by ESPN.com … the No. 5 prospect in Texas and No. 67 nationally by rivals.com … is the No. 2 player on the Maroon and White Report’s Hoops Hot List for 2011 … chose Texas A&M over Texas, Kansas and UCLA.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING...
A&M HEAD COACH MARK TURGEON: “Jamal is a terrific young man that we targeted from day one when we came to Texas A&M. Jamal is a very intelligent young man it shows in the classroom and on the floor. He is a tremendous facilitator that has great vision and a willingness to pass and make people around him better. He also has the ability to score the basketball in a variety of ways. I feel he is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country. His ability to pressure the ball will make us better from day one.”
JAMAL BRANCH: “The opportunity to play at the next level, college basketball, is truly a blessing. I've just been working hard to get here. I love how well I get along with the coaches and players. I talk to them quite a bit. I just love Texas A&M. In going down there, academics were a huge factor in my decision. I want to study architectural engineering, and that’s one of the top majors at Texas A&M.”
JEROME BRANCH, FATHER: “I am extremely excited about it. It’s been a long time coming for me. He made this decision as a freshman and we’ve just been anxiously waiting for signing day to hurry up (and get here) and to get him up to A&M. A&M is a good school. We love all the things they’ve done with Reed Arena in the past few years. We love the entire coaching staff at A&M. Coach Turgeon has got a really good staff there. We just feel like family. Through the three-year process we got to get real close to the staff and all the people up there at A&M, and we're comfortable knowing Jamal will be okay when he goes to school. That’s refreshing to know. We are excited about it being one of the best academic programs in the nation. You can’t help but be pleased with that as well. As a family we're just excited and we’ve been anticipating this day for a very long time. And it's finally here. We’re extremely excited about it.”
RAY FORSETT, GRACE PREPATORY ACADEMY HEAD COACH: “Jamal is an ultra-talented point guard. He can do it all. He can make plays for everyone and can shoot a bit. He will only get better each day. He brings a ‘wow’ factor to the gym. He makes special plays and makes things happen. All he talks about is A&M. We are very happy for him. We know he’ll go there and be successful for Coach Turgeon and all those guys.”
TEXASHOOPS.COM: “Jamal is a silky-smooth point guard with a complete feel and understanding of the game. He plays under control at all times, has a great change of pace/change of direction dribble to create separation and get into the paint and sees the whole floor. He has a soft stroke out to the 3-point line, can create his shot or get into the paint and dish to the open man. He is a very savvy player who knows when to go hard and when to slow it down and has a calming influence on his teammates.”
EVAN DANIELS, NATIONAL RECRUITING ANALYST, SCOUT.COM: “Jamal Branch is a terrific pick up for Mark Turgeon and Texas A&M. His passing ability is impressive and he's a guy that knows how to lead a team. At the high school level, he's proven he's one of the top lead guards nationally. Because of his ability to run a program, attack the basket and get teammates involved I expect big things out of him at Texas A&M."
ERIC BOSSI, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ANALYST, RIVALS.COM: "Jamal Branch is one of the top point guards in the country and brings a lot of versatility to the floor. He has tremendous size for the position which means he can also play shooting guard. Branch is a good decision maker and has the tools to be a high level defender at the point or shooting guard position."
BRIAN SNOW, SCOUT.COM: “A premium in college basketball is placed on stopping penetration from the perimeter into the lane, and no one does it better in this class than Branch. He has complete lockdown capabilities on the outside, and takes pride in shutting his man down.
Here are some comments made about Jamal, his game and intangibles.
Jamal Branch
6-3 * 170 * Fr. * Guard
Arlington, Texas (Grace Preparatory Academy)
A consensus four-star prospect … a 6-3, 170-pound point guard who plays at Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas … named the best defender in the Class of 2011 by scout.com and ranked No. 47 nationally ... rated the No. 8 point guard in the country and No. 53 overall by ESPN.com … a member of the ESPNU 100 … grades at 94 out of 100 by ESPN.com … the No. 5 prospect in Texas and No. 67 nationally by rivals.com … is the No. 2 player on the Maroon and White Report’s Hoops Hot List for 2011 … chose Texas A&M over Texas, Kansas and UCLA.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING...
A&M HEAD COACH MARK TURGEON: “Jamal is a terrific young man that we targeted from day one when we came to Texas A&M. Jamal is a very intelligent young man it shows in the classroom and on the floor. He is a tremendous facilitator that has great vision and a willingness to pass and make people around him better. He also has the ability to score the basketball in a variety of ways. I feel he is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country. His ability to pressure the ball will make us better from day one.”
JAMAL BRANCH: “The opportunity to play at the next level, college basketball, is truly a blessing. I've just been working hard to get here. I love how well I get along with the coaches and players. I talk to them quite a bit. I just love Texas A&M. In going down there, academics were a huge factor in my decision. I want to study architectural engineering, and that’s one of the top majors at Texas A&M.”
JEROME BRANCH, FATHER: “I am extremely excited about it. It’s been a long time coming for me. He made this decision as a freshman and we’ve just been anxiously waiting for signing day to hurry up (and get here) and to get him up to A&M. A&M is a good school. We love all the things they’ve done with Reed Arena in the past few years. We love the entire coaching staff at A&M. Coach Turgeon has got a really good staff there. We just feel like family. Through the three-year process we got to get real close to the staff and all the people up there at A&M, and we're comfortable knowing Jamal will be okay when he goes to school. That’s refreshing to know. We are excited about it being one of the best academic programs in the nation. You can’t help but be pleased with that as well. As a family we're just excited and we’ve been anticipating this day for a very long time. And it's finally here. We’re extremely excited about it.”
RAY FORSETT, GRACE PREPATORY ACADEMY HEAD COACH: “Jamal is an ultra-talented point guard. He can do it all. He can make plays for everyone and can shoot a bit. He will only get better each day. He brings a ‘wow’ factor to the gym. He makes special plays and makes things happen. All he talks about is A&M. We are very happy for him. We know he’ll go there and be successful for Coach Turgeon and all those guys.”
TEXASHOOPS.COM: “Jamal is a silky-smooth point guard with a complete feel and understanding of the game. He plays under control at all times, has a great change of pace/change of direction dribble to create separation and get into the paint and sees the whole floor. He has a soft stroke out to the 3-point line, can create his shot or get into the paint and dish to the open man. He is a very savvy player who knows when to go hard and when to slow it down and has a calming influence on his teammates.”
EVAN DANIELS, NATIONAL RECRUITING ANALYST, SCOUT.COM: “Jamal Branch is a terrific pick up for Mark Turgeon and Texas A&M. His passing ability is impressive and he's a guy that knows how to lead a team. At the high school level, he's proven he's one of the top lead guards nationally. Because of his ability to run a program, attack the basket and get teammates involved I expect big things out of him at Texas A&M."
ERIC BOSSI, NATIONAL BASKETBALL ANALYST, RIVALS.COM: "Jamal Branch is one of the top point guards in the country and brings a lot of versatility to the floor. He has tremendous size for the position which means he can also play shooting guard. Branch is a good decision maker and has the tools to be a high level defender at the point or shooting guard position."
BRIAN SNOW, SCOUT.COM: “A premium in college basketball is placed on stopping penetration from the perimeter into the lane, and no one does it better in this class than Branch. He has complete lockdown capabilities on the outside, and takes pride in shutting his man down.
Not sure of the question when you say "again"? This is his first and only transfer. He's a freshman and backup PG. Don't forget Newsie, that he committed to play for Mark Turgeon who left for Maryland, which is certainly a big part of it. Maryland on his list now. Guessing he wants to play for whom HE chooses to play for. It's understandable.. A&M's loss could be our gain. Grabbing a top notch Pg with 3.5 years of eligibility would be fantastic for us. Would fill a huge hole on our roster for 2012. Hope Lavs gets this done...
Ny post running story that SJU very close to landing verbal from Jamal Branch. Maybe somebody can paste it here. I'm on my iPad and can't do it. Story per Lenn Robbins. Would enroll at SJU right away and begin practicing with the team.
IMO that would be a monstrous boost adding a 6'3" top 50 PG to be immediately able to practice. We've been searching for a PG and might have found it, and a really good one. We'd be in great shape entering next year with Branch/Greene at the PG spot. Then Lavs just needs a few big men and a shooter. PG has been the hardest part of the puzzle. Can't do much better than a guy the quality of Branch.
IMO that would be a monstrous boost adding a 6'3" top 50 PG to be immediately able to practice. We've been searching for a PG and might have found it, and a really good one. We'd be in great shape entering next year with Branch/Greene at the PG spot. Then Lavs just needs a few big men and a shooter. PG has been the hardest part of the puzzle. Can't do much better than a guy the quality of Branch.
I took it as "Tell me again why he's transferring" As in, his situation seems pretty good there in the next three years, so is there more to the story?
Or something like that.
It would be huge to land him. He's tall enough to play shooting guard when HArrison is out of the game, and he was highly ranked coming into college. May mean someone like Sina scratching us from his list, but I'm excited nonetheless.