Jalen Carey has eliminated Miami from his list of schools “amid the FBI investigation” and is down to Syracuse and UConn, his father John Carey told ZAGSBLOG.
Miami was supposed to visit with Carey at Montclair (N.J.) Immaculate Conception on Tuesday but did not come to see him.
Miami this week confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating a member of the Miami coaching staff and a potential recruit as part of national probe into corruption and bribery in college basketball, as the Sun Sentinel reported this week.
The AAU team for Nassir Little, a 6-foot-7 senior wing from Orlando Christian Prep, who has been named in some reports as that recruit, denied any wrongdoing via a Twitter post on Thursday.
No Miami coaches have been charged and head coach Jim Larrañaga’s attorney, Stuart Z. Grossman, told the Sun-Sentinel that he was not the Coach-3 listed in the Department of Justice report: “Please be assured that our beloved coach is unaware of any impropriety on the part of UM basketball and does not know the identity of [the] unnamed, unidentified ‘Coach-3.’ He looks forward to leading the Hurricanes to continued success.”
Meantime, the 6-foot-4, 175-pound Carey will choose between Syracuse and UConn. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and associate head coach Adrian “Red” Autry visited him again this week.
Carey, ranked the No. 11 point guard in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports.com, previously told ZAGSBLOG he will announce on Oct. 11, his birthday.
He broke down both schools recently:
Syracuse: “They think I can come in and play right away, put the ball in my hands and make plays for others. They feel I can be a big part of their program, they see they need a guard badly so they I feel I can come in and fill that guard spot right away.”
Carey is basically the only guard the Orange are recruiting in 2018.
“That makes me feel special, knowing that they’re not willing to take any chances,” he said. “They know I’m the only option, they have all their faith in me. That’s something really special.”
Boeheim has done well with New Jersey guards in recent years, including Tyler Ennis (St. Benedict’s Prep, Malachi Richardson (Trenton Catholic) and Tyus Battle (St. Joe’s).
“I spoke with Tyus a little bit at Nike Skills Academy,” Carey said. “I know Tyler Ennis went there, they talked to me a lot about him. I know a lot of other guards went there, Dion Waiters, and how they feel I’m the same or better as some of those guys and how they would help me.”
UConn: “They just signed a guard [James Akinjo] and they still feel like I’m a priority. They still feel like I can come in and do things that no other can do, so that’s good. I just spoke with ‘KO’ [Thursday] night, talked about the whole situation and stuff like that.
“That’s how they always play, with multiple guards, multiple ball-handlers. And he feels like that’s their best way to win. He feels like if I come, I would be able to help their program as well, too.”
Ultimately, Carey hopes to play in the NBA.
“Yeah, that’s my main goal,” he said. “That’s what I’m looking for in college, to help prepare me for that next level. Even if God forbid I get hurt, those four years in college will help me get prepared.”
