Fulton rising senior Jalen Steele received the Bruce Pearl Award (Improvement) for his outstanding performance in this summers Rocky Top League. Steele scored 22 points in the finals and was instrumental in helping to lead his team, the HT Group, to win the league championship. This was Jalens second year playing in the Rocky Top League which features current/former UT players and other college and professional players with local ties.
Pilot Rocky Top League championship to HT Group (KNS Article)
The HT Group ran like a well-oiled machine en route to its second
consecutive Pilot Rocky Top League championship under coach Pat Walden.
"The key was getting guys that played well as a team and bought into the team
concept,'' Walden said. "No one cared who scored; we just identified
mismatches.''Asheville's Jon Primm (16 points) and Fulton High School's Jalen
Steele never wavered in the backcourt for HT Group.
Steele was particularly effective, scoring 22 points with UT walk-on Skylar McBee guarding him throughout the night.
"I would love to play in the SEC. Some teams are giving
me a look,'' said Steele, who is giving serious consideration to an offer from
mid-major power Dayton. "I may decide later this month, but if not I'll sign in
November.
"This was fun, our team really jelled and figured out what it could
do with shooters, drivers and mismatches inside with Wayne, Boo and
Renaldo.''Rocky Top League Awards (KNS)
Couple of New Schools Calling on Steele (Rivals Article):
As evaluation period opens up on July 6, many schools will be scattered
trying to watch their top targets and evaluate those they haven't been able to
see with no April scouting period this year. One of the prospects that Dayton
has been coveting for a very long time is the Fulton (Tenn.) Falcons star Jalen
Steele. A couple new schools are trying to get involved as they play catch-up to
the Flyers, who have been there since day one.Jalen Steele had a busy month of
June as he played with his high school team and also participated in the Rocky
Top Summer League in Knoxville. He's a gym rat by nature and Dayton has liked
what they've seen in his work ethic and ability for a very long time. After all,
it led him to back-to-back state championships for Fulton. Now it's getting down
to crunch time to see where he will play in college."Not much has changed (with
recruiting)," Jalen admitted. "I got a call last week from a new school."The new
school belongs to the Big East Conference and is one that Dayton has been
competing with for some of their guard targets. "Marquette called last week,"
Steele said. "They told me they needed a combo guard and that they would be in
Indianapolis to watch me."He also expects the Flyers to be in attendance for his
games at the Hoosier Shootout. "Oh yea, they'll be there in full force."Another
team that was trying to get involved was the University of Tennessee. "They
called and were talking about recruiting me," he explained. "I am not quite sure
what is going on with that, but they talked to my uncle about it."As it pertains
to unofficial visits, Jalen has been to Dayton three times and Virginia
Commonwealth once. He didn't get to make any visits during the month of June
because of other commitments.Steele said he's still on pace to make a decision
sometime this month or at the beginning of August.Jalen and the Tennessee
Travelers will be at the Hoosier Shootout (July 6-9) in Indianapolis, followed
by The Triple S Jam Fest in Morgantown, West Virginia (July 14-16), the Super
Showcase in Orlando (July 23-27), and the Price Chopper in Kansas City, Missouri
(July 28-31).
Flyers Going After Guards (Dayton Daily News)
Highly touted basketball prospect Jalen Steele of Knoxville, Tenn., visited
Dayton for the Duquesne game last season and found the revelry in the stands as
entertaining as anything on the floor.
“The fans are into the game,” the 6-foot-2 senior-to-be said. “They’re real faithful to the team. They’re into it. They get the team ready to go. If there’s a bad call, they get mad. I loved it.”
That wasn’t all Steele found appealing about UD. “Me and the coaches
click very well,” he said. “And I clicked with (Flyer recruit) Juwan Staten. Me
and him exchanged phone numbers.”
Steele, who is being recruited by Marquette, Clemson and Xavier and has
about 20 scholarship offers, averaged 21.3 points last season in leading Fulton
High School to its second consecutive state title.
He scored 20 points in the state semifinals, hitting the game-winner in the lane at the buzzer, and tossed in 22 in the final to earn tourney MVP honors.
“He’s a tremendous, tremendous competitor,” Fulton coach Jody Wright said. “He has an unbelievable desire to win, and that has manifested itself many times in big ballgames. Like many great players, the bigger the game, the better he plays.”
“I think Dayton has done it the right way,” said Wright, who coaches Steele. “They have recruited him hard all along. Right now, somebody has to beat Dayton out. I’ve said that from the get-go. Anybody that gets on you the earliest and goes the hardest, that’s tough to beat.”
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