July is the showcase month for high school basketball prospects, four weeks of travel from one AAU tournament to another, playing in front of hundreds of college coaches.
The goal is to get noticed.
Ty Jerome, a 6-foot-3 rising junior point guard out of Iona Prep in New Rochelle, succeeded — but not because of fancy dunks or high-scoring performances.
His team, New Heights’ 16-and-under squad, won and he excelled by getting his teammates involved, making the right play, and thriving in crunch time.
Jerome, 17, has led New Heights to four titles this AAU season, most notably the Under Armour Finals in Atlanta last weekend.
In the quarterfinals, he buried a 30-footer at the buzzer, and hit the game-winner in the championship game, the kind of performances that have forced college coaches to take notice.
“The name of the game in July is showcasing yourself,” New Heights coach Chris Alesi said. “Across the country there are kids who quote-unquote blow up, and Ty’s done that in a system with a team that’s been very, very successful, and it hasn’t been all about him. That’s why he’s done so well for himself, because of the success we’ve had as a team.”
Jerome, an egoless star, has been a major part of that success. New Heights preaches ball movement, and it begins with their point guard, who learned at a young age from his dad, Mark, his coach up until eighth grade, to always hit the open man.
“Because we all go out with the mindset we want to win, naturally our talents are showcased throughout the flow of the game,” Jerome said.
The last week alone, Jerome (“The smartest player I’ve ever been around,” Alesi said.) has scored scholarship offers from defending ACC champion Virginia; St. Joseph, Temple and George Washington of the Atlantic 10; and Davidson.
Those schools have joined the likes of Manhattan, Hofstra, Fordham and Rhode Island. Virginia coach Tony Bennett told Alesi he came to Kansas City on his way to Las Vegas to see Jerome again.
“It’s huge, it was life-changing,” Jerome said. “To get offers from bigger schools like Virginia and Temple, and interest from Vanderbilt and Minnesota, to get recruited at a high level, and have the opportunity to play in the ACC, it was my dream since I was a little kid.”
One Division I assistant coach who has seen Jerome several times over the summer compared him to former Marist star Jared Jordan, who was drafted by the Clippers in the second round of the 2007 draft.
Jerome, the coach said, can play at the high major level, or be a superstar for a mid-major program, as Jordan was for Marist.
He raved about Jerome’s unselfishness, his high basketball IQ, and said he is “unstoppable” in pick-and-roll situations because of his natural instincts.
“He’s my favorite player in New York City,” the coach said. “He’s smarter than most of the coaches that are recruiting him. He’s fun to watch.”
New Heights and Tottenville forward Nakye Sanders added a scholarship offer from Duquesne on Monday.
Rising senior forward Cheick Diallo, of Our Savior New American School in Centereach, L.I., a consensus top five prospect, will take official visits to Iowa State Sept. 26 and St. John’s Oct. 18.
Kansas, Kentucky and Pittsburgh are also in the mix for the the 6-foot-9 Diallo’s services.
Add another 2015 target to St. John’s wish list: power forward Ernest Aflakpui from Archbishop Carroll in Pennsylvania.
The 6-foot-9 forward is also being recruited by Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, St. Joseph. VCU and George Mason, among others.
Hofstra added Clemson transfer Ibrahim Djambo, a 6-foot-10 forward who will have to sit out the coming season as per NCAA eligibility rules.
Djambo, who averaged 1.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in just over nine minutes a game, has one year of eligibility left.