It may be one of the biggest head-scratchers when it comes to the 2019 class. How can a four-star and Top-100 prospect such as Jaelen House have only one high-major offer to his name? Ultimately though, the fact that the Sun Devils represented that lone offer was all the local Phoenix Shadow Mountain High School guard needed to commit to his hometown college.
Devils Digest caught up with Jaelen’s father and ASU great Eddie House, to discuss his son’s decision as well as his alma mater’s improbable 12-0 start.
Even in the unpredictable and creative world of college basketball recruiting, the four-star prospect’s announcement had to be a first. While House was working as the Pac-12 Network’s color commentator during Arizona State’s win over Pacific yesterday.
“It wasn’t planned that way,” House stated. “He wanted to actually commit on Sunday during the Vanderbilt game. I was working that game as well and I saw him at halftime, and he told me ‘Dad I think I want him to commit.’ I asked him if he was going to tell the coaches after the game and he said ‘yes.’ I asked him if he wanted me to say something on the air and he said no because he wanted to do this (social media) edit.
“So, he did this the way he wanted to do, and it did it a week later. I didn’t know he was going to do this during the telecast. He texted me the edit during the telecast, and I asked him if he sent this already to the coaches and he said he did. So, there it was. It’s a win-win for everybody. He fits right in with Bobby’s style of play, being active defensively, being able to score, and playing unselfishly.”
House said that Jaelen received the Sun Devils’ coaching staff undivided attention this past summer, and there was never a doubt of how serious the school’s interest was regarding his son.
“Bobby Hurley followed Jaelen all summer,” House commented. “He and coach (Rashon) Burno showed up to all of the live events during the Adidas Gauntlet. They showed the most interest from the jump and Jaelen just feels comfortable with the style of play
“It was his decision. All I did is give him the pros and cons of making a commitment now and getting the recruiting process over with. He just feels comfortable with what he talked to with the coaching staff. He can see how his style of play is perfect for this team. Selfishly I’m happy he made that decision to stay home. As a parent, if God forbid anything were to happen, I’m able to get there in a matter of minutes as opposed to a plane ride that will take hours.
“But I’m more than happy that this is his decision. He wanted this and he feels good about his decision.”
And if you’re at a loss why ASU’s newest commit doesn’t have more offers to his name, you’re not alone.
“I have no idea,” House admitted. “Everybody has him as a four-star and say all these good things about him. It’s a mystery in itself. That’s their bad, and Bobby and his staff’s good.”
Eddie House’s illustrious Sun Devil career is best known for the Pac-10 record-matching 61-point outburst at California on Jan. 8 in a 111-108 double-overtime win. He also finished his four-year Arizona State career as the school's leading scorer with 2,044 points and earned Pac-10 Player of the Year honors in his senior year, at the time the first Sun Devil to earn the honor. House played 12 years in the NBA and won a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.
The inevitable comparisons between father and son will only grow from here out, and House detailed the similarities and differences between him and Jaelen.
“A lot of people just remember my NBA career,” House explained, “but in college, I was an overall scorer scoring in every which way. In the NBA I basically got pigeon-holed a sharpshooter, stretch the floor guy. We both have the same motor, but he is his own player. He still has a lot of work to do. I’d like to get his jump shot more consistent, right now it’s streaky. I know he wants to get it more consistent so we’ll be working a lot on that.
“I think that the fact that he has made this early commitment, is going to give us the opportunity to not need to go to every live event now. He’s not looking to get any offers anymore. That chapter is behind him. He can look now at getting his body stronger, spending more time in the lab, instead of putting all those miles on his legs. Sometimes (in AAU tournament games) you can play 12 games in eight days. It’s great that the AAU gets to showcase you but sometimes it’s at the detriment of tearing your body up.”
House didn’t rule out his son’s participating in any AAU tournaments going forward but added that he and his son will be much more selective as to what live events they may attend.
“You still need to stay fresh and stay playing,” House said. “You still need to play basketball and work on the things you need to get better at and then apply it in games. Right now, he’s focused on finishing this high school season.”
House is naturally pleased to see his school’s and his son’s future college team on such an incredible roll ranked no. 3 in the country and posting a 12-0 mark. Yet, surprisingly enough, he doesn’t see those impressive feats as playing a significant part in his son’s pledge.
“It’s funny because of the timing of it all,” House noted. “It’s not like he's jumping on it (the bandwagon). ASU has been the only consistent team that has been on him all the time. They showed him that they really wanted him. He wasn’t getting any other offers from anyone else besides Southern Utah and Long Beach State. Jaelen is a priority for that (ASU) coaching staff and they showed it by showing up to all of its games. Didn’t matter what time it was – Bobby was there.
“Jaelen really hasn’t had a chance to watch them play. So, he sees their style of play. I know the timing seems strange like he’s jumping on, but for the longest he had been thinking about this. Even in the summer, he was already thinking about going there. But it doesn’t matter if the timing feels strange or not. We know what the reasons are and it’s not because they are ranked no. 3. He was coming there even if they weren’t ranked no. 3, to get them to no. 3. At the end of the day, it’s a great thing because it’s a big time school, and there’s not a better guy to learn from than Bobby Hurley.”
House said that Hurley’s pedigree and the relationship he developed with ASU’s head coach does certainly put his mind at ease as far as his son’s future.
“He’s not going to BS you,” House remarked. “I’ve had conversations with him and from player, to player he’s a straight shooter. He doesn’t pull any punches. When two players talk to each other it’s a different respect level. We’re in that small fraternity.
“He keeps it 100 and I love that. Jaelen needs a coach like that. He can not only teach him about basketball but also teach him to be a better person.”
And the way ASU has started the season naturally brings House added joy seeing his college team go on a historic run for nearly two months now.
“I didn’t see the meteoric rise,” House confessed. “But I did know that this was going to be a really good team. Not only because of the addition of Remy Martin but because ASU already had three senior guards and that’s great leadership. That’s the biggest reason because every practice is their last – they’re not going to get that day again. It’s one more step towards your career being over. So, they’re not taking it for granted and they’re not allowing anybody else that has more time than them to take it for granted.
“The additions of Mickey Mitchell, De’Quon Lake, and Romello White are something we didn’t have in years. We were undersized last year. Obina Oleka was our only big guy and most of the time he floated around the perimeter. Now we have bigs we can throw the ball to and they finish at the rim. On the flip side, they protect the paint, they protect the rim and close out possessions with rebounds. So, when you have that and the speed the guards play with, that’s a good mix.”
House added that cohesiveness and chemistry are factors that cannot be overstated when a team reaches the level of success that the Sun Devils are enjoying these days. He cited ASU’s European trip that aside from resulting in winning all three games there, has also produced a level of camaraderie that has and will continue to pay dividends.
“It’s different if you go overseas when you’re in the NBA,” House explained. “Everybody has money and you go your different ways and ‘clique up.’ When you’re in college you don’t have any money and you all have to be together. You eat together, you play cards together. So that trip brought them closer and helped them bond.
“It’s just a perfect storm right now. I just hope they can build on this. The only scary thing to me right now is getting behind in games and trying to come back. They have done this too much during this non-conference schedule. Getting down 13,15 points and relying on their jump shots to get them back. I’d like to see then start fast like they did against Pacific.
“It’s important to get into an early rhythm and continue to put pressure on the other team. I don’t think that there are guards in this league 1 through 4 who can match up with them. Shannon (Evans), Tra (Holder) and Remy (Martin) can all create for each other, and Kodi (Justice) is a fantastic shooter and he does other things as well. They got a good mix and a good thing going on right now. They believe in each other and they believe in their coaches now.”
Just like Jaelen House did with his commitment to the Sun Devils.
