Dalen Terry attracting the attention of ASU and its Pac-12 foes
Even before the July evaluation period began, Top-40 2020 prospect Dalen Terry a garnering plenty of recruiting attention. Arizona State is one of those programs keeping in close contact with the Phoenix Hillcrest Prep guard, and the former ASU ball boy has been enjoying the attention he’s receiving from the Sun Devils.
“I thought I played well, but I could have played better,” Terry said of his play in the last four weeks. “I played with a lot of energy, but sometimes you get a little tired playing that many games. I was trying to show everybody that I could be a point guard because a lot of schools see me as a wing player. Sometimes people want to see me play on the block and I wanted to show them that I’m a point guard.
“Ball handling and passing come naturally to me. I needed to show that I can finish around the hoop and have better vision. Those are the things I worked on the hardest.”
“You just don't find many young players with his size,” said Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi, “feel for the game and ability to legitimately play the point guard and elevate the play of those around him. And that's when Terry is at his best. Yes, he can score and will develop that part of his game, but when he's finding teammates, getting into the lane and generally creating chaos there isn't much anybody can do with him.”
Terry started for the Compton Magic 16u team, one of the premier West Coast ASU clubs participating in these various tournaments. It’s an environment that has surely ramped up the competition level for Terry and one that he naturally welcomes, as he knows he's fully in his element.
“I felt that I was built for this kind of team and I didn’t have any jitters,” Terry stated. “It didn’t feel like extra pressure and it was just like playing any other game. That’s why I transferred from Corona Del Sol to Hillcrest. It was no disrespect or anything like that, I just wanted more exposure. You play in front of a lot of eyes on the East and West Coast when you play for Hillcrest.”
Bobby Hurley and his assistants have attended several of Terry’s games this month and have made sure to frequently talk to the guard in between games and tournaments. Terry noted that the Sun Devils has been very encouraging which has contributed to the overall positive recruiting experience he’s having with ASU.
“They are always honest with me, telling me what I need to work on,” Terry described. “They talked to me about getting physically and mentally stronger. I want to get up to 185 lbs. as soon as possible. The doctors said that I can still grow to 6-7 or even 6-9, but I still want to play point guard (at that height) so I will need to get stronger.”
Ever since he was an ASU ball boy six, seven years ago looking up to Sun Devil point guard Jahii Carson, Terry has had an affinity to the hometown school. Aside from numerous visits to the campus, his talks with former and future players have helped him learn more about the program.
“I really enjoyed watching them the last couple of years,” Terry said. “It’s exciting to see them play with those fast guards like Shannon Evans and Tra Holder. Learning to play point guard from someone like Bobby Hurley is something I really thought about. It’s always a great vibe when I visit there.
“I know Kodi Justice very well and when we talk about recruiting he’s like ‘you know already what I’m going to say.’ Since he’s an in-state guy like me he said that ASU is a great fit, but it’s not like he was telling me where to go. He talked about all the in-state love I would get if I went to ASU. At Hillcrest, I’m going to play with (ASU commit) Kyree Walker and we talk almost every day. He’s kind of like Kodi talking about ASU so I know what he’s thinking. When everybody is asking me about colleges and he’s there, I can read his lips and I know what he’s thinking.”
Terry felt that ASU is certainly one of the schools that are recruiting him the hardest, along with every other school that has offered him to date which includes Cal, USC, Grand Canyon and Utah. As a 2020 prospect, he’s naturally not in a hurry to commit but is also not locked on a certain timetable for that decision.
“I just want to keep my options open and explore everything I can before I settle down,” Terry remarked. “I’m going to visit schools whenever my schedule allows me to because we are traveling to a lot of preseason tournaments before our season starts in October.
“Whenever I feel 100 percent where I want to go to, that’s when I’ll commit. It can be tomorrow, it can be in a year. I’ll commit when I know exactly what I want to do. I’m going to go to a school that makes you feel like home, has a great atmosphere and be very close to the coaching staff so they know me and I know them pretty well. I want to go to a school where the vibe is always great when I visit their campus.”
