Mark Turgeon
With a long list of recruits expected to partake in official visits to College Park this weekend for Maryland Madness, junior college point guard Jaylen Brantley is one who Terrapins men’s basketball coaches are likely to watch closely.
The 5-foot-10, 150-pound transfer from Marshall has the ability to bring balance and control to an offense that has been lacking both. After receiving his diploma from Notre Dame Prep in spring 2013, Brantley signed with Marshall but sat out his freshman season before deciding to leave Huntington, West Virginia. This season, Brantley will play at Odessa, a junior college in Texas.
Brantley, who has three years of eligibility remaining, is considering this university, Texas Christian University, Wichita State and Missouri among other schools.
Brantley’s Notre Dame Prep coach, Ryan Hurd, said the three-star recruit likes to get others involved before he looks for his own shot. But when appropriate, Brantley doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
“It’s whatever he can do to help the basketball team he’s playing on win,” Hurd said. “And if that means he takes the big shot? Great. If that means his jump shot draws the defender out to give someone a driving lane? Then it’s certainly a role he can play and he’s comfortable with.”
If Brantley chooses to join the Terps, he’ll probably play alongside several talented scorers. A 2014 recruiting class that several media outlets ranked in the nation’s top 10 — and that includes three top-100 recruits in guards Dion Wiley and Melo Trimble, and forward Jared Nickens — would leave no shortage in playmakers for Brantley to assist in College Park.
And that’s something Brantley is accustomed to.
“It’s been his whole life,” Hurd said. “At such a young age, he’s played with guys that were top-five players in the country. So if there’s ever been anybody that can play alongside a talented player and accept the role and still produce, it’s Jaylen.”
Brantley’s had to lead teams in the past, and he’s also had to sit back and learn what he can from his other teammates while playing in the Boston Amateur Basketball Club, one of the nation’s premier amateur teams.
As a prep star, Brantley played with Terps forward Jake Layman, Kansas guard Wayne Selden and Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel.
“He played with absolutely loaded teams,” Hurd said.
Hurd said Brantley’s calmness on the floor — which he said is his favorite thing about his former player — isn’t from a lack of speed.
“He never gets rattled,” the coach said. “It’s funny because people over the years have said, ‘Aw he’s slow; he’s this; he’s that.’ No, he’s measuring his opponent. And as a coach, I had to get used to it, but it’s something you learn to appreciate.”
Hurd said Brantley has waited longer for the chance to play high-level college basketball than other teammates he grew up playing with. Brantley has carried a calm demeanor on the court as well as through the recruiting process, a journey that’s set to stop in College Park on Friday.
“He’s unflappable,” Hurd said. “He just will not come out of what he’s trying to do or what he’s set his mind to. He stays on pace and he stays on track. He’s kind of patiently waited for his turn.”
