Kadeem Jack - PF - South Kent - Cambria Heights, NY - RUTGERS

http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/04/07/class-of-2010-intro-kadeem-jack/

Rice Junior Receiving Solid Big East Interest

By Zach Smart

Rice high school is where throwback jerseys are in and Abercrombie is out. It’s where Maurice Hicks makes basketball a year-around commitment. Not just a workaday activity but a majorly significant 24-hour, 365 day marriage.

Every little aspect of Hicks’ daily hoops regimen is critical. It’s all a detailed, righteous recipe for success. Hicks lays out a blueprint which he challenges some of the city’s most promising youth to follow. He molds young minds and launches these kids to career opportunities they may not have fathomed elsewhere.

This is not a prep school. They don’t recruit kids. It’s a storied program that breathes life into a once-ailing area that’s been revamped, refurbished, and rejuvenated these past few years. It’s as if the reverend created a tool for community engagement and Hicks (”Mo,” as he’s known in the city’s never dwindling basketball culture) and the
reverend’s plan came to fruition.

Marquee matchups are certain, quiet gyms are nonexistent.

Shoot first, ask questions later. That’s the mindset Hicks instills in his players.

The Raiders gym is where a laundry-list of college coaches will flock, where a high-end player’s stock will either increase or drop, and an emphatic, violent two-handed banger will instigate a chorus of wowing eruptions.

Somewhere in the busload of talented young players is Kadeem Jack.

At the towering height of 6-8, Jack stands out like a police officer armed to the teeth at a Wu Tang concert.

Jack, he of the stickbacks, glasswork, and improved back to the bucket moves, is starting to garner some major Division-I attention.

He’s still a bit rough around the edges, but his leaps-and-bounds progression was an essential ingredient in this year’s New York state championship team.

“Kadeem just loves the game,” said Hicks.

“He hasn’t been playing basketball for that long, I think the last 3-4 years, tops. He’s a sponge. Throughout the year, I had a couple of meetings with him. I sat him down and told him, ‘we’ve got a have an inside presence on this team to be successful. It’s got to be you.”

Jack apparently took his coach’s words to heart. He became more aggressive and suddenly emerged as a stallion in the paint.

The Big East is showing big interest in the biggest, most promising man in the middle since Shagari Alleyne (2003). Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers are all potential suitors for the big fella.

“They (Big East schools) are starting to realize who he is,” said Hicks of his behemoth.

“This summer is going to tell it all. They’ll be able to see him play. The Big East is going to be all over him. So will other people. But I think that’s something he wants to do, play in the Big East. It works for most of our kids as it’s close to home and extremely competitive.”

UConn’s Kemba “EZ Pass” Walker is a prime example of a recent Rice graduate to master the transition to the Big East.

Hicks believes Jack’s stock will balloon as time ticks into the future.

“He’s going to improve at a rapid rate, because he wants to be good. That’s what is going to make him. He’s going to be a sleeper, because a lot of teams don’t know about him.”

A major upside to Jack is his ability to handle the intangibles.

He listens. He makes his teammates better and is able to work cohesively and harmoniously with them. He is extremely coachable.

“I tell Kadeem he needs to get into the weight room to improve,” said Hicks. “A few minutes later I walk by the weight room and he’s already in there, working hard.”

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=81757&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d81757

rated 85 - Player has the potential to start or significantly contribute as a freshman for most top national Division I programs.


Evaluation

April, 2009: Jack plays with a great deal of energy and contests shots on the defensive, thus taking ownership of the paint. With his presence on the defensive end, he really anchors his team's defensive focus and allows perimeter players to gamble for steals due to the fact that they know that they have an eraser behind them in the paint. He also crashes the glass on both ends of the floor and starts breaks with defensive rebounds or block shots and easily runs down the floor to finish in transition. Jack uses his quick leaping ability to Jack has immense upside and his basketball days lay ahead of him, especially if he can increase his level of strength to hold his position on the block for scoring and rebounding, in addition to improving his post moves and footwork with his back to the basket.

February, 2009: This young post was active and aggressive the entire game and controlled the glass (Nike Super 6 Invitational). Jack finished with 12 rebounds with 8 coming from the offensive end of the floor. He is thin and needs to add strength but Jack is long and athletic. He is a true live body that runs the floor on every possession. Jack is a good weak side shot blocker as well. He has great timing and when he misses that block he usually causes the shooter to adjust. He is an above the rim finisher in transition and from drop off passes when he has a clear path to the rim. He struggles at times to finish through contact due to the strength factor. Jack is still extremely raw on the offensive end of the floor but he will attempt to shoot a jump hook over his left shoulder. His hook is not fluid yet but his length and elevation allows the shot have a chance to go in because he can arc it over defenders with good touch. Jack has good hands and works hard to post up. He is a work in progress but has tremendous upside.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/high_school/2009/03/17/2009-03-17_queens_products_could_keep_rice_bubbling.html

Fresh off its victory over Christ the King in the CHSAA 'AA' Intersectional final at Fordham on Sunday, Rice has good reason to still be confident.

The Raiders may be losing their star, Durand Scott, who will be playing at Miami next season, but they should return a formidable roster, and two of those players, junior center Kadeem Jack and sophomore forward Jermaine Sanders, are Queens products.

Jack and Sanders came into their own this postseason, showing individual flashes of brilliance.

Jack, who has been playing organized basketball for just three years, says he'd like to get stronger, both physically and mentally.

At 6-9 and 210 pounds, Jack believes he can afford to put on a bit of muscle and will try to do so this summer with the New York Gauchos.

"(Rice coach Maurice Hicks) actually tells me that every day to go out and hit the gym," Jack said. "That, and my focus. Mo tells me that sometimes my focus is there and I'm able to dominate, and sometimes it's not. I have to work on that."

It's possible that Jack loses a bit of focus on the way from his home in Cambria Heights to Rice in Harlem every morning, a trip that consists of two trains and two buses, lasting a staggering two hours and twenty minutes.

It would have been more convenient for Jack, had he stayed in Queens. He spent his freshman year at Francis Lewis, but never played for the team. Jack even considered attending Cardozo before transferring to Rice.

Sanders, who's from Far Rockaway, also considered Cardozo and even CK, but chose Rice as well. It takes him about 90 minutes to get to Rice every day. At 6-5 and 195 pounds, Sanders is already a solid swingman who has shown the ability to ignite his team and score in bunches.

Scheduled to play with New Heights this summer, Sanders dreams of eventually gaining a Division I scholarship, the same way former CK star and Far Rock product Ryan Pearson did with George Mason.

"He inspired me a lot," Sanders said of Pearson. "To see where he's at now, makes me work that much harder."

No

I saw the guachos play yesterday and I couldn't tell you who Kadeem Jack was. None of their big men stood out to me yesterday.

I saw the guachos play yesterday and I couldn't tell you who Kadeem Jack was. None of their big men stood out to me yesterday.

he was the one who had that huge dunk.  he has improved leaps and bounds since his first year there.  so i wouldn't count him out yet.

No

And the question was...?

Quote from: Dave on June 14, 2009, 06:30:13 PM

I saw the guachos play yesterday and I couldn't tell you who Kadeem Jack was. None of their big men stood out to me yesterday.

he was the one who had that huge dunk.  he has improved leaps and bounds since his first year there.  so i wouldn't count him out yet.

The team I saw them play was garbage it was hard to gauge anything because there was less defense played at the end then an all star game. Was Jack #42?

Is he really from Cambria Heights? His commute sucks. 

http://w3.nbebasketball.com/2009/06/27/class-of-2010-riser-kadeem-jack/

Big East schools coming after Rice forward who is full of potential

BY JEFF BORZELLO

By his own count, Kadeem Jack had zero colleges looking at him heading into his sophomore year. Now, in the summer before his senior season, Jack has major programs from across the country showing interest.

Jack is a 6-foot-8 forward from Rice High School (N.Y.) who plays with the New York Gauchos for AAU ball. He is also one of the fastest rising players from the New York City area in the class of 2010.


He currently holds offers from St. John’s, Seton Hall, George Mason and Drexel, and is getting interest from Rutgers, Miami (Fl.), Arkansas (where former Gauchos assistant coach Chad Babel is now a graduate assistant), Siena, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

“I was supposed to visit Pittsburgh this weekend, but coach [Jamie Dixon] wasn’t going to be there,” Jack said. Dixon is currently coaching the Under-19 national team in Auckland, New Zealand, where they are preparing for the World Championships that begin next week. “One of the assistant coaches is supposed to call me so we can reschedule.”

Other schools he plans on visiting in the coming weeks include Seton Hall, Syracuse, St. John’s and Drexel.

On the topic of St. John’s, said Jack: “They’re right in my backyard.” Jack will be playing at the top-30 camp at St. John’s on Wednesday.

As for Drexel, former Rice teammate Chris Fouch is a rising sophomore with the Dragons. “He told me to come through and check it out,” Jack said.

He also said that Syracuse has been showing a little bit of interest lately and he wants to visit the school “no matter what.”

One school that could throw a curveball into Jack’s recruitment is Connecticut.

“UConn just started showing interest last month,” he said. “I have to say I was really happy to hear that. I want to go visit there.”

However, when naming his top three at the moment – an all-Big East trio of Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and St. John’s – he conspicuously left out the Huskies.

“I would like to say UConn, but they’re not showing enough interest yet,” Jack said. “I think it would be a dream to go there. Kemba [Walker] went there and had a great freshman year, and I think I could do the same thing.”

Another potential wrench in the equation is Jack’s age. He is currently just 16 heading into what would be his final year of high school. As a result, he is considering reclassifying to the class of 2011. Jack said he would base his decision on how he plays this upcoming season.

“I’m confused as to what I want to do,” he said. “But if I do well, I’ll just go to college.”

Jack, who is very athletic and can run the floor well for a big man, wants to play in an up-tempo, fast-break system, similar to Syracuse.

“My game is the full-court, run up-and-down type,” he said. “I don’t think I would do that good in a half-court system.”

Although most of his potential schools are in the area, Jack said he is not opposed to moving far away from home for college.

“It doesn’t really matter to me,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s in Texas.

“I just want to make sure it’s the right school for me.”

Looks like Gotham Hoops has also got into the scouting game:

http://www.gothamhoops.com/?p=589

HS: Rice
Class: ‘10

HT: 6’8”
WT: 190 lbs.
Pos.: PF

Overall: 8.5
Scoring: 8
Shooting: 5.5
Rebounding: 8.5
Shot-Blocking: 7.5
Passing: 6
Ball-Handling: 5
Defense: 8
Athleticism: 8

Strengths
- offensive rebounding
- good hands
- finishes in paint under basket
- playing basket to basket
- toughness under boards

Weaknesses
- mid range game
- dribbling
- creating position under basket
- improve scoring with back to the basket


Jack is one of the toughest players in NYC in the class of ’10. He brings the same full-out intensity each and every night and is afraid to use his strength down-low in the paint. Has great hands and is a terrific shot-blocker. Runs the floor well at 6′8″. Needs to improve on his mid-range jump shot. Has a good set of back-to-the-basket moves but needs to extend on his skill set to become a dominant big men on the next level. Extraordinary rebounding ability, both on the offensive and defensive end. Plays opposing bigs very tightly in the paint. - July 19th R.A.

this kid was a human highlight reel on that msg high school station this afternoon.

My brother saw the game vs Louglin (I think).  Said he was awesome.  Norm was in attendance.

My brother saw the game vs Louglin (I think).  Said he was awesome.  Norm was in attendance.

Can't remember where I read the recap, but I think he went for 28 and 20.

FUUUU*********.  That is nice.  Whose palms need to be greased to get him here?

no

no

And the question is?

I think KOB is saying STJ won't get Jack but they will be getting Rhoomes.  Love the one word posts.  I hope that they're going for both.

no yank im saying no i dont think mo hicks will send him here. no i dont think he is the answer even though he has gotten better. no i dont think he is going to get better being here

WOW KOB sounds like you are really down on St. John's. You were very optimistic at the beginning of the season.