'Baby Westbrook' Jalen Lecque Honing College List Amid Hard NC State Push
'Baby Westbrook' Jalen Lecque Honing College List Amid Hard NC State Push
Known as "Baby Westbrook" for his unreal athleticism, Jalen Lecque is starting to think more seriously about his college choice.
Jalen Lecque won't be on the recruiting trail for the final NCAA evaluation period this week, but he remains in high demand for college coaches.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Lecque is battling a minor case of turf toe and won't be with the NY Rens for The Prime Event Boys National Showcase in Orlando. The Rens replaced him on the roster with Lance Ware, a class of 2020 power forward from Burlington (NJ) Life Center who has a slew of high-major offers.
Still, coaches from N.C. State, Kentucky, UCLA, LSU, Boston College, Tennessee, TCU, Oregon, and Texas Tech were among those at Peach Jam watching the high-flying Lecque, who has earned the nickname "Baby Westbrook."
N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts is especially keen on Lecque, who plays at Christ School in Arden, N.C. Keatts has followed Lecque all spring and summer.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts has been at every game this spring for 2019 G @jalenlecque10 of the @NYRhoops - aka ‘Baby Westbrook’ pic.twitter.com/ePMzxTBU9k
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) July 13, 2018
"I've been to N.C. State on a Midnight Madness type of thing but that's pretty much it," Lecque said at Peach Jam.
"They are just say everything [to me] that they usually say to everybody else, but I'm just getting better and focusing on my game."
As for Kentucky, who offered him this spring, Lecque says he "plans to visit schools."
"I'm cutting it down slowly and slowly," he added, "because I have a lot of time."
UCLA coach Steve Alford also appeared at Peach Jam to see Lecque but has yet to offer.
"I look at them a little bit they haven't recruited me as hard," he said.
LSU's Will Wade also watched Lecque.
"He's a good coach, I like him and you never know," Lecque said of Wade.
Kansas has also been in touch somewhat.
"I talk to Bill Self now and then but I also talk to the assistant coach," he said.
Lecque failed to make the cut for the USA U18 team that won the gold medal at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship in St. Catharines, Ontario, but at least he got to work out with them during trials.
Because of his athleticism and body type, Lecque has drawn comparisons to Westbrook, who sponsored Team WhyNot, which features class of 2019 shooting guard Cassius Stanley and fell in the Peach Jam final to Team Takeover.
"I think he's more in the Westbrook category just because of his frame and his physical makeup," Rens coach Andy Borman said previously. "He's 6-4, long and wiry. He's got a similar build to Westbrook and he's a high-flyer. And he's a high-motor kid, so athletically he does not have an equal.
"If you're talking about the guards in the 2018-19 class, he doesn't have an equal when it comes to his natural abilities. He's learning how to be a point guard and he's picking it up pretty quick because he's a willing passer. A lot of kids who have his physical makeup, the ball sticks in their hands, i.e., Westbrook. That's the part where it's a little bit of a hard comparison. Everyone wants to call him 'Baby Westbrook' but he's more of a natural point guard.
"But he's a good kid. He's a great kid when it comes down to it."
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who runs ZAGSBLOG.com and contributes to The New York Times. Follow Adam on Twitter.