2024 Recruiting: Jahki Howard OV and Decision Date

Umami Zen · May 30, 2023

Huskyforlife said:

Excellent.. Get him in early to meet the guys.. He's a baller..

auror · May 30, 2023

Well that seems extremely promising.

Huskyforlife · May 30, 2023

This is my number 1 want in the class. No disrespect to Betsey or anyone else, but this kid is talented.

superjohn · May 30, 2023

We seem to be the favorites here. Insane athlete...

husky429 · May 30, 2023

Huskyforlife said:
This is my number 1 want in the class. No disrespect to Betsey or anyone else, but this kid is talented.

He needs to be THE priority at the 3/4 swing spot. He's better than anyone else we're recruiting, and it's not close.

He has Andre-level athleticism and body type, with a 3-point shot. Not nearly the same level of passer, but I strongly believe he can be a DPOY candidate in the conference by sophomore or junior year.

Credit to Kimani's hard work on this one. Howard's AAU team formed out of the remnants of Kimani's old team.

husky429 · May 30, 2023

EYBL stats through 16 games:

26 minutes

16.9 PTS
5.1 RPG
1.0 APG

1.1 TO
1.1 BLK
1.5 STL

56% FG
37% 3FG (4.4 attempts per)
87% FT (2.9 attempt)

My notes from 3 games a couple weekends ago. I don't think I ever posted because it's still bullet points:

Howard:

Kid can jump out of the friggen’ gym. Yeesh.
Looks maybe 6’7 to me. Should be able to bulk to Andre’s size-ish. He has a good frame and long arms.
Good energy on defense. Had a monster block.
Him guarding 7’2 Jon Bol was pretty fun. Held his own though. He probably weighs about the same despite being 7 inches shorter.
Shooting stroke looks pretty good. Couple things to clean up on the release over time, but he can be a real 3 point option.
3-ball is definitely limited right now, but the % is good. He’s just not going to be sprinting off screens or pulling up, but he has a lot more potential than Andre at the same stage. Seems to be pretty accurate from the corners on catch-and-shoots. And he’s taking (and making) plenty of them. Next steps will be working on his pull up and running off screens.
At one point vs. Mokan banged home consecutive back-to-back 3s. Had 10 points in the first quarter.
Looks like with film and skill work, he could be the type of player to guard 2-4 easily, and ⅕ in a pinch.
Had 6 blocks that I recall. Will be an EXCEPTIONAL defender. An absolute menace when locked int.
I like his screening. Think he could work his way into that Karaban-esque screen and flare role.
Doesn’t seem to have much in the way of half-court driving ability. Doesn’t take many 2 point shots other than transition dunks or lobs. Limited.
FT seems accurate. He could stand to keep the ball closer to his body and stop doing the weird jackknife at the waist thing.
Opportunistic scorer… not a shot creator yet.

husky429 · May 30, 2023

Sneak peak of his athleticism:

Huskyforlife · May 30, 2023

husky429 said:
He needs to be THE priority at the 3/4 swing spot. He's better than anyone else we're recruiting, and it's not close.

He has Andre-level athleticism and body type, with a 3-point shot. Not nearly the same level of passer, but I strongly believe he can be a DPOY candidate in the conference by sophomore or junior year.

Credit to Kimani's hard work on this one. Howard's AAU team formed out of the remnants of Kimani's old team.

He’s due for a big jump if the scouts are paying attention.

husky429 · May 30, 2023

Huskyforlife said:
He’s due for a big jump if the scouts are paying attention.

He's a funny case... Was up to something like #15 as a sophomore after being dominant in 8th/9th-grade. Sometimes those kids will keep an unwarranted ranking based on reputation, but Howard actually dropped down to 70ish after his OTE season.

Now he's playing more like a 30-50 recruit. Will they move him back up?

UConnSwag11 · May 30, 2023

If he commits, can he reclassify?

husky429 · May 30, 2023

UConnSwag11 said:
If he commits, can he reclassify?

Most kids can. They all retake 9th-grade at the private school. He's Not really a position of need though. I doubt he reclasses except to go on the Karaban plan.

444JR · May 30, 2023

aburks41 · May 30, 2023

Anyone have any insight on our chances here?

kansashusky · May 30, 2023

We are very tight with the Lightening. Still not sure what happened with Tahaad. But we pulled Yossouf, and are looking very hard at Meleek Thomas.

This would be a GREAT first piece. Has all the intangibles. I didnt think this recruitment would move this quickly.

444JR · May 30, 2023

connjah · May 30, 2023

husky429 · May 30, 2023

connjah said:

Transition. Spot up 3s. Dunks. Defense. That's definitely a formula for an effective college player. There's not a lot of AAU to his game other than the dunks. Really seems like he's sticking to his skillset and not trying to do too much. Definitely one reason why Lightning team is so good.

Will be interesting to see how he expands his game next season and in college. It would be nice to see him develop a bit more driving ability and a left hand.

husky429 · May 30, 2023

Crazy journey for this kid. Donda Academy, and now OTE. Didn't think he would be the kind of kid we'd pursue, bit glad to see it. 6'6 and 176lbs according to OTE website.

Stats just from OTE games... doesn't include their prep schedule. I believe it's 9 games.

19 MPG

10.1 PPG
3.3 RPG
1.3 APG

2.0 TO
1.9 STL
0.8 BLK

59% FG
71% 2FG
29% 3FG
40% FT (yikes)

Would be interesting to see what he's done to improve his shooting. Clearly worked on it since the season Ended. I KNEW that yip in his FT form was a problem. I wonder if he's drilling his way out of that.

dannyHAM · May 30, 2023

kansashusky said:
We are very tight with the Lightening. Still not sure what happened with Tahaad. But we pulled Yossouf, and are looking very hard at Meleek Thomas.

This would be a GREAT first piece. Has all the intangibles. I didnt think this recruitment would move this quickly.

$$ Auburn came in with a big offer. From what I heard Hurley was peeved about that loss for a while. I think his father grew up with Hurley.

husky429 · Jun 1, 2023

Howard v. NOCTA
21 minutes

17 PTS
7 REB (4 offensive)
0 AST (2 potential)

3 TO
2 STL
1 BLK

8/13 FG
7/10 2FG
1/3 3FG
0/2 FT

Note: Overtime Elite is a weird sideshow, but it’s legit high school basketball. The whole league is high-major players, pretty much. They’re ALL about the social media, so every game is online. The coaching is solid though. Pretty sure Howard made 100k+ in the league. This game was Howard’s debut with the second team. He played a little better than average.

This game had the first mid-range shot I’ve seen him take. I actually think he’s only ever taken layups, dunks, and corner/wing 3s in the few games I’ve watched. That is exactly how Hurley wants his 3s to play.
Seems to be a very low-usage player in all the games I’ve seen. Doesn’t touch the ball much, and mostly looks for quick reversals rather than a dribble.
Skinnier than Andre at the same stage. Really needs to gain 25lbs to be effective at his position. I can see him being bullied by strong guards until he bulks up. Diet and S&C will be important.
Thin shoulders and hips might prevent him from getting to the 210-ish we usually want from our 3s.
Primarily a 2-footed jumper.
Shooting form has definitely improved since OTE season from 3. His shooting hand has less of a push now and he’s keeping his feet straighter. I think the 35%-ish in AAU is more likely to be his #s in college eventually.
VERY high potential defender. With weight training… Andre-ish defensive ability is possible.
Wish he was a little more involved on offense… lots of corner standing. Very few real-time game decisions being made.
I do wonder how much of his scoring coming from lobs is a concern. The college game does give you more than 1-2 of those a game, if you’re really good. He isn’t a high-volume driver/finisher, and generally doesn’t create his own shot off the dribble. So he may be limited to a lot of spot up 3s at first.
Handles are definitely limited.

Umami Zen · Jun 6, 2023

Tahaad(AAU teammate) and Pearl will be pushing Auburn.. Glad he's in early on his OV hit list .. Electric athlete that could benefit from UConn's skill development expertise to round off some of his rough edges.

karstenkibbe · Jun 6, 2023

With Betsey, Abraham, Ngongba and Howard all visiting UConn in the next few weeks, I’d be thrilled to get at least one early commitment this month.

UCTitleTown · Jun 6, 2023

karstenkibbe said:
With Betsey, Abraham, Ngongba and Howard all visiting UConn in the next few weeks, I’d be thrilled to get at least one early commitment this month.

I'd love to get Betsey and Howard. That's the talent we need to keep rolling.

NJHoops · Jun 16, 2023

Pretty excited about this upcoming visit. He’s had quite the basketball journey so far.

2024 Recruiting: Jahki Howard OV and Decision Date

Huskyforlife

Akokbouk

Umami Zen

auror

Huskyforlife

Akokbouk

superjohn

husky429

husky429

husky429

Huskyforlife

Akokbouk

husky429

UConnSwag11

Storrs, CT The Mecca

husky429

444JR

The Brand is Strong

aburks41

kansashusky

444JR

The Brand is Strong

connjah

husky429

husky429

dannyHAM

husky429

Umami Zen

karstenkibbe

UCTitleTown

NJHoops

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