2014 Hoophall Classic: La Lumiere junior and top 40-recruit Jalen Coleman knocks down eight 3s against Our Savior New American

SPRINGFIELD – Sunday’s matchup between Indiana’s La Lumiere School and New York’s Our Savior New American ended up as an offense-versus-defense spectacle between two of the top high school juniors in the country.

While Our Savior’s Chieck Diallo excelled as a defensive stopper, posting a triple-double with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks – it was La Lumiere’s Jalen Coleman who lit it up on offense.

Coleman scored 28 points in his team’s 65-55 victory over Our Savior, and hit eight of his 11 three-point attempts to lead all scorers.

The junior from Indianapolis is ranked 34th in Rivals.com’s top 150 for the class of 2015, and has offers from about a dozen schools, including Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan State.

Coleman showed an array of moves Sunday leading to shots from all over the court. He knocked down corner threes on catch-and-shoot plays, came off screens, and pulled up in transition in rhythm, always keeping his easy release relaxed and consistent.

He said after the game that the work he’s put in to expand his offensive game as a combo guard has helped him create more open opportunities.

“I feel like, adding driving to my game and not being one-dimensional, it forces (defenders) to choose whether to play off me or get up close, and I can go past them,” Coleman said. “I’ve been working on that this past summer, not being one-dimensional and adding more to my game.”

Coleman sees himself as a combo-guard at the next level, a player in the mold of Wake Forest’s Randolph Childress or Weber State’s Damian Lillard with the ability to control the tempo of a game as well as take over when necessary.

In the matchup against Our Savior, looks around the rim were hard to come by with Diallo patrolling the middle, so Coleman focused on finding space on the perimeter.

“Driving in this game was pretty hard, playing against one of the best shot-blockers, so a lot of floaters didn’t really happen as much,” Coleman said.

The 6’ 4” junior saved his biggest shots of the game for the fourth quarter, when La Lumiere needed to put Our Savior away. With 3:16 to play and La Lumiere up five, Coleman popped off a screen at the top of the key, gathered himself and knocked it down. His next three ¬– the eighth of the game – put La Lumiere up 11 and sealed the win.

Coleman said he still has a ways to go in the recruiting process, and likely will not narrow down his college choices for a while.

“I’m not sure yet, (the decision will come) probably later on, not any time this year. I’m just taking it slow right now and focusing on the school year,” he said.

Coleman said he has taken unofficial visits to a number of Big Ten schools including Indiana, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois and Ohio State, and has additional offers from Arizona, UCLA, Providence College, Notre Dame and Cincinatti.

When Coleman does narrow down his list, he said he’ll be looking for a top-notch coach and a system with a proven record of developing players.

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