PG Jalen Gaffney Becomes Huskies' 2nd 2019 Commit

Dan Hurley adds another nice piece to his first full recruiting class as UConn picks up a commitment from Jalen Gaffney, a point guard from Pennsylvania by way of New Jersey.

Gaffney visited UConn in late June and cut his list down to six schools on August 3rd. The list included Florida, St. Johns, Xavier, Clemson and Pitt. He had his official visit with UConn this past weekend and that was all it took. Gaffney announced his decision to join the Huskies on Monday morning despite pending trips to Xavier, Clemson and St. John’s in late-September and October.

Gaffney is a 6-foot-2 combo guard out of Westtown School. Rivals has him listed as the 26th best point guard in the Class of 2019. He's rated a bit higher by other scouting services, including ESPN which has him as a top-100, four-star recruit. Gaffney joins shooting guard James Bouknight, another top-100 player, on UConn's 2019 commitment list.

The two were pitched on the idea of playing together, and clearly both see a good fit. These commitments solidify the future of the backcourt, as they'll be coming to campus just as star guard Jalen Adams departs and hopefully coming into their own after Christian Vital and Alterique Gilbert leave.

The Live Period was huge for Gaffney, who has grown into a game-ready player, both skillfully and physically. He is still growing, but already an impressive athlete who has drawn comparisons to Russel Westrbrook. And as he continues to fill out, he’s becoming a more physically gifted athlete which is good news for a UConn team that looks to reestablish its dominant backcourt presence.

Gaffney is a fearless competitor who believes in a balanced approach to the game.

“I’m a player that’s willing to do everything on the court, play defense, assist, score, whatever they want me to do, I’m there.” he said, via ZagsBlog, which has referred to Gaffney as a prospect on the rise.

It appears a part of the pitch included the opportunity to see the court early, according to Gaffney's father.

“[Their message is] he can come in and play right away. He is the beginning of getting back to Final Fours, Championships and producing NBA draft picks.”

Gaffney's coach over at Westtown sees great potential for his point guard at UConn.

“Jalen is a super talented player. He’s becoming a leader and has always been a great teammate. UConn is getting a star.”