San Jose State University starting point Alvaro Cardenas is entering his junior year in the upcoming 2023-24 season. 6-foot-1, 185 Jermaine Washington Sr. is entering his senior season at Rancho Verde High in Moreno Valley, part of the Inland Empire and he has committed to sign with the Spartans in early November. This provides Washington Jr. a season to adjust from the prep to college ranks before he will presumably move into the starting role, presumably the plan in the mind of SJSU Coach Tim Miles.
A couple of weeks back, he came to the Spartan campus on an official visit. What was his itinerary? "We toured the campus, scrimmaged with the team (on the same team as Cardenas), went bowling (no word as to who is the top kegler on the team) and visited the Black Leadership and Opportunity Center, B.L.O.C. in the Student Union Building."
Why his call for San Jose State University? "I felt I fit in and that they wanted me there." Washington Jr. participated in the CaliLive games (a tournament taking place in early July) and caught the attention of Spartan Assistant Coach Ed Gipson who initially pursued the young man before Head Coach Tim Miles closed the deal.
"I play mostly at the point," Washington Jr. explained, adding
that "my best skills are my shooting and my hoops IQ." The
expansion of his skills repertoire was aided by his choice of
opponents as a youngster. "I continually played against guys who
were three to four years older and that forced me to get better if
I wanted to play."
6-foot-8 Johnny Dukes is in his third year as the head coach at Rancho Verde High. If his name sounds familiar, he played at USF as a 6-foot-8 forward, earning his B.A. in 2007 before graduating later with an M.A. from Cal Baptist University and also playing professionally overseas.
"Jermaine was a starter as a sophomore but quiet," Dukes said. But Washington Jr. explained, "now I'm more vocal and a captain.".
Dukes continued, "I've seen tremendous growth in him. He is a
great penetrator and his explosive speed is unbelievable. He is a
freak athlete. I've coached a total of 10 D1 players and he's the
fastest. Jermaine can stop on a dime but also go in and throw one
down. He has also had so many buzzer beaters at the end of quarters and
games for us. Defensively, he's a nightmare, being great with
on-the-ball plays. He shot 40% on threes as a junior and plays
hard and fast. I think he will do well and believe he is
under-recruited."
Another reason Dukes feel his protege will do well is "because we run our program like colleges do, with study hall, weightlifting and conditioning."
He added, "Jermaine took one visit and committed. I felt the
signing is the result of greater effort on San Jose State's part."
Washington Jr. owns a 3.5 grade point average and is looking to major in kinesiology or business.
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