The state of Arizona's young basketball talent is quickly emerging, with numerous younger prospects taking center stage for the future of Arizona basketball. One of these young prospects is Shea Middle School's 5-foot-8, 130-pound 8th grader Jaelen House. House is the son of former NBA sharp-shooter and Arizona State superstar guard Eddie House, and, like his father, this young man is a load. Eddie House had his number retired at ASU after an historic career there, and he also won an NBA title with the Boston Celtics.
Jaelen House has yet to reach the high school ranks, but this youngster is making major noise within the state of Arizona already, and looks to be a future superstar of his own. A gifted guard prospect with major skills and poise and a superior level of confidence, House has the ability often only seen by nationally rated prospects in other states. To put it plainly, House will be a star on the basketball court in the future and, like several other current top-rated Arizona high school prospects, this young man will also bring a lot more attention to the state of Arizona.
Very few prospects that I have seen in this state over the past 30 years play with the level of superior confidence that this budding young prospect possesses. House feels like he is the best basketball player on the court each time he steps on the floor, and he also makes his defenders feel humbled for having to guard him on the floor. He uses a variety of cross-over dribbles, hesitation dribbles and head fakes to keep his defenders off balance - making him very difficult to guard with one player. He is an electric ball handler and passer that commands attention when he steps on the floor, and has excellent command presence that makes him a big-time leader for his team. House is a sure-fire scorer that can score at anytime on the basketball court.
Recently, House has really impressed me with performances in two recent events - the Arizona's Finest Top 20 Showcase and also the Southwest Showcase Main Event. In the AZ Finest Showcase, House earned a spot as a Top 20 underclassman all-star, and then recently, he led his loaded I-10 Celtics club program to the 16U tournament title in the Southwest Showcase Main Event.
House looks to be headed next season to Shadow Mountain High School, where he will immediately take his place in the Matadors' backcourt alongside Michael Bibby next season - giving Shadow Mountain a stellar backcourt tandem for the 2015-2016 season, and hopes of winning another division-II state title.
It is still very early for this tremendous young talent, but not early enough. This young man will become a household name in the state among basketball enthusiasts fast. The future of Arizona basketball and Jaelen House looks very bright.
