At the beginning of each new year, Phenom Hoops works to assemble a series of articles centered around unsigned senior prospects. Last season, over one hundred players from North Carolina went on to play at the Division I, II, III or NAIA levels, and that number looks likely to continue increasing with the current senior class. Typically, we take a closer look at guys who are overlooked and underrated, and today’s edition will highlight Jalen Hinton of Independence High School.
We’ve seen Hinton countless times, including at our Hoopstate League, “After basically undergoing complete roster turnover, guys like Hinton are going to be even more valuable than before. He has an odds-on chance to be their leading scorer throughout the upcoming season, simply due to his ability to effortlessly generate offense and apply scoring pressure from all levels. Hinton is quick, touches the paint with regularity, and can finish or make quality passes to cutting teammates. He should be poised for a big year.” Following his showing, our Patrick O’Brien wrote about him after multiple Independence games, stating, “The senior guard left it all out there on the floor. He plays with a ton of toughness and extremely hard each time. Though at 5’10, he has a nice bounce to his game, is quick out in transition, and excels in going north and south. Also, can be productive from the outside with the three-ball.” In addition to Khalil Shakir’s, “Jalen can absolutely score the basketball. He caught fire and stayed hot all game long from behind the arc. He has the ability to shoot it from behind the arc and really get to the rim which makes him a very tough cover for the defense. He has a great blend of quickness and IQ that allows him to pick his spots offensively and find easy ways to score. He plays very hard and really competes on the defensive end. He was the obvious leader for this team on both sides of the ball.”
In his senior campaign, Hinton led the Patriots in scoring and did so with relative ease. He’s quick, heady, and able to consistently generate (and convert) from all three levels. Hinton can assume ball-handling duties and understands how to set up teammates whenever possible, but typically finds opportunities as a cutter and spot-up threat. Defensively, he does a great job of mirroring his assignment, forcing turnovers, and pushing transition play. All in all, there should certainly be a place at the next level for someone who is a proven scorer against various different levels of competition.