Top-Five senior Jaden Hardy talks his recruitment, LaMelo Ball

One of the nation’s top-rated scorers, Jaden Hardy, out of Coronado (Nev.) recently cut his list to 12 programs. The list included: Arizona State, Arizona, Georgia, UCLA, Texas Tech, Georgetown, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan, Memphis, Kansas, and Illinois.

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is arguably one of the top scorers in the entire country. He recently worked out on the West Coast with future NBA lottery pick LaMelo Ball, saying that it was cool and called Ball his guy.

In addition, he said that he believes LaMelo will be the top pick come this year’s NBA draft. 

Focusing on his game, Hardy says that he has just been in the gym nonstop getting tons of reps in and focusing on getting stronger and staying in shape.

As for his recruitment, he is focused on the 12 programs that remain in the mix. Hardy told Stockrisers.com that he’s in contact with all the schools left in his recruitment but that he will definitely cut down his list again he’s just unsure of when that will happen.

The visit process has been a bit unusual for everyone including Hardy but he’s been able to take some zoom calls including two recent ones.

“I did ones with Kentucky and Arizona,” Hardy said. But, outside of zooms, he’s done regular phone calls and daily text messages with all the programs left on his list. 

Hardy added that he will make a decision on his future next year, saying he will take his time and he’s focused on working on his game.

One program that is also making a major push at Hardy is UCLA. Mick Cronin has been in contact several times as has Cronin’s top-rated commit, Peyton Watson. “He [Watson] has been texting me and he wants me to join him at UCLA.”