James Madison University gets it’s first commit/recruit from the 2013 class and it’s a big one:Jackson Kent 6’7 from HPCA

A big one from Guilford County, to JMU(James Madison University)in Harrisonburg, Virginia…..

Jackson Kent(High Point Christian Academy), a 6-7 point guard from North Carolina, verbally committed to JMU on Monday.

Jackson Kent led his HPCA Cougar team deep into the playoffs last season and HPCA posted wins among the state’s top private school teams including Greensboro Day School, Wesleyan Academy and The Christ School…..

Kent was named the GreensboroSports.com Boys Player of the Year for the private schools basketball in 2011/2012…..

*****The Dukes may have stole one from Duke, when you look at how it all breaks down here….*****

from Mark Selig with dukesofJMU.com and rivals.com:(Rivals.com is one the nation’s top information sites for college recruiting….The cover it like no other and Mark Selig is right there with the best in the business and be sure to check them out at all times, in season/off-season, it is Rivals.com.)

HARRISONBURG – Robert Kent worked at Duke University’s basketball camp in 1983, when, he said, “word around the camp was that Coach Krzyzewski was going to get fired” after three straight losing seasons.

Twenty-nine years later, Coach K is still going strong, and Kent takes rumors of job security with a grain of salt, something that was obvious when his son announced his college choice Monday.

Point guard Jackson Kent of High Point, N.C. – uncommonly tall for the position at 6-foot-7 – said he plans to play for JMU next season, becoming the Dukes’ first 2013 commitment after making an official visit to campus this past weekend.

He opted for Madison even though coach Matt Brady has just one year remaining on his contract after JMU publicly chose not to extend the deal last spring.

“I discussed it. We talked about it. I feel fine about it,” Jackson, who also took an unofficial visit to Madison in June, said about Brady’s contract situation.
His father also looked into Brady’s status.

“It came up,” Robert Kent, a former high school coach, said. “After our visit in June, I looked on the internet and saw the things that had been written in the articles and in the message boards. It was a concern.”

But after talking to JMU coaches and associate athletic director Kevin White, the elder Kent said, his concerns were eased.

“There’s always a chance with injuries that they could have an unsuccessful season and be gone. But they’re really confident they’re going to have a good year,” he said.

If the staff is still around for the 2013-14 season, it will welcome a player who, from all accounts, has a definite feel for the game. Jackson began playing when he was 4 years old and did guard’s ballhandling drills with his father, even though he always had the height of a frontcourt player. By eighth grade he was already putting up hundreds of shots with help from the shooting gun at his father’s high school.

Jackson played for Robert for three years at the public Page High School in Greensboro, N.C., and was his conference’s Player of the Year as a junior. Last season, he transferred to High Point Christian Academy and reclassified, which allowed him to repeat his junior season. He averaged roughly 16 points per game for a 30-2 team and has been focused on bulking up his under-200-pound frame.

“The thing that he lacked, with what the high-major programs were concerned about, was his strength,” Richmond Team Loaded AAU coach Michael Blackwell said. “It held back some of the high-major schools from pulling the trigger.”

Kent said he received scholarship offers from William & Mary, North Carolina-Wilmington, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, The Citadel, Furman, New Hampshire and Virginia Military Institute. He visited a few of those schools but only JMU officially.

Kent does not have a profile on the scouting websites Rivals or Scout. He is listed but unrated on ESPN’s recruiting site.

That doesn’t mean he won’t contribute, says his AAU coach, who projects him starting by his sophomore year.

2 thoughts on “James Madison University gets it’s first commit/recruit from the 2013 class and it’s a big one:Jackson Kent 6’7 from HPCA

  1. It is always great to hear a kid getting the opportunity to continue their dream in college and save their parents a ton of money. I don’t think Mr Kent was on the short list for Duke because he is not a shut down defender type of guy but he ability to shot would have been a draw for anybody. He will surely help James Madison make the NCAA tournament. Good Mr Kent.

  2. Congratulations to Jackson. I’m going to count him as a member of the Page Pirates class of 2012. A class that we should all agree was extremely talented athletically. Hope HPCA makes a deep run this year.

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