Jamal Mashburn Jr. visits Cal, Minnesota up next | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Wednesday / October 9.
  • Jamal Mashburn Jr. visits Cal, Minnesota up next

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    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Jamal Mashburn Jr., the 6-foot-2, 180-pound guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy and the PSA Cardinals AAU program, took his first official visit to Cal this past weekend.

    “It was very good,” he said. “[Their message is] I’d fit in right away. They need a guy that brings what I bring to the table, so it would be a great fit.”

    Mashburn, who averaged 20.8 points at Peach Jam, while shooting 43 percent from the field and 47 percent (15-of-32) from deep, will also visit Minnesota (Oct 5) and Wake Forest (Oct. 26).

    As far as Minnesota, there is an obvious connection in that Rick Pitino coached Mashburn Sr. at Kentucky, and Richard Pitino is now the Minnesota coach.

    “Obviously the Pitino connection, but the one thing I like about what Richard Pitino has done is he’s stayed away from me and his dad’s relationship and really built a relationship with Jay on his own rather than trying to be a legacy player,” Jamal Sr. said earlier this summer. “And I really appreciate that and Jay really appreciates that.”

    Said Jamal Jr.: “Minnesota, they’ve been heavy on me and they’re communicating….This is about me. I know the relationship with the family is important and everything like that, but as far as the whole Pitino, his dad coached my father, I try to take that out of it and I try to say that’s cool and all that they have history, but then again I’m doing it for the future.”

    Wake Forest is also in the mix.

    “Wake Forest has been communicating with me, keeping up with me every day,” he said. “I’m looking to take a visit out there. I’m trying to find the best situation for me. They pretty much say the same things, but it’s about finding the best situation for me.”

    Wherever he lands, he wants to forge his own path, independent of his father’s name and fame.

    “I’m trying to be a pro and I’m trying to be at the highest level and play at the highest level,” he said, “so I want to develop and get better at the college level so that I can be prepared to have a long-lasting career in the pros, which is my end goal.”

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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