DaJuan Coleman will be one of several highly touted recruits playing in the 2011 PrimeTime Shootout at University high school this weekend.
The 6-foot-10 280 pound center plays for Jamesville-DeWitt high school in New York, a school that has produced players like current New York Knicks guard Andy Rautins, who played for the Syracuse Orange.
Jamesville-DeWitt (10-0) plays Wheeling Park on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., and Coleman says his entire team is excited to play in the Shootout.
“I’m just glad we get to bring our talent somewhere else and play against highly talented competition,” Coleman said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Although Coleman has shown interest to West Virginia, he has a variety of schools on his list, including Syracuse, Ohio State and Kentucky.
Part of the gifted 2012 recruiting class, Coleman is rated as a 5-star athlete on a number of recruiting websites.
According to Rivals.com, Coleman is the eighth best recruit in his class, averaging just over 22 points per game.
Despite scouts saying he needs to improve his conditioning, the elite prospect ignores the publicity.
“It doesn’t bother me at all because other people have their opinion,” he said. “I know what I have to work on … so I just run the floor, get rebounds and get my teammates involved.”
With other big time recruits in the building on Saturday, Coleman says he is revved up for this weekend’s tournament, mainly because he wants to prove that his school can hold up against some of the nation’s best teams.
“I get hyped up a lot,” Coleman said. “But I played a lot of AAU ball, so I’m use to it.”