Hands discusses recruitment, upcoming Arizona trip
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In about a week four-star 2017 point guard Jaylen Hands will take a visit out to Arizona. The El Cajon (Calif.) Foothills Christian standout has already seen Tucson before, but this trip will be a chance for him to get an even better feel for Sean Miller's program as a whole. Coming off another impressive month the Wildcats watched Hands quite a bit during the July evaluation period and the No. 22-ranked prospect in his class continues to be a big priority for UA's staff.
Hands has continued working on his game as his recruitment has played out and he is pleased with how his summer has progressed.
"I think I showed throughout the summer all parts of my game," Hands told GOAZCATS.com. "I passed the ball great all summer and I can score when I need to and get my teammates involved. And I rebounded. I think I showed all that. For me it's all about getting better.
"I think I've solidified myself as a top player, so for me it's about getting better."
The four-star point guard averaged 11 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists during his last tournament of the summer with his Compton Magic squad last week and continued to show his development all week long.
In today's game point guards have more and more of a scorer's mentality, but Hands has shown that he can be the type of player who distributes the ball and is effective in his role as a facilitator as well as a scorer.
"When you watch me my first MO is to get shots to my teammates first and then take shots when I can or when the defense sags off," he said. "It's normal to me, so it's not a change. I take pride in getting my teammates shots before me so it's easy."
That ability to be a point guard who can run a team and distribute is one of the biggest factors in why so many college programs continue to work for his commitment.
"Coaches love that I get my teammates involved the way I do," Hands said. "They tell they love the way I play the pick and roll, and at the same time I can be athletic and finish in the paint."
Arizona has remained one of the programs most involved with Hands throughout the process and now that he can have more communication with the staff things have certainly continued to grow with the Wildcats.
"They're recruiting me hard," Hands said. "I talk to Sean a lot at least two or three times a week. I talk to (Joe) Pasternack almost everyday and I talk to TJ (Leaf) a lot. They're recruiting me hard and they're recruiting me well."
Hands has been to UA before, but he is looking for a little more in-depth trip this time around when he visits Tucson next weekend.
"The first time I went I got to know the players better and the coaches," he said. "The first time I went they did a great job of introducing me to everyone and taking me around showing me everything. This time it will be about getting more familiar with them."
Arizona and UCLA are the two programs talked about most when it comes to Hands and his recruitment, but the 2017 recruit said there are certainly other programs involved as well making their own push.
"California is a really good school that I talk to," he said. "Stanford, SDSU, USC, Kentucky ... those are all really good schools that are probably in the mix the most."
When it comes to a decision and timeline for Hands - at this point - there really isn't one.
"A little bit," Hands said about feeling like he needs to make a quick decision. "But at the end of the day I know it's going to come down to me, so I'm not saying it's going to end early or end late. It's just whenever I feel it's the right time for me to make that decision it's going to come."
Click Here to view this Link.Matt Moreno
GOAZCATS.com Senior Recruiting Editor