ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — With only two experienced forwards, and one true post player, on its roster, the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team had an undeniable need for another big man.
Bona filled that hole — perhaps its biggest of the offseason — on Monday. And it once again went the junior college route to complement its returning core.
Jalen Shaw, a 6-foot-10, 235-pound center currently at Triton College (Illinois), made a verbal commitment to continue his career at Bona, he announced on social media Monday night. The Elgin, Ill., native will have two seasons of eligibility with the Bonnies, beginning next season.
“I am highly thankful for the coaches that recruited me and believed in me during the process of playing high school or JUCO basketball,” he said in a Twitter post on Monday. “So with that being said … I am proud to announce that I will be committing to (St.) Bonaventure University.”
Shaw averaged 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while shooting a robust 66 percent from the field in only 17 minutes per game in 2019-20, helping Triton to a 26-7 record and a spot in the NJCAA Region IV Division I championship, where it fell to Highland Community College (Ill.), 65-60.
The big yet agile forward ranked 11th among juco players nationally with 70 total blocked shots. His best game came in November against Sauk Valley CC, when he totaled 21 points on 9-for-16 shooting, eight rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
Shaw chose the Bonnies over Division I offers from Manhattan, Southern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Cleveland State, according to verbalcommits.com. Per his YouTube highlight video, he did a majority of his scoring inside, but has the ability to run the floor particularly well for his size, shoot from 10-15 feet out, especially on the baseline, and even knock down the occasional 3-pointer.
Prior to his commitment, the official Triton Twitter account described Shaw as “one of the best available bigs in junior college. Tremendous shot blocker, low post scorer and passer.” The WindyCityBasketball had said, “Jalen Shaw is still available. True low post threat on both sides of the ball.”
Shaw, who attended Larkin High School in Elgin, is the third member of the Bonnies’ 2020 recruiting class and the second juco transfer to join the program this spring, alongside 6-foot-4 guard Eddie Creal.
Like Creal, Shaw was listed as an honorable mention on jucorecruiting.com’s list of the Top 100 junior college players in 2020.
Shaw joins a Bona frontcourt that welcomes back starters Osun Osunniyi and Justin Winston, plus reserve Robert Carpenter, and added 6-foot-7 prep forward Quintin Metcalf in the fall. With the latter three serving more as small/power forward hybrids, he gives the Bonnies another big body inside and figures to back up Osunniyi at the center position.
Shaw and Creal’s commitment to Bona was confirmed by a team source on Tuesday.
And though they give an established core even more experience, they join what has become a mammoth junior class that now numbers eight players. That will seemingly set the Bonnies up over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns, but currently leaves them with just four players — Winston, Alejandro Vasquez, Carpenter and Metcalf — beyond 2022.
With Shaw’s commitment, Bona now has 12 scholarship guys for next winter, leaving coach Mark Schmidt with one spot available, which he has historically left open in case of a late decommitment or midseason transfer.
Though the current recruiting “dead period” due to the COVID-19 outbreak has been pushed through May 31, prospects are permitted to sign National Letters of Intent beginning today.
“Super happy that I’ll be continuing my journey at St. Bonaventure,” Shaw tweeted Monday. “Let’s get it!!!!”
