Tennessee basketball officially announced the signing of Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson on Friday morning. Haralson committed to the Vols last week over North Carolina and Ohio State before making it official with his signing a week later.
Haralson is coming off a strong freshman season at Notre Dame where he averaged 16.2 points, four rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a freshman at Notre Dame last season. The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward played both on the wing and at power forward for the Fighting Irish and shot 51.5% from the field and 20% from three-point range.
“We are delighted to have Jalen joining the Tennessee basketball family and feel he is a superb fit here,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said in a statement. “Jalen has tremendous positional versatility on both sides of the floor, which is a valuable asset. He is an aggressive, downhill driver who does an excellent job of drawing fouls and getting to the line.
“Jalen can grab a rebound and get the break going, as he possesses a good handle, stellar passing ability and a high basketball IQ. He is well-suited for the pick-and-roll game and is also great at cutting to the rim. Jalen is looking forward to being part of our program and helping us win.”
What Haralson lacks in perimeter shooting, he makes up for with his ability to attack the basket. Haralson is stellar at getting to the basket and also demonstrated an ability to score with his back to the basket in the midrange.
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A former McDonald’s All American, Haralson scored 20-plus points eight times during his freshman season including three times in Notre Dame’s final four games of the season.
Haralson’s 33.9% usage rate was not only the highest on Notre Dame’s team but the ninth highest of any player in the country. For comparison sake, Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s 29.1% usage rate was the highest on Tennessee’s roster last season.
At Tennessee, Haralson will have a smaller role offensively but will play around better players. His cutting ability should help him thrive as he plays with the ball in his hands less.
“They win. They win at the highest level,” Harlason told RTI of why he chose Tennessee. “They develop guys. They get guys to the next level and that’s my dream.”
The Vols have landed five commits in the transfer portal to date including VCU combo guard Terrence Hill Jr, Cal combo guard Dai Dai Ames, Belmont sharpshooter Tyler Lundblade, Haralson and Loyola (Chicago) center Miles Rubin.
