4-star Philly native Jake West cuts his list down to five schools ft. Florida
Top-150 prospect Jake West has narrowed his college choices to five schools: Florida, Coastal Carolina, Northwestern, UNC Charlotte and VCU. According to the athlete, he will announce his decision next week.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Philadelphia, currently attending William Penn Charter School and playing for the Team Final Nike EYBL AAU program, has impressed recruiters around the country and has many awaiting his decision.
Jake West is heading into his senior year at Penn Charter. The four-star recruit had an eventful summer, averaging 14.1 ppg and 4.0 apg over 15 games with Team Final. He also earned an invitation to the SLAM Summer Classic event at Rucker Park alongside the likes of Kiyan Anthony and No. 1 prospect AJ Dybantsa.
What does Jake West think of his options?
Speaking with ZAGSBLOG, West gave his thoughts on each of the schools in his top five, revealing that Florida is the only one that he hasn't visited yet:
West said UNC Charlotte's playing style suits him perfectly, and he appreciated Coastal Carolina's strong interest in him.
“I think just the playing style is really cool, fits me really well. The coaches were really invested in me, which is good,” he said (per ZAGSBLOG).
“Coastal Carolina is special. Their coaches are awesome. They’ve really been onto me. I think they’ve done like two or three home visits so far. So it’s awesome to see that they are really invested in me. And it’s a great area so it’s awesome,” he added.
Jake West noted that he hasn't finalized a visit to Florida yet but praised his strong connection with Northwestern's coaches and players and highlighted VCU's strong basketball culture as a key factor in his interest.
“It was awesome. I think I really connected with [Northwestern's] coaching staff and players, which is cool. I have good relationships with the players and it’s high level basketball, the Big 10. It’s an awesome opportunity.”
“I think the good thing about [VCU] is they are really basketball oriented, like the school. The school is really big on basketball, which is important to me,” he added.
He recently competed in the dunk contest and the SLAM game at the Summer Classic and reflected on the experience:
“It was awesome. I’ve been watching that since I was a kid, so the opportunity to play in that was awesome. Was good to play with some of the top players and show I could compete on that level.”
All attention is now focused on Jake West’s upcoming announcement, which is scheduled for next week.