- 2018 Highlights
Personal Statement
Hello, my name is Jared Cattell. I am 18 years old, 6’3” and still growing. I currently have earned a 3.45 GPA. I have grown up surrounded by basketball talent with my dad as a former player and high school coach, my sister who played for Linfield College, and my cousin (Bryon Jansen) who played for Georgetown University. I started playing organized basketball when I was 4 years old and joined an AAU team when I was ten. I am very passionate, look forward to working hard in the weight room daily, and want to pursue playing competitive college basketball at the highest level possible. I am undecided on what I want to study in college, but am leaning towards business & psychology.
I aspire to be a college point guard or combo guard. My strengths are my agility/athleticism, ability to handle and push the ball up the court quickly, running the pick and roll in the halfcourt set, willingness to share the ball with open teammates, and my shooting range. I will drive hard to the basket when I see an opening. I play aggressive defense, looking to for deflection and steal opportunities.
Before my senior year started, my family moved to the Seattle area so I transferred schools from Crosspoint to Seattle Christian. At Crosspoint, I was counted on to do everything and led the team in scoring (24+ PPG), assists, shooting percentage, steals, rebounds and guarded the other team's best player every night. I was named one of the six top players in Kitsap County for two straight years. At Seattle Christian, I still was a scoring leader (17+ PPG) as the team's point guard, but the coaches and team looked to me to create more scoring opportunities for my teammates. I often drew the opposing teams defenses with double teams on me when in scoring position, opening up my teammates. I continued to defend the opposing team's best guard and use my quickness and length to get deflections/steals.
I am willing to do anything to play college basketball at a high level, including working hard in the weight room and demonstrating a strong work ethic, which is also reflected in my grades. I play hard until the final buzzer sounds, regardless of the score. I like to play a fast and aggressive style of basketball. My coach talks about how my game includes the intangibles, things that don't show up on the stat sheet, but definitely affects my teammates and the outcome of the game in a positive way.
I have been working very hard on my strength and conditioning as I want to get bigger and stronger. I am focused on weight training, jumping, agility skills, and endurance. As my body fills out and matures I am confident this work ethic will pay off and improve my game as I get older. I have been training with Jasen Baskett, a highly respected coach and founder of Emerald City Basketball Academy to improve my skills, getting the opportunity to occasionally train with current D1 point guards. Jasen has told me on several occasions that he believes I am a better fit as a player at the collegiate level than I was at the high school level. I want to prove him right if you will give me the opportunity.
