Jan-Cloete Oelofse '22 Recruiting Profile

I am currently in my final year of high school and am deeply engaged in strategizing and researching my future path. My focus is specifically on sport, especially the front office and the managing of players (Basketball). Over the last few years, I have become increasingly interested in how and why trades are happening, why particular players are getting paid for their specific skills and why certain players who seem no different from others are so much more valuable. This led me to start reading and learning about the structures involved and how managers lead these decisions. I am excited about entering this business but realize I have an enormous amount of learning to do. I take every piece of advice I can and love learning from experienced people who have been there and done that.

My goal for college is to become the best student and player that I possibly can be, by always being the hardest worker in the room. I will always give everything I have on the court and in the classroom to ensure that I succeed academically and my team performs on the court. I feel that my work ethic will allow me to leave a significant impact wherever I go.

The one thing that puts the most significant gap between my peers and me is that I have experienced what it feels like to play at a very high level, where everybody is highly motivated and driven to be the best. I have seen that it’s a dog fight. This helps to keep me focused and motivated always to be the best I can be. When other people slow down or stop, I keep going because, in the back of my mind, I know somewhere out there my competition is not stopping.

I plan to play basketball at the highest level possible as this will provide me with valuable experience in my future engagements with team managers and players. My search for a college is not just based on the reputation of the college or the success of the Basketball program, but on my connection with the coach, as I truly believe a great coach is essential to understand the bigger picture of Basketball, to help build my game, and provide guidance and a network with-in the Basketball community.