Jalen Duren’s career thus far has been an exercise in leveling up.
At 15, Duren was the youngest player on the USA’s 2019 FIBA Americas U16 team that won gold in Brazil while averaging 10.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. After winning a championship his freshman year and runner up the next season at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, he transferred to prep powerhouse Montverde Academy, where he helped the Eagles win their first National Interscholastic Basketball Conference championship.
He then graduated from high school a year early in order to play for Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers, where he started as a 17 year-old while averaging 12.