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Atascocita standout Branch commits to A&M
  
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By STEPHEN WHITFIELD
For most boys entering their sophomore year of high school, the main issues they have to deal with are classes, girls and bad acne.
Jamaal Branch is ahead of the curve.
He’s already thinking about college - scratch that, he’s already made up his mind about college.
Branch, a promising guard on Atascocita High School’s boys basketball team, verbally committed to Texas A&M University Aug. 31 with three years left in his high school career.
A 6-foot, 3-inch sophomore guard, Branch is one of the more prominent players on Atascocita’s team.
Branch’s statistics from last season were modest – he averaged 6.4 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 44 percent from three-point range. But he should become a larger part of the Eagles’ offense in the coming years. He was primarily a shooting guard his freshman season, but Atascocita head coach Jon Castles said he will use Branch more at the point guard spot this year.
Castles said he thinks Branch will improve over time, but that his game is already very developed.
“He’s just going to continue to get better,” Castles said. “It’s not like he’s got a lot of flaws in his game. A&M wouldn’t be going after him if he did. Years of experience are going to make a big difference.”
Although Branch has already committed to A&M, he cannot officially sign with the school until February 2011. Technically, Branch’s commitment is nonbinding and he can change his mind at any point over the next two years, but his father, Jerome, said he did not want to look at any other school.
Not that other schools were not interested in Branch. Top Division-I contenders like Memphis, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and Florida were all pounding at Branch’s door. But Jerome Branch said that the possibility of being the centerpiece of a program was appealing to his son.
“Jamaal is going to be a recruiting tool for A&M,” Jerome Branch said. “I talked with other AAU coaches who said they wanted to commit there because Jamaal committed there.”
Branch had initially committed to A&M in October, but he rescinded to consider his options. Now he feels comfortable making the decision.
“He was able to find so many great things about Turgeon, a lot of things that factored in with the decision,” Jerome Branch said. “With all these different scenarios, it was easy to reach that decision.”
The idea of a high school sophomore declaring for college so early may sound alarming to some, but Castles said Branch should not have a problem fitting in.
“Jamaal’s going to do well no matter where he’s at,” Castles said. “But A&M has a good atmosphere. Jamaal’s a kind of quiet kid, and A&M, while it isn’t a small school by any means, has that small school atmosphere that he’ll thrive in.”
An official from Texas A&M said the school cannot comment on Branch until he officially signs his letter of intent. Branch himself was also unavailable for comment.
Jamaal Branch is ahead of the curve.
He’s already thinking about college - scratch that, he’s already made up his mind about college.
Branch, a promising guard on Atascocita High School’s boys basketball team, verbally committed to Texas A&M University Aug. 31 with three years left in his high school career.
A 6-foot, 3-inch sophomore guard, Branch is one of the more prominent players on Atascocita’s team.
Branch’s statistics from last season were modest – he averaged 6.4 points and 2.8 assists while shooting 44 percent from three-point range. But he should become a larger part of the Eagles’ offense in the coming years. He was primarily a shooting guard his freshman season, but Atascocita head coach Jon Castles said he will use Branch more at the point guard spot this year.
Castles said he thinks Branch will improve over time, but that his game is already very developed.
“He’s just going to continue to get better,” Castles said. “It’s not like he’s got a lot of flaws in his game. A&M wouldn’t be going after him if he did. Years of experience are going to make a big difference.”
Although Branch has already committed to A&M, he cannot officially sign with the school until February 2011. Technically, Branch’s commitment is nonbinding and he can change his mind at any point over the next two years, but his father, Jerome, said he did not want to look at any other school.
Not that other schools were not interested in Branch. Top Division-I contenders like Memphis, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina and Florida were all pounding at Branch’s door. But Jerome Branch said that the possibility of being the centerpiece of a program was appealing to his son.
“Jamaal is going to be a recruiting tool for A&M,” Jerome Branch said. “I talked with other AAU coaches who said they wanted to commit there because Jamaal committed there.”
Branch had initially committed to A&M in October, but he rescinded to consider his options. Now he feels comfortable making the decision.
“He was able to find so many great things about Turgeon, a lot of things that factored in with the decision,” Jerome Branch said. “With all these different scenarios, it was easy to reach that decision.”
The idea of a high school sophomore declaring for college so early may sound alarming to some, but Castles said Branch should not have a problem fitting in.
“Jamaal’s going to do well no matter where he’s at,” Castles said. “But A&M has a good atmosphere. Jamaal’s a kind of quiet kid, and A&M, while it isn’t a small school by any means, has that small school atmosphere that he’ll thrive in.”
An official from Texas A&M said the school cannot comment on Branch until he officially signs his letter of intent. Branch himself was also unavailable for comment.
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