Northwestern hosted a pair of grad transfer guards named Jalen for official visits this week in the hope that they can reload for a run at third straight NCAA Tournament invitation next season.
Jalen Leach from Fairfield and Jalen Blackmon from Stetson both were on campus over the last couple days to see the facilities and hear head coach Chris Collins’ pitch. Sources say that the visits went very well.
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The 6-foot-4 Leach visited Virginia Tech from April 12-13 before spending Monday and Tuesday at Northwestern. He figures to choose rather quickly between those two schools. Blackmon, 6-foot-3, is visiting Miami this weekend, so we likely won’t get a decision from him until next week at the earliest.
The Wildcats are in the transfer market to replace starting guards Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg from last season’s squad, which finished 22-12 and in a third-place tie in the Big Ten before advancing to the second round of the Big Dance. Leach and Blackmon would fit the bill as proven scorers in lower-level leagues.
Leach, who has one year of eligibility remaining, was a first-team All-MAAC selection after averaging 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game for the Stags. A product of the same New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) league that produced Buie, Leach scored 20 or more points 13 times and shot 35.4% on three-pointers this season.
Blackmon, who started his career at Grand Canyon, was a prolific scorer for Stetson, averaging 21.3 points per game and shooting 38.1% from deep. He eclipsed 30 points in five games, including a season-high 43 in a win over Austin Peay in the Atlantic Sun championship game. That win catapulted the Hatters to the Tournament, where, just like the Wildcats, they also lost to UConn in Brooklyn, but in the opening round. Blackmon was a first-team All-A-Sun selection and has one year of eligibility remaining.
Buie, of course, played the pivotal lead guard position and led the Wildcats in both scoring and assists the last two years. Leach and Blackmon are both more combo guards than lead guards who can run the offense full-time. But both can handle the ball, as well as play off the ball in a shooting guard role.
While Collins would probably prefer to find a single lead guard to replace Buie, the likelihood is that they will use a committee approach to replace the school’s all-time leading scorer. Should they land the pair of Jalens, they would have four apt ballhanders on the floor in Leach, Blackmon, Brooks Barnhizer and Ty Berry, with point guard Jordan Clayton coming off of the bench.
Northwestern is also in the transfer market for a big man to replace outgoing backup center Blake Preston and provide some depth. But sources say that they haven’t zeroed in on any targets at this point.
There was a claim on social media that North Carolina transfer guard Seth Trimble was interested in Northwestern and was visiting Evanston this weekend. WildcatReport has confirmed that the rumor is not true.
While the Wildcats would likely take the former Top 50 prospect, they are looking for proven, veteran players who have played a lot of college ball. Trimble averaged 17.1 minutes and started just one game for the Tar Heels this season. With only three scholarships to recruit with, Northwestern is more interested in bona-fide producers and can’t afford to take risks, even if it’s on a former four-star, Top 50 player.
In addition to fishing in the portal, Northwestern is still looking to reel in 2025 high school prospects who will join the program after next season.
Right now, sources say they are focused on a pair of three-star point guards, one on each coast: Lino Mark from Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame and Keyshaun Tillery from New Hampton (N.H.) Prep. The Wildcats would like to line up official visits for both of them, maybe in June, after the spring evaluation period.
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