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Inside The Huskies

Huskies Make Final Cut To 8 For 5-Star Small Forward

Malachi Jordan has held a UW scholarship offer for 10 months and visited Montlake.
Dan Raley|
Malachi Jordan, a USA U18 player this summer, has the UW among eight finalists.
Malachi Jordan, a USA U18 player this summer, has the UW among eight finalists. | USA Basketball

Having scoured multiple continents for talent in recent months, the University of Washington basketball program turn up in the hunt for something American-made, with small forward Malachi Jordan counting the Huskies among his final eight choices.

Considered a top 15 player by Rivals for the Class of 2027, the 6-foot-7, 225-pound Jordan on Wednesday listed Alabama, Connecticut, Kansas, Ohio State, Tennessee, USC, Vanderbilt and Washington as his suitors.

He's originally from Nashville, Tennessee, and will play his senior season for Prolific Prep in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Huskies began their serious recruitment of the 5-star Jordan by offering him a scholarship this past October and then hosting him on an official visit the same month.

Wherever he goes, Jordan doesn't want to be there long, hoping to turn to the NBA as soon as he can.

"I want to go to a school that can get me to that next level," he told Rivals. "Of course, I want to be a one-and-done. I want to be able to go to the league and to prosper in the league, be an all-star, a champion. And maybe one day have my name inducted into the Hall of Fame. Those are my goals, so I want to go play for a coach who can help me get there.”

Malachi Jordan drives to the basket in EBYL play.
Malachi Jordan drives to the basket in EBYL play. | EBYL

That's fairly heady stuff for someone who played a support role at best during the summer for the USA team that finished second in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, losing to Canada 67-65 in the championship game in Leon, Mexicon.

Jordan averaged just 4.8 points, 1.8 points and an assist per outing.

Nonetheless, his potential is why schools such as Kansas and UConn are in the mix for his services.

“Malachi Jordan has a great frame, listed at 6-foot-7 with a strong frame and excellent length," Rivals' Jamie Shaw wrote in a scouting report. "He has interesting natural chops as a scorer. He has shooting touch and an ability to get to spots off two and three dribbles. Jordan will need to continue refining his game and cleaning up his footwork and balance points. But the confidence is unwavering and the physical tools are very intriguing.”

Jordan will be busy in the weeks ahead, visiting USC on Sept. 6, Kansas on Sept. 12, Vanderbilt on Sept. 19, Tennessee on Sept. 26 and UConn on Oct. 6.

There is great pressure for him to come home and play for either Tennessee or Vanderbilt.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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