Jaylen Bond Looks To Lead The Temple Owls In 2015-2016
By Danny Cox
Name: Jaylen Bond #15
University: Temple
Year: Junior
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 225 lbs.
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
Position: Forward
The Temple Owls knew they would be getting a great player in forward Jaylen Bond, but they may not have exactly known how great he was. The best part about it all is that he hasn't even reached his full potential yet, and that's with his numbers more than doubling across the board in his very first season for the Owls.
At Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, Bond scored 1,608 points in just three years and that ranks second best on the school's all-time scoring list. During his senior season in high school, he led his team to a 25-6 record and the Pennsylvania Class 4A state semifinals while averaging 19 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 2 assists per game.
Oh, Jaylen Bond was also named the Pennsylvania AAAA Player of the Year by The Associated Press that year, too.
His junior year in high school brought about a 30-2 record for the Colonials and a AAAA state title while Bond earned Class 4A first-team all-state honors. The Colonials were also ranked 20th overall in the final USA Today national high school basketball poll.
After high school, Jaylen Bond took his talent to the University of Texas where he played in all 34 games as a freshman and started in five of them. His numbers were good with 3.4 points and 4.6 rebounds while averaging 15.4 minutes per game.
Things didn't seem to go too well in his sophomore season as he played in just 20 games for the Longhorns. Bond's numbers dropped to 2.8 points and 3.2 rebounds while averaging 11.1 minutes per game. Unfortunately, he had missed a number of games due to injury - right ankle and then left foot.
While his numbers weren't bad, the injury caused him to miss a lot of time and other players had gotten the chance to step up in his absence. After his sophomore season, Jaylen Bond left Texas and transferred to Maryland, but he had to sit out one season due to NCAA rules and regulations.
One season away from basketball didn't put any rust on Bond's game. No, it greased it up and made it that much better.
In his first season with the Temple Owls, the 6-7 forward bumped his minutes per game up to 26.8 while scoring 7.6 points and pulling down 7.9 rebounds. That's on top of him averaging 1.4 steals per contest as well, and his rebounds led the entire Owls' squad.
With a few seniors leaving Temple this season, the Owls may look more to Jaylen Bond down low and let him power his way to more rebounds and more points. Given a little more playing time and some more set plays focused on the inside, the Temple Owls could find themselves out of the NIT and into the "Big Dance" next season.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.