Photo Via Perfectgame.org
Jaylen Hands Interview
Q: How many college offers did you have and from whom?
A: Well I had over 10, but I just committed to UCLA, I wanna say, a week and a half ago.
Q: What were the deciding factors in choosing to attend UCLA?
A: The coaches are great. I love the coaches. I love the playing styles. They let their guards play freely. They send a lot of their point guards to the league, so that’s attractive to me.
Q: Since you are only a junior, what made you commit so early?
A: I just felt like I knew what school I wanted to go to. It was close to home and everything. My parents love it and I didn’t want anyone else to take that opportunity from me. I just knew it was the right time.
Q: How have you handled the pressure of being a top recruit in the 2017 class?
A: Sometimes it can get overwhelming, but sometimes you gotta realize that you’re here just to get better, to be the best player you can be and my goal is to make it to the NBA, so you just gotta push that out, know what you’re doing, have a goal and go for it.
Q: You’re gonna play at Balboa Prep next year. Originally you were going to play at Foothills. What was the decision making in that process?
A: Going to Foothills didn’t work out as we planned it to be, so we moved to Balboa to play this year, so it should be fun.
Q: How old were you when you started playing basketball?
A: I started playing, like shooting and stuff when I was like 3 or 4.
Q: Who was your main influence [in playing basketball]?
A: My dad for basketball.
Q: What would you say is your greatest basketball achievement so far?
A: Probably committing to the college I love, UCLA. Team USA is important. Playing for the Compton Magic, that’s important to me. Everything is a blessing.
Q: How has playing with Compton Magic helped you improve your game?
A: It’s fun because we go out and we play the best every summer, at every event. Everywhere we travel to, we learn a lot. So we make a lot of relationships and you just get better all year. It’s fun.
Q: How have your friends and family influenced you throughout your basketball career?
A: My family has influenced me a lot because they know I love it and they help in every single way possible. They push me. They just help me in every way possible. My friends know I love it, so they influence me to be the best I can be too.
Q: Have you played any other sports besides basketball?
A: No
Q: What part of your game do you most want to work on and what do you feel is the biggest strength in your game?
A: I want to work on, probably, my overall strength, body wise and consistency. I want to consistently be, if not the best, one of the best players on the court when I play. I would say my strengths are getting my teammates involved. Offensively, passing and I’m able to score when I need to, whenever I want. I push the tempo and I get others involved.
Q: What are your goals for the upcoming season and beyond that?
A: For this season, the main goal is always just to get better. [For the future], my main goal is to make it to the NBA. For this season, I want to get better, win as many games as possible and also go to the NBA, like I said.
Q: How do you balance school and basketball?
A: So, those are the top two priorities besides family and faith. So, just to know that those are your top two priorities and just allot as much time as you can for them.
Q: Do you know what you want to major in, in college yet?
A: Right now, I like business and communications. I like Journalism a little bit.
Q: What are you most excited for at UCLA when you go there?
A: Probably to play on a stage where everyone is watching you, nationally and to be a part of that lineage of point guards that go from UCLA to the league.
Q: Is there any player that you model your game after?
A: I like Washington’s John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Jeff Teague, and Chris Paul.
Q: Do you have any pregame routines?
A: I like to eat bananas, apples, and scooby snacks.
Q: What’s your favorite subject in school?
A: I like economics.
Q: What are your hobbies other than basketball?
A: I like to hang out with my friends. I like music a lot. I like riding bikes. Eating out with my family, stuff like that.
Q: What motivates you to continue to pursue your goals as a basketball player?
A: The fact that I can live a life of my dreams, so just to be able to live a life of my dreams, playing in the NBA, just loving life like that. So, I love it.