Arkansas 4-star SF signee Jalen Shelley requests NLI release from Razorbacks

Jalen Shelley will not be headed to Fayetteville after all. The 6-foot-8 small forward out of Link Academy (MO) has requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent (NLI) to Arkansas and will reopen his recruitment. The news comes after Eric Musselman accepted the open USC job.

The four-star senior committed to the Razorbacks in September and signed his NLI during the early period in November. He ultimately chose Arkansas over Colorado, Houston, Louisville, LSU, Marquette, Ohio State, and Texas A&M.

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Jalen Shelley is the No. 57 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle. He’s also the No. 19 small forward prospect. The On3 Industry Ranking is a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Shelley Scouting Report

“The first thing you think of when watching Jalen Shelley is upside. He is a legit 6-foot-7, 6-foot-8 with long arms, wide-set shoulders, and he moves so fluidly. Shelley is a former wide receiver, and you can see that with the way he moves. Shelley has excellent explosion at the basket; he really shows off in transition. The left-hander has a repeatable release on his jump shot. The shot is a bit of a set shot, so you would like to see him develop off movement and off-the-bounce. He is a good straight-line driver to the basket and able to take up so much space with his long strides. Shelley has an upside on the defensive end, given his natural quick-twitch athleticism and long frame. He has given up football to focus fully on basketball. With continued game reps and consistent training, there is a lot of ceiling ready for this one to take.” – On3’s Jamie Shaw