Top-20 recruit Jamari Phillips talks dream school and blue bloods

Jamari Phillips, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard out of Modesto (Calif.) Christian is not only one of the top-ranked guards on the west coast, but nationally as well.

The On3 Consensus – a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies – ranks Phillips as the No. 17 overall prospect in the 2024 class, and the No. 5 ranked shooting guard. He’s also the fourth-best prospect in the state of California.

Phillips recently broke down his game with On3.

“I can shoot the ball very well, at a high rate and I can let it fly,” said Phillips. “I’m a good facilitator as well and can get my teammates open, help them get shots off and get them going. I can handle the rock very well, even under pressure defense. I don’t lose focus on plays. I kind of study the reads on certain situations. I’m a good, all-around team player.”

Phillips talks early recruitment

Programs from across the country are already taking notice of Phillips, a California native.

“I’m hearing the most from Gonzaga, Texas Tech, UCLA, Oregon, and LSU right now,” Phillips said in an exclusive interview while at the Pangos All-American Camp.

The study-built two-guard has taken unofficial visits to Pac-12 programs to UCLA, USC, and Cal. As of this writing, Phillips doesn’t have any other visits scheduled.

“I grew up watching a lot of UCLA, Duke, and Kentucky,” Phillips said. “Those were my main three that I was watching when I was younger. The players they’ve had over the years, I always loved watching them.”

Dream school and blue blood interest

Several blue blood programs have made contact with Phillips and his family, including North Carolina, Duke, and Kentucky.

“I haven’t talked to Duke yet, but they reached out to my coach,” Phillips said. “UNC has been in contact with my mom, and Kentucky has been in touch with my family. I’ve also talked to coach Orlando (Antigua) from Kentucky.”

One blue blood, in particular, is sticking out — UCLA, his dream school.

“Yeah, it was UCLA,” Phillips said when asked if he had a dream school growing up. “But I had to open up and keep my options open and see what’s the best situation for me.”

Phillips gives his thoughts on several programs

Due to the limited time I had with Phillips, he gave me a breakdown of just a few of the schools involved in his early recruitment.

UCLA: “The reason why they’re one of my favorite schools is because I’ve always been in the LA area. I grew up there before moving to Northern California. It’s just always been a school I kept watching. I’ve been talking a lot with Coach Darren (Savino) and Coach (Mick) Cronin. I just went up there the other day. I was talking to them before I left. They’re on me pretty heavy. I know Coach Cronin thinks highly of me. I can see myself going there and fitting into that situation.”

Gonzaga:  “I started looking into them more when they picked up Jalen Suggs. I’ve been watching them pretty heavily. I like the way they run their offense and how they’re kind of a get-it-and-go. I got a little bit of family up that way so they could come down and see me play. Gonzaga is a good program though, I like them a lot.”

Duke: “What stands out about them is the tradition they have, the Brotherhood, and the players that have been there over the years.”

Kentucky: “Coach Cal is a good coach. They have a good program. They’ve had a lot of good players came through. I know TyTy Washington loves it, I’ve talked to him about it. I grew up with TyTy when I was younger. He was just telling me the coach, the program, and about how Coach Cal is very serious on his players, player development, and how he’s all about winning. That’s what I like.”