The Grant family is very well known to many basketball fans across the country. In the mid-80’s, a pair of brothers caught the attention of the nation with their on-court prowess. Identical twins Horace and Harvey Grant were carving out quite a basketball resume starring at the collegient level. Horace was the 10th overall selection in the 1987 NBA Draft after a tremendous career at Clemson. He would play 17 years in the NBA, scoring nearly 13,000 points and win four NBA championship rings, including being part of the Chicago Bulls three-peat of the early 90’s.
Twin brother Harvey was starring at the University of Oklahoma after leaving Clemson earlier in his carrer. Harvey would be the 12th pick of the 1988 NBA Draft and spend 11 seasons playing in the NBA, scoring nearly 8,000 points in his career.
Harvey, who played several of his NBA seasons with the (then called) Washington Bullets still resides in the DC-area and serves as an assistant coach for the junior varsity basketball team with DeMatha Catholic High School. He is also keeping a close eye on the next generation of Grant basketballers.
The oldest of Harvey’s four sons is 6′8 forward Jerai, who just finished up his sophomore season with the Clemson Tigers. Jerai was part of Dematha’s 2007 WCAC championship squad. The 2009 DeMatha Catholic team also captured the WCAC title and another Grant was instrumental as Jerian Grant is the next basketball star in the family tree.
Jerian is a 6-foot-4 shooting guard that weighs approximately 180 pounds. Blessed with excellent athletic ability and basketball knowledge coming from his basketball family, Jerian showed NBE at the Pittsburgh Jam Fest this past April he can pound the rims and was not afraid to play defense, even in an AAU game, showing he has been taught correctly growing up.
“The knowledge of the game,” Jerian replied when asked what he has learned the most from his basketball family. “I learned so much from everyone in my family and just being around the game so much has taught me the right way to play.”
College coaches have also noticed. Playing at a nationally known power such as DeMatha Catholic has it’s advantages and Jerian is very appreciative of that.
“The biggest positive to me is the fact that no matter what, every year you get to play against the best and from guy 1 to guy 10 they (DeMatha staff) find a way to get guys scholorships,” said Jerian. “They teach and develop your game.”
Currently that development is being focused in areas of ballhandling, shooting consistency and his defense. Improvements in those areas will help Jerian reach his goal of being an impact freshman at the eventual school he decides on.
With current recruiting interest being shown by Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Villanova, Kansas, Indiana, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Providence, Xavier, Miami, Florida St, Virginia and Pittsburgh, look for Grant to increase upon his current scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, UVA, George Mason and VCU once college coaches are able to see more of him in action on the AAU circuit and at the various summer camps he plans to attend.
And, just to be sure nobody misses out on the Grant family show at DeMatha, younger brother Jerami was the leading scorer as a freshman on the JV team this past season. There is also a fourth Grant son of Harvey’s that will also likely attend DeMatha in the future, keeping the Stags stacked with star potential.
For now, we will keep an eye on Jerian Grant this summer and into next season as his recruitment is certainly going to be one of interest for Big East fans and those from schools of the other high major conferences. Along with being able to make an impact as a freshman, Jerian has some other ideas of what he will look for in choosing a college.
“I wannt to go to a place where they love basketball,” said Grant. “A place that’s going to develop my game to make me the best player I can be.”
With his family legacy and support, expect that to happen for this class of 2010 rising prospect!
