Taélyr Gatlin's junior season 2018 PG Brighton High

[coachgat]

[thenewguy85]

What AAU team is he playing for?

[dmm88]

Team Penny

[kwc]

From the Commercial Appeal, June 26, 2017

Recruiting: Brighton's Taelyr Gatlin finds his shot and colleges take notice

 

Mark Giannotto , USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee7:00 a.m. CT June 26, 2017

Brighton star Taelyr Gatlin could be on the verge of generating several new scholarship offers after improving his shot. Mark Giannotto/The Commercial Appeal

 

(Photo: Mark Giannotto/The Commercial Appeal)

The sequence began with a step-back 3-pointer. On the next possession came another swish from beyond the arc. Then, as Brighton point guard Taelyr Gatlin stormed down the court again, he flicked a perfect behind-the-back pass to a teammate for an easy lay-in.

This was only a summer league game as part of the Jerry Peters Summer Classic at Memphis University School on Thursday. But it also may have been a glimpse into the progress that could eventually turn Gatlin from an under-the-radar recruit into a sought-after commodity once college basketball’s live evaluation period resumes next month.

“What I’ve seen is coaches like to see scorers, so I felt like I should be more aggressive offensively than defensively sometimes and show what I can do,” Gatlin said.

Interest in Gatlin, the son of Brighton boys’ basketball coach Stan Gatlin, is starting to pick up as his senior year approaches. Though Tennessee Tech is the only Division I school to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-3 point guard, Mississippi State, West Virginia, Murray State, Chattanooga, East Tennessee State, Wofford and Campbell have been inquiring about him lately.

They could pull the trigger if Gatlin shines in July on the Adidas circuit with Mississippi-based MBA Hoops. He's already planning to visit Chattanooga this week. The surge in attention is a welcome relief after what Stan Gatlin described as “a very dry April.”

That, however, prompted the Gatlins to go back to the gym and adjust. Taelyr Gatlin already showed off his prototypical size, on-court IQ and pass-first instincts during a successful run to the Class AAA sectionals this winter with Brighton, but Stan Gatlin decided his son’s shot needed tweaking.

The results showed a few weeks ago at a Mississippi State camp that prompted the Bulldogs to become more involved in Gatlin’s recruitment. Though it can be complicated being the coach's son, Taelyr Gatlin realizes his father's prodding is making him more of an all-around threat.

“It’s hard, but then again I understand he wants the best for me,” Taelyr Gatlin said of playing for his father. “He wants to see me succeed, so I understand why he’s hard on me. I like it. ... I just worked a lot harder than I did before last summer and during the season last season. I wasn’t really shooting the ball well, in my opinion, until the beginning of this summer.”

The rest of the summer is shaping up to be even more eventful.

Edited June 27, 2017 by kwc