BIOGRAPHY
Jalen Duren was born November 18, 2003 in New Castle, Delaware. He is a center in the NBA.
Duren committed to playing high school basketball at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania along with AAU teammate and highly-ranked guard Justice Williams. He averaged 12.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 71 percent from the field as a freshman, leading his team to their second consecutive Philadelphia Catholic League title. He earned first-team all-league and second-team all-state honors, and was named a MaxPreps Freshman All-American. That summer he was a standout performer at the 2019 Nike Elite 100 Camp.
Duren averaged 18.1 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per contest during his second year, leading his team to an 18–10 record. In the first round of the Catholic League playoffs he recorded 18 points and 18 rebounds against Bonner-Prendergast, hitting the game-winning buzzer beater in the 61–59 victory on Valentine's Day. He added 20 points and 18 rebounds in their 83–73 semi-final win over regular season champions Archbishop Wood at the Palestra. At the end of the year he collected first-team all-league, first-team all-state and MaxPreps Sophomore All-American honors.
For his junior year Duren transferred to Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, who was in the process of joining the independent National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) with other elite programs like Oak Hill, Wasatch Academy and Sunrise Christian amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Duren was one of only five underclassmen named to the Sports Illustrated Preseason All-American team. In January 2021, Duren had a strong showing competing against high-level talent at the St. James NIBC Invitational in Washington, D.C., including a SportsCenter Top 10 play against Wasatch Academy where he blocked a shot by catching the ball in mid-air. On March 11, Montverde avenged their only loss of the season by defeating Sunrise Christian 61–57 for the inaugural NIBC championship; Duren finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. He averaged 15.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in NIBC conference play, leading the Eagles to a 12–1 league record (20–1 overall). He was also recognized as the 2020–21 MaxPreps Florida High School Basketball Player of the Year.
Duren overtook Emoni Bates in his Junior Year as the top prospect in the 2022 recruiting class and was ranked one over Bates by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals. On August 6, 2021, he reclassified to the 2021 class and committed to playing college basketball for Memphis over offers from Kentucky, Miami (Florida), the NBA G League and the Australia NBL.
On November 19, 2021, Duren scored 19 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked five shots in a 74–62 win against Western Kentucky. He was named to the First Team All-AAC as well as AAC Freshman of the Year. Duren lead Memphis to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 leading the Tigers to the round of 32. As a freshman, he averaged 12 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game. On April 18, 2022, Duren declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
Duren was selected with the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022 NBA draft.
