Irish Sports Daily

As college coaches have come inquiring for the junior shooting guard, Jesperson has had someone very close to him assisting him throughout the process. His older brother, Jason, who happens to be Paul’s AAU coach for the Wisconsin Playmakers, has always been present, offering another point of view when programs have come calling.

“It’s been good,” Paul said. “He’s always there to give me input on what I need to do, what I need to say to these coaches and how to act towards them. It’s helped me a lot to have someone there kind of going through this and help me out a little bit.”

That’s why it’s no surprise that when Notre Dame started asking about the younger Jesperson’s services, Jason was instrumental in building the relationship.

“I guess they started calling about a month ago or so,” Jesperson said. “They talked to my brother. He's my AAU coach. They got my number from him and it just kind of went from there. They've been really interested lately.”

Ever since then, Irish assistant Martin Ingelsby has been leading the recruiting effort for Notre Dame. Because Jesperson was going to be close to South Bend, the junior decided to stop by for a visit over the weekend. Heading back home Sunday afternoon, the shooting guard came away pleased with his experience.

“We were making this trip down here anyways,” Jesperson said. “I'm very impressed with their facilities. It was very nice and everything seemed brand new.”

The junior now holds 12 scholarship offers from the likes of Arizona State, Butler, Central Michigan, Colorado State, Minnesota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, San Diego and South Dakota State. Although the Irish didn’t extend Jesperson an offer over the weekend, the coaching staff indicated that one could be coming later this summer.

First, Notre Dame wants to take a closer look at the shooting guard prospect.

“Yeah, they said that they want to come down and see me play in July and if they like me that they might offer,” Jesperson said.

Jesperson is coming off of a junior season in which he averaged 20.4 points per game in 24 contests for the Bluejays. In the past couple of seasons, Jesperson has quickly gained a reputation for being an accurate jump shooter—an ability highly valued in Irish coach Mike Brey’s system.

“I definitely think I’ll help—I shoot the ball real well,” Jesperson said. “I have real good handles. I used to be the point guard for my high school team. I think I’m a pretty good passer, so those are the major qualities I bring.”

Of all the programs that Jesperson is looking into, the junior is assessing certain qualities that will help him distinguish his favorite schools.

“I definitely want to be able to relate to my head coach real well,” Jesperson said. “I want to develop a relationship with him. The academics side of the school is very important to my parents. Also, definitely how much playing time I’m going to get right away—that’s important.”

In any case, the junior has not yet started to formulate a list of favorites.

“No, I’m pretty open to anything right now,” Jesperson said.

With more programs starting to show interest in Jesperson’s services, the summer could be a pivotal time in the junior’s recruitment. Wanting to focus the majority of his attention to his senior season, Jesperson anticipates having a final decision done by the fall. Until then, it’s anyone’s game, according to the shooting guard.

“In September or October is when I think I’m going to pull the trigger on my decision, but as of right now, I’m pretty much wide open,” Jesperson said.