Mississauga’s Jaelin Llewellyn set to join A.I. Orangeville Prep

By Ryan Greco | Aug 25, 2015

After an impressive display at the North Pole Hoops Hamilton Showcase, Jaelin Llewellyn has decided to take the prep school route

Jaelin Llewellyn has taken the choice to join the Athlete Institute’s Orangeville Prep program, according to sources close to his family. The decision came after playing his last two seasons for Mississauga high school powerhouse Father Michael Goetz, where as a tenth grader on the nationally ranked senior team last year, he became one of the top contributors in assists and points throughout the season.

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Llewellyn is currently ranked as the No. 4 Canadian point guard in the class of 2018, according to North Pole Hoops. He is just the latest in a long list of top Canadian recruits to join the prep school circuit, in an attempt to realize his potential and play among the best in North America.

He will be joining the Orangeville Prep roster, and attending school at Orangeville District Secondary School, playing for the same team that featured five-star recruits Thon Maker and Jamal Murray last season.

Neither of those players will be on the floor with him this year, however. Murray is now set to join Kentucky, while Thon, along with his Brother Matur Maker, have decided to play for A.I’s other academy team, officially known as “The Athlete Institute Prep Basketball Team” as stated by their website, this season.

The move for the Maker brothers hasn’t been explained in great detail. Regardless, Llewellyn will get a chance to play his final two years of high school in what is arguably the top basketball academy in Canada.

Jaelin Llewellyn leads the Father Michael Goetz offence in Region of Peel play. Image Credit: Ryan Greco

Llewellyn had always been eyeing the idea of playing prep in his final two years of high school, but what has seemingly pushed him and his family to finally make the move might surprise you. A labour dispute between the teachers in the Region of Peel, and their employers that sprang up last May, has yet to be completely settled with the school year approaching.

The fallout from this has consequently threatened all athletics from taking place during this school year, the same board that Llewellyn’s school, Father Michael Goetz, is a part of. Obviously, Llewellyn and his family couldn’t take that chance.

Rather than taking the risk of transferring Jaelin to another Mississauga Peel school that will be playing a travel schedule, and having it blocked by the board, the final decision was to take Llewellyn completely out of Peel and have him join the A.I. Academy.

The 6’2” guard has had an excellent showing this summer with his AAU team CIA Bounce. He also made the trip with the U-16 Canadian national team to Argentina for the FIBA worlds, where he earned a silver medal after losing to the US in a close contest in the gold medal game.

His ball handling ability and vision have always been strong suits, but Llewellyn has taken it to another level this summer, consistently finding ways to the basket and finishing:

Originally more in tune to finding the open man, he still continues to do that, but no longer shies away from defensive pressure or contact under the rim:

He has also put on about five-to-10 pounds of weight, and may still have a little more growing left in him to do, which can be a scary proposition given that he can already dunk in traffic with relative ease. Given the promise and talent that Llewellyn has already shown, the move to Orangeville Prep and the chance to play a heavy US schedule, is merely the next logical step in his evolution.

Meanwhile, the Athlete Institute, now entering their fourth season of existence, continues to gain more top prospects after the landmark signings of current UNLV freshman Jalen Poyser, and the Maker brothers last year. Expect Llewellyn to be turning heads in front of NCAA college scouts for the next two years moving forward.

Next: Jamal Murray Ready for Next Step

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