Binghamton High School Point Guard KJ Rose is Attracting the Attention of Division I Coaches From Around the Northeast

Rose is coming off of a season at Binghamton High where his team won the Section Four Class AA championship, and Rose led the way, making the NYSSWA All-State sixth team for the Patriots.

Rose has either received attention or gotten offers already from Robert Morris, St. Bonaventure, Fairfield, Quinnipiac, Canisius, and Siena, all division one school, according to his AAU coach Butch Graves.

“KJ is an outstanding ball handler. He’s physically strong, which may be his best attribute. He’s an excellent penetrator and he’s unselfish, which is good for a point guard,”  Graves said, in a recent interview with Upstate Scouting.

Rose’s strength, along with his aggressive style of play, has allowed him to rack up points and assists at the high school level. Graves believes his strength is what makes him stand out to scouts, and it will allow him to be successful at the next level. “I think he’s in a good position because he’s a physically strong kid. College basketball is much different than high school basketball because the kids are much stronger. Some of the guards that are frail, that are only 165-170 pound,  would struggle because they can get bumped off the basketball. He is strong enough, though, where he can take the punishment of a college guard. He can withstand the physical play of college basketball. That will be a distinct advantage for him.”

Rose and the Westchester Hawks, coached by Graves, recently returned from an AAU tournament in Orlando where they finished in the top sixteen in the country, with KJ leading the way.  Graves says KJ’s attitude has also been one of his top attributes. “Coaching him has been no problem, whatsoever. He listens to criticism. He doesn’t get down and out, even though I ride him pretty hard, because I played his position, so I know how it has to be played. He hasn’t been a problem at all. He gets along well with his teammates and he listens to what I say, and plays hard all the time.”

Rose will have another season at Binghamton to show just how good he can be at the college level, and he will try to lead his team to a state championship.  No matter which DI school he ends up at, KJ Rose will assuredly be a valuable asset at point guard wherever he decides to play.

Upstate Scouting wishes to thank Coach Butch Graves for answering our questions, and wishes him and KJ the best of luck moving forward.

Ross Bentley-Staff writer