When Jalen Slawson returned for his final season at Furman in 2022-23, he didn’t come back for some major NIL deal or for any reason of personal gain. In fact, he returned to Furman to try and do something the Paladins hadn’t done in 43 years: win the Southern Conference Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament.
Not only did Slawson and his teammates manage to do that, but the Paladins claimed the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 49 years, with a 68-67, upset win over No. 4 seed Virginia in a South regional. Slawson posted 19 points and nine rebounds in the win, including a streak of nine-straight points late in the game.
“This season has been special,” Slawson said following Furman’s 75-52 Round of 32 loss to San Diego State. “My career [at Furman] has been special… I came here to play basketball thinking that’s what college basketball players did… They play basketball. I came here as a boy, but I am leaving out as a man with 30-something family members, from my teammates and our coaches, and their kids, and even the support staff and their families and all these folks have meant everything to me and to be able to do what I have done at a place like Furman… I don’t regret a bit of it to my original commitment to coming back this year.”
If Slawson hears his name called in the NBA Draft on June 22, he’ll have a chance to add yet another accolade to a season for Furman basketball that has already been special. He would become the first Furman player taken in the NBA Draft in 39 years. George Singleton was selected in the third-round by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1984 draft.
So, what about Slawson that has NBA scouts so interested in the 6-foot-7-inch senior?
“Jalen Slawson cared deeply about the men, women, and families involved with Furman basketball,” Furman assistant coach Tim Johnson said. “As much as he loved to play the game, I think what truly drove him was understanding every personal success he had was/is directly tied to providing for the Furman families he adores. He has changed all of our lives for the better and his sacrifice will not be soon forgotten. His loyalty was his superpower. His 44-inch vertical and basketball IQ certainly helped, but the best part about his game was his deep care for others.”
Slawson poured a career-high 33 points and 13 rebounds in an overtime win over the College of Charleston in December 2021, a performance that was a major reason why the Paladins won. Slawson’s…
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