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Jaden Arline’s shots may not be pretty, but they go in for Paul VI

During the summer, Arline worked to fix a flaw that had his shot going too long or short.

Paul VI's Jaden Arline (left) and Haddonfield's Lewis Evans battling for a rebound last January.
Paul VI's Jaden Arline (left) and Haddonfield's Lewis Evans battling for a rebound last January.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

Jaden Arline doesn’t need to see the ball go through the net. All he needs to do is see his right arm in front of his face to know he’s hit the jackpot.

While working on his shot in the summer before entering Paul VI, Arline began working to fix a flaw that had his shot going too long or short.

“I wasn’t as strong as I needed to be, and I saw that I was missing either long or short,” the sophomore guard said. “Once I found that, I got in the weight room. It helped me out. But I started to realize that if I kept my arm straight, the ball would go straight through the net. That meant I was finishing things out.”

In a recent 83-59 win over Seneca, Arline was 6-for-8 from beyond the three-point line en route to a game-high 20 points. The shot is not textbook, barely getting 6 inches above the rim on a line drive, as opposed to a rainbow arc. And yet the results show it works. At one point this season, Arline had shot 16-for-34 (47%) from behind the three-point line.

“He’s turned into the best shooter on our team,” Paul VI head coach Tony Devlin said.

That has been needed, since Arline has moved from a traditional point-guard spot this season into more of a shooting role for the Eagles. With Wisler Sanon and Nick Harrell at the point spots, Arline has been able to move out toward the line and become more of a scorer than he was.

“During the AAU season, I had to move to the shooting-guard spot because my team had so many talented point guards,” Arline said. “What’s great for me is, Nick and our guys know where my spots are for most of my shots. They give it to me in those spots where I can hit them.”

Devlin said: “He struggled when we started him out at the point-guard spot. And we decided to move him off the ball because we needed his shot. He needs to build his confidence, so we can move him back and forth. Trying to convince him that the ball is going to be coming back to him and that playing off the ball, there’s a little less pressure on him to look for his shot and distribute at the same time. He’s got so much confidence, and that’s why he’s hitting right now.”

Off the court, Arline has found an outlet for the stress of basketball and school. He enjoys going out for rides on his bike.

“I like just going out, riding around, listening to music, and stopping by to see my friends,” Arline said. “It’s really relaxing, to be honest. I do it more so in the summer or if the weather is nice out. I’m not much of a gamer that likes to sit in the house. I like to get out and be active.”