Kent State University basketball teammates Jalen Avery and Jaylin Walker faced Jalen Jenkins of George Mason University, Wofford College's Jaylen Allen and, twice, Jaylen Key of Northern Illinois University.
The name Jalen is on the rise in college sports, particularly basketball. That is because thousands of babies born during the 1990s heyday of Jalen Rose, the "Fab Five" University of Michigan star and NBA player, are reaching adulthood.
This year there are 65 Jalens, Jaylens, Jaylans and other versions of the name on Division I basketball teamsyears ago, there were just four.
Ten players who go by some version of the name Jalen entered the NCAA Tournament last week...The name is nearly nine times as popular in men's college basketball as it is among the general population of college-age American males.
Surprisingly, names of much bigger basketball stars, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron and Shaquille, never approached the same level of popularity. (Six babies born in 2002 were named "Shakobe.")
The first of the next-generation Jalens to enter the National Basketball Association, Jaylen Brown, is a rookie this year for the Boston Celtics.