Temple basketball preview: Spotlight on Jaylen Bond

Name: Jaylen Bond

School: Temple

Class: Junior

Position: Forward

Height/weight: 6-8/240

Hometown: Philadelphia

High school: Plymouth Whitemarsh

Last season's stats: N/A (sat out because of NCAA transfer rules)

Career highlights: As a freshman at Texas in 2011-12 season, he scored a career-high 18 points on nine of 12 shooting in only 24 minutes against Nicholls State. Added 12 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass, in that Longhorns' win . . . Tallied 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds in 22 minutes of a December 2011 win against Temple . . . Recorded a career-high three steals against Oklahoma State in January 2012 . . . Blocked three shots in a March 2012 game against Missouri.

What they are saying: "He's flexible and versatile. He can [defend] a guard and he can play a forward," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "We've challenged him a lot in that regard, too. You can't be good at defense. You must be great. I think it's his ticket for his future. That's where he's going to really make some noise. But he has to be great. He and I have had many conversations about that."

What he's saying: "If [Dunphy] feels like that's going to be my main thing that gets to me the next level, that's what I'm going to do. I pride myself on defense. I want to guard the best player every night. I look forward to that."

Something you didn't know about Bond: "I like to cook. I cook basically anything. Chicken Parmesan. I make steaks. Pastas. Anything . . . If I'm home, I'll cook for my mom, my sister and my brother, but most of the time I'm at school, so I cook for myself [in my dorm, which has a kitchen] . . . "Most people don't figure an athlete likes to cook. I've cooked for a couple people that stay in my dorm. I've cooked for Jesse [Morgan] a couple times because he lives near me. Will [Cummings] a couple times and Devin [Coleman]. They all liked it. They gave me good feedback."