HS Stars Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor Plan College Super Team
Words. High School Hoop
Basketball players around the world watched the Miami Heat create a super team, so why can’t high school stars do the same thing with their college choices?
Two of the top players in the Class of 2014 are vocal about doing just that. 6-1 point guard Tyus Jones (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and Chicago’s 6-11 Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young) are going to infuse some elite program with a serious inside-outside combo very in the near future.
Coming off a run as teammates winning gold with the Team USA U17 squad this summer, the two rising juniors (who have known each other since they were in grade school) are honest and open about their vision. Jones was quoted at that U17 tournament as saying, “We’re most definitely excited to do it. We’re very serious about doing it and think it’s going to happen.”
From TwinCities.com:
Scouts say the 280-pound Okafor, MVP of the U17 World Championship, has the best combination of size, strength and fundamentals of any center his age in the country. He led Team USA in scoring and rebounding in Lithuania. Jones is just as advanced at his position because of keen court vision, ball handling and basketball savvy. He led Team USA in assists.
The reported list of programs that have offered scholarships to both is a murderer’s row: Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, Arizona, and Baylor, among others.
Check out these clips of both Jones and Okafor doing work:
J. Okafor is getting better every game he plays. He’s for a soft touch and quick feet. He is too right hand dominant though. It will hurt him on the college level vs good coaches who will take that away from him. So he needs to attend a college where the coach will put the pressure on him to improve his skills, a school like Mich State would be great for his development. Izzo would make him a monstAr, especially on the boards. Kid might end up being the best big man out of Chicago when its all said and done.
Add in that Tyus Jones kid and perhaps Paul White (Okafors HS/AAU teammate) and MSU (or whatever school gets them) could be a beast.
Before I even read Chicagorilla’s comment the only thing I could focus on in Okafor’s video is that he has absolutely NO left. One he has some competition it will be interesting to see how his game evolves.
Hardly impressed by either player’s video clip, especially Okafor.