Prospect Watch: CE Talton (2019)
Class of 2019 guard CE Talton of Monroe City has been a major force in leading his team to back-to-back Class 3 district championships.
After winning his second district title and earning All-State honors, Talton is ready to take on the grassroots circuit top competition from around the region and the country. He has been running with the Jets-Ramey United 17U team this spring.
“I’ve been looking forward to playing against all of this good competition,” Talton said. “It will help raise my level of play and get me ready for my senior season. I also want to get strong and improve my ball handling this summer. Being from a small school, it motivates me to compete against all of these good players. The game is a lot faster and it has helped me improve. I like it.”
The 6’3″ Talton has been outstanding for Monroe City as the top player in the Clarence Cannon Conference. As a junior, he really stuffed the stat-sheet in leading the Panthers to a 25-4 record and a berth in the state sectional playoffs.
“It means a lot to win two district championships in a row,” Talton said. “It means that all of the hard work is paying off. I have good teammates and good coaches, so it has been a lot of fun.”
As a junior, Talton averaged 25 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. There were also nights where he just erupted on offense, including a 43-point outburst in an overtime victory over Blair Oaks in January. He is a versatile offensive weapon who can handle the ball and create shots off the dribble. He has a nice pull up mid-range jumper from 15 feet and he can also knock down the 3-pointer.
“We lost a lot of scoring last year, so I knew I needed to step up on offense,” Talton said.