Prospect Spotlight: Elijah Seward (2020)

Coming from a smaller program to one of the best in the state takes some adjusting, especially when you’re used to being the man where you’re from. For John Marshall junior Elijah Seward, he left Park View in South Hill midway through his freshman season where he was averaging close to 20 points per game and was thrust into a complimentary role at JM.

However, it wasn’t all bad for Seward. He’s learned a lot over the last few years, and was a big part of their state championship win over Western Albemarle last season. Now that he’s a junior, he’s shown a lot of improvement over the past few seasons and has had a terrific start to the season with the Justices so far.

“The last two years we’ve had plenty of size so this year we have to work harder,” Seward said. “We’re a smaller team so we have to be more aggressive and have more energy on the boards and stuff like that. Other than that everything has been great.”

When I watched them play Norview in the ASSIST Tip-Off Classic, you could see a much more improved and confident Seward. At 6’0” on a good day, the lefty guard is known as one of the most explosive guys in the state, but he’s shown recently that he can score it in a number of ways, and he’s become a much more vocal leader and leader by example.

“I have to play a bigger role scoring the ball this year,” he said. “Without the leadership and size I have to score the ball a lot more than I have in the last two years. I have to be more of a leader and be more vocal on the team, help the young guys get comfortable and move on up, so that’s different this year.”

One of the biggest things that Seward has shown is his improvement from deep. The lefty hit four triples against Norview, a couple from way beyond the arc, and it’s opened up his game to where he’s able to attack off the dribble and attack closeouts to get in the lane and use his athleticism to finish.

While he’s improved in certain aspects, Seward isn’t happy unless he continues to improve as an all-around player.

“I improved on my jump shot a lot. I still have to work on my right hand, my lateral quickness and defense, but other than that I’ve been working on scoring the ball a lot this summer and I think my offensive game has improved a lot.”

While Seward isn’t seeing much college interest yet, that will change with time. He plays with a number of scholarship level and division one players both in high school and in AAU, and with time coaches will see his ability to play and make plays for others.

What he really wants to show is that he’ll do anything to win, however.

“I’m a big time winner. I like the ball in my hands at the end of the game, I want to be a leader, I like the pressure and want the pressure. I just want to be and am a winner, that’s all.”

With John Marshall looking like a favorite to repeat as the VHSL Class 3 state champions, they play a daunting schedule and haven’t backed away from anything. There will be plenty of opportunities to see Seward and his John Marshall teammates in action, and it’s something you won’t want to miss!