Prospect Spotlight: Jordan Parham (2020)

When it comes to high school basketball stars, it seems like many see a breakout season in their junior year. The saying goes: Freshmen want to play, sophomores want to start, juniors want to score and seniors want to win. For Huguenot junior guard Jordan Parham, he's seen all of that so far in his career, and now it's time for him to lead.

After the Falcons magical season last year in which they entered the playoffs with six losses but got hot and upset their way to the state semifinals before losing to eventual state champions Lake Taylor, Parham has emerged as Huguenot's go-to guy for the near future. The Falcons lost a lot of size in 6'11" Eric Rustin (Tennessee Prep) and 6'6" Deshawn Ridley, who were both senior leaders last year, but over the summer and early in the season the 5'10" Parham has shown that he's capable of carrying the scoring load and leading a much different team this year.

"I definitely have to score the ball more often this year," Parham said. "Last year we had a lot of scorers, this year we're way smaller so of course we have to play way harder and bring it every night."

Parham is still somewhat of a secret, but he's getting on the radar with coaches of all levels and holds an early offer from Virginia Union. He's had multiple big games, but his coming out party this year came in the first round of the Richmond Times Dispatch Invitational against local private power Trinity Episcopal who has been to the VISAA D1 Final Four in three of the last four seasons, winning it in 2017. Huguenot got down early and struggled with the size of TES, who has a front line that includes 6'8" nationally ranked Henry Coleman.

Despite the Falcons entire team getting out rebounded by Coleman, the Falcons battled back behind Parham and senior guard Kamron Foster. Parham showed his deep shooting range, making multiple threes from the volleyball line like it was a layup, and he finished with a team high 34 points as they battled back to upset the Titans. Parham hit six three-pointers in the win, none bigger than one with just over 30 seconds left that brought the game within one when it looked like TES was about to close it out.

His big play gene is just another thing that makes him different, along with grit and toughness you need as a smaller guard.

"I just go hard every play and do whatever I can to help us win," he said. "I love the ball in my hands late in the game, I love the pressure. I want coach to call it up for me and I'm confident I can make a play."

While Parham's shooting stroke is the most impressive part of his game, he's far from just a catch-and-shoot one dimensional guy. He has great footwork off the bounce that allows him to create space and get his shot over bigger defenders, and he's a guy who has good instincts on both ends of the floor.

"I can shoot the ball well, but I don't limit myself to just that. I can handle the ball, I like passing and I like playing defense. I just like doing it all, it doesn't really matter."

Parham knows that this is his breakout year, and despite losing so much and only having a handful of seniors on the roster, he believes it's his time to lead his team and show the rest of Virginia what the Falcons are made of.

"As a team, last year we lost in the state semifinals, and this year we want to get back and win it, we want to win it all. Individually, I'd say I want to be first team All District and All Region, that's my biggest goal."

Whether you're a college coach or just a fan of the game, be sure to check out Parham and Huguenot sometime this year. You don't want to be late to the party when he's no longer Richmond's best kept secret.