2022 Market News 'Rising Stock'

We are getting close to the start of area tourney play, and coaches always say they want to be playing their best ball at the right time, and this is the right time to be in that groove. Often, when teams are playing their best ball, it means that players are playing their best ball. So let’s look at a few players who are playing their best and whose stock is rising…   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-MJ-Jones.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1374144 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-MJ-Jones-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>MJ Jones (6’2/PG/2022)   School: Pelham HS Instagram: M.jones10 Twitter: N/A   For several weeks in December, I was getting tagged in post about this kid MJ Jones at Pelham. I was seeing that he was scoring in the 20s and the 30s, and everyone was talking about how special this kid is. I looked at Pelham’s schedule and saw that the next time I could catch one of their games was against defending state champs Mountain Brook. From previous experience, it can be hard to evaluate talent because of the style of play that Mountain Brook forces teams to play. However, I was impressed watching MJ play against the Spartans. Early in the contest, he did not allow the stage to force him to try and do too much, but he allowed the game to come to him, and he ultimately began to make his imprint on the game. <blockquote> Everything that I had been hearing was true; MJ is definitely a scoring machine. </blockquote> He was dominant in transition, finishing at the rim thru contact with good body control. He is one of the hardest scorers for defenders to stop that I have seen all year. He is a three-level scorer that can handle the rock and is an effective ball-handler and decision-maker playing in ball-screen action. He has a deep bag of skillful finishing moves, and I hardly believe that it was all on display that night at Mountain Brook. He is a player whose stock is rising as we head into area tourney time.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Quentin-Hayes.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1374147 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Quentin-Hayes-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="725160" first="Quentin" last="Hayes"] (6’2/CG/2022)   School: Enterprise HS Instagram: N/A Twitter: @qhayes22   I saw Q at the #HuntsvilleCityClassic, and he had a solid performance. He didn’t shoot it well that day against James Clemens as he went 4-13 (31%; 3-11 from behind the arc), finishing with 13pts in the contest. He had a tough outing from behind the 3, as he shot 27%. He played on and off the ball, as he looked for his shot often and early and showed that he could facilitate the offense when he moved over to the lead guard spot. <blockquote> Even though he struggled with his shot, he had some key rebounds from the guard spot. </blockquote> Q brings a lot to the game for his squad and going down the stretch, I am sure he won’t have many off nights from the field. He is a volume shooter and could give his team enough scoring down the stretch to make some noise in area tourney play.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Drew-Blackston.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1374148 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Drew-Blackston-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="1044912" first="Drew" last="Blackston"] (Guard / 2022)   School: Madison Academy Instagram: drew.black_ Twitter: N/A   I saw Drew at the #HuntsvilleCityClassic as he played all but 2-seconds against Lee HS, and he went 5-12 (42% from the field; 1-6, 17%, from behind the arc), finishing with 15pts. He is a hard-nose player that comes at his opponents on both ends of the court, and he brings a lot of energy and toughness to the floor. As the primary ball-handler for his squad, he is aggressive off the bounce and creates for himself and his teammates by finding his way to the paint and either converting or hitting his teammates for easy scoring opportunities. <blockquote> Even though his assist to turnover ratio for this game was 5 to 7, he is known as a reliable floor leader. </blockquote> This year, he may have flown under the radar amongst the PGs in the state, but he showed that he can handle his own as he went up against [player_tooltip player_id="725171" first="Jacari" last="Lane"], a highly respected PG in the state. Drew’s stock is rising as we get ready for area tourney play, and it will be interesting to see how far he can lead Madison Academy in the post-season.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jordan-Frazier.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1374149 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jordan-Frazier-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="725154" first="Jordan" last="Frazier"] (6’5/SG/2022)   School: James Clemens HS Instagram: jordanfrazier__ Twitter: @j_frazier2   One of the key reasons Jordan’s stock is rising is his versatility. He is a potential walking double-double every time he steps out onto the court. Against Enterprise, he went 3-15 (20% from the field and 0-4 from behind the arc), finishing with 15pts and pulling down 11-rebounds. His 6’5 frame and wing-span caused a lot of problems on the defensive end as he got several deflections throughout the game. <blockquote> He can handle the rock, and when he gets to the paint, he is quick off his feet, and what he has that many others don’t is a quick second jump. </blockquote> Those two components of his game are keys to his ability to get to the line, as he showed by going 9-13 (69%). Jordan is a volume shooter and, on any night, can catch fire, which can be a dangerous scenario for an opponent in the area tourney. His versatility and knack for drawing fouls could put teams in some uncomfortable situations, tilting the scales towards James Clemens.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jacari-Lane.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1369560 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jacari-Lane-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>[player_tooltip player_id="725171" first="Jacari" last="Lane"] (6’0/Guard/2022)   School: Lee-Hunstville HS Instagram: Jacarilane5 Twitter: @Jacari_lane5   I recently wrote about Jacari in the Alabama College Coaches Report, so feel free to take a look at my thoughts on him there. In this article, I am focusing on the contest against Madison Academy where he went 6-13 (46% from the field, 0-3 from behind the arc; 7-9, 78% from the line), finishing with 19pts (game-high), 4-rebounds, and 2-assist. Jacari connects from the midrange at a high rate but didn’t shoot well from behind the arc this game. <blockquote> Even though he had a game-high 19pts, he is a very reliable floor general who controls the game for his team while he is on the floor. </blockquote> He has a high IQ and competes on both ends of the floor. He is extremely shifty as he needles his way through traffic, forcing help. His game instincts are one of the reasons his stock is rising, as he is very cerebral on the court. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Lee back in Birmingham, especially with J in the driver’s seat for his squad.   These players are making the 2022 market bullish, as stocks are on the rise.