The JV Corner Article #1

I am starting a new series that will focus on Junior Varsity players. The JV guys often go unnoticed, but I will show some love to some JV standouts each month. So let's get started; here are some standouts in the first edition of the JV Corner.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-JRoberson.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1359554 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-JRoberson-300x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Jordan Deshun Roberson (5'9/Combo Guard/2025)   School: Sylacauga HS Instagram: thejroberson Twitter: @thejroberson   Jordan is a developing young player that showed his potential in flashes. He can handle the rock, has good vision, and is a good passer. He has the capability to emerge as a player that could be productive as a varsity player eventually. As he continues to learn the ins and outs of the high school game and adjust his game and body to the speed and strength at the high school level, he will begin to realize the potential that he possesses. <blockquote> When I saw him play against Clay, I was impressed with his effort, even though it was a lopsided score that was not in his team's favor. </blockquote> As he continues to work on his decision-making throughout the remainder of his freshman campaign, Jordan needs a really good off-season of development before entering his sophomore campaign.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Dynarian-Long.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1359545 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Dynarian-Long-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Dynarian Long (6'1/Small Forward/2024)   School: Pelham HS Instagram: 5star.d33 Twitter: @5star_Dee   I was highly impressed with Dynarian's game. He has good length and can develop into a versatile inside-out threat, as he showed a little of the possibility of that in the match-up against Mortimer Jordan. Now a lot of that depends on how much more growing he has left, and that remains to be seen. However, with the tools that are in his toolbox currently, he has the potential to develop into a productive scorer, as he is already getting it done presently at all levels. <blockquote> I was impressed with his level of comfort in taking the mid-range J, as it seems as though in today's game, the mid-range doesn't even exist at times. </blockquote> He has a lot of potential, but the only thing I questioned while watching him play was his motor. He finished with 11pts, but I feel as though he left a lot of points on the floor as his aggressiveness did not match his talent level.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Carmelo-Austin.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1359546 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Carmelo-Austin-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Carmelo Austin (6'4/Small Forward/2024)   School: Mortimer Jordan HS Instagram: Carmelo__austin Twitter: @Calipso2444   Carmelo is a player that has good size, and he knows how to use it when battling down in the paint. He got some unfair calls to me in the game against Pelham simply because of his size compared to the other players battling against him. One of the things that caught my eye about Carmelo's game was his ability to make passes out of the post once the defense collapsed on him. <blockquote> Not many young players have worked on that skill, as they usually would force the action, which was not the case with Carmelo. </blockquote> The 6'4 small forward also showed his ability to handle the rock in the open court, and he actually made some good decisions and passes, as he has good vision of the court while the ball is in his hands. He was dominant on the boards, and it will be interesting to see how his game carries over to the varsity as they shoot a lot of trey balls.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jackson-Hess.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1359547 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Jackson-Hess-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Jackson Will Hess (5'9/Point Guard/2024)   School: Pelham HS Instagram: life_ft.jhess Twitter: @N/A   Of all the JV games I got to see in December, Jackson was one of the best in breaking down the defense off the bounce. Once he got two feet in the paint, he made good decisions in creating scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. He has found a good balance between scoring and facilitating, but from the game, I watched against Mortimer Jordan, he is extremely comfortable being the floor general. <blockquote> He is very instinctive on both sides of the court and brings the same energy level on both ends. </blockquote> He is quick off the bounce and has a nice change of pace dribble. He was one of the JV players with a high ceiling as long as he continues to put the work in on his game. He has to start getting stronger as he prepares to make the transition to varsity basketball.   <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Colin-Owens.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1359548 alignleft" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2022/01/PH-Colin-Owens-300x300.png" alt="" width="300" height="300" /></a>Colin Owens (5'6/Point Guard/2024)   School: Clay-Chalkville HS Instagram: colinyogirl13 Twitter: @N/A   Clay-Chalkville already has a freshman guard on varsity, and when the time comes for Colin to make the jump to varsity, lookout for Clay's backcourt. Colin is small at 5'6 but dominated the game against Sylacauga. He is the alpha on his squad. He thrived in transition because of his speed with the ball in his hands, and Sylacauga was lost several times in transition defense, which could have resulted from how fast Colin was getting up the court. If he wasn't getting to the rack and finishing in transition, he was kicking the ball ahead to teammates that were out running the floor. <blockquote> Sylacauga had no answer for Colin, as he was living in the paint off the bounce and creating open looks for his shooters as their defenders had to collapse to help stop his dribble penetration. </blockquote> I am looking forward to seeing Colin at the next level, but he does have a lot of work to put in on the off-season in preparation for bigger and stronger guards that await him.   I hope you have enjoyed the first article in the JV Corner.