The recent Seminole State community college commitment has often been praised these last two years for the continual growth of his all around game. He’s stepped up his game as a defender and taking more of a playmaking responsibility for 6A contenders Choctaw. But make no mistake, Valentine entered high school as a bucket and is leaving high school as a bucket.  The senior is just as likely to rattle off back to back threes from deep, or cut through traffic and hit a sweet floater.  His crowning achievement for Choctaw came in the 6A quarterfinals last year, where in overtime he drilled a three to tie it. Then seconds later won the game with a steal and score. More iconic moments are possible as Choctaw looks to make another run to the Class 6A State Tournament run.

The senior was tasked with covering one of the hotter scorers in Oklahoma and he shut it down as Choctaw got their revenge for an early season loss.  From fighting through screens, applying on the ball pressure, Valentine shined in his role as a defensive specialist for the night.  The theme with the senior’s evolution has been how he’s turned from a scoring specialist into a complete and competitive guard.  It wasn’t a big scoring night for him, but the difference he made for Choctaw was loud.

One of the most enjoyable aspects about watching a player over a few years is getting to see the evolution in their playing style. At this same tournament as a sophomore, Valentine delievered a barrage of three pointers in a consolation bracket contest.  At the time he was an explosive scorer, who put up big time points in spurts and when he wasn’t scoring it did feel like he would float a bit.

Now as a senior, he’s still hitting tough shots off the dribble but he’s also pulling the strings for a high powered Choctaw offense that ran away with a semifinals victory. His decision making and vision were on point as he pushed it in transition, dropped off great dimes with pocket passes and hit open shooters (it was often his younger brother Jordan). He even put an exclamation on the game with a big time block on the defensive end.  It was a complete game for Valentine and a great reminder of how far he’s come as a prospect as the now leader for one of the top contenders in Class 6A.

One of the top scorers in the class since his freshman year, Valentine is one of the best off the dribble shooters in the class.  He doesn’t need a lot of separation to hit tough jumpers and also has some of the best footwork in Oklahoma on fadeaways, turnarounds, spin moves, side hops and more.  What’s been new about his game for the 5-1 Yellowjackets, has been his improved passing.  His dynamic ability to get into the lane is now complimented with better vision and accuracy on his passes. He now consistently creates better looks with good kick outs, and the occasional flashy bounce pass or good feed to find to a teammate cutting to the basket.

Valentine is another prospect who broke the 1,000 mark for his career, and recently picked up an offer from Highland Community College (Illinois).

The senior crossed the 1,000 points mark early in the first quarter in a very Valentine way. Valentine got the defender on his heels with a crossover and then drilled an 18 footer off the dribble.  He was composed throughout the first half, even having a couple good instances of identifying how to attack double teams.  At one point he had a mismatch with a big, saw a second defender coming and Valentine correctly judge he had the burst to just go around the big. He did and earned two easy points. Another instance came when he saw a double coming, and perfectly led a cutting teammate to the hoop for two more easy points.

The four year contributor continues to be one of the top players in Oklahoma, with a mix of an exciting playing style and the more mature decisions fitting of a senior.

Valentine was huge in the win over Rockford, consistently getting inside and creating for his teammates.  The experience of being a four year starter was evident with his improved decision making as an attacker. He can still get to the rim and finish through contact or hit a nifty floater, but the passes are more frequent. Which often set up high quality looks for his teammates. At times some of his one handed passes were a little wild, but it’s such a strong step from early high school days as a high volume scorer. Still, when he needs to get a bucket he can go it. Valentine finished with 16 in the afternoon contest, which included a tough contested, patient 18 footer to end the third quarter.

Expectations are high for Valentine and his Yellowjackets after a dramatic and exciting end to their playoff run last year.  He remains one of the most “microwavable” players in the state, as he can easily catch fire and rattle 8-10 points in the blink of an eye. From deep off the dribble threes, scoring at the rim and havoc causing defensive transition plays, Valentine is a must watch player this year as Choctaw attempts to build off last year’s successful season with a senior laden team that has Gold Ball dreams.

The star of the night, Valentine jumpstarted the Yellowjackets with a couple impressive steals to start the third quarter.  He closed that quarter with a pair of huge three pointers. It was through his energy and scoring that a Choctaw team that had been stuck in neutral all night finally pushed forward and took their first lead of the contest in the fourth quarter.  He would have 20 points and 4 steals on the night. None bigger than in the final moments of the overtime. With Choctaw trailing by 3 in the final seconds, the junior was the one to step up and hit a huge three to tie it. But he didn’t settle for another extra four minutes of basketball, seconds later he jumped a pass at half-court and raced for the game winning layup.

Valentine missed part of the season due to injury. It’s given him a disjointed look to his junior campaign. As as a freshman and sophomore the microwave scoring style guard had a clear swagger to his game and scored buckets in bunches. While his scoring flurries last night proved he can still do that, there has been a renewed effort on the defensive end.  And this effort in the biggest moments is a great momentum builder for the scoring guard as he chases a Gold Ball with Choctaw, while also heading into a pivotal 17U year on the AAU circuit.

Choctaw continues to be that dark horse in Class 6A that is just knocking on the door and we’re waiting for them to kick it in. We can definitely see a path for the Yellowjackets to make a surprising run in March but the health of junior guard Ja’Mon Valentine Ja’Mon Valentine 6'2" | CG Choctaw | 2024 State OK will be a huge part of that. About a month ago, Valentine had to sit out during the Shawnee tournament with a lower leg injury. When Valentine is on the court, Choctaw has a very dangerous backcourt that can absolutely light it up from beyond the arc. We think that his athleticism is pretty underrated as well. But with a pretty young core, we think that Choctaw is going to be in the conversation in Class 6A again next year.

The Choctaw junior that we knew about the most coming into this season was guard Ja’Mon Valentine Ja’Mon Valentine 6'2" | CG Choctaw | 2024 State OK . After an outstanding sophomore season, Valentine became one of the top guys at his position in the state’s 2024 class and has only continued to raise his stock from a recruitment standpoint. This offseason, Valentine put a lot of work into his game in a variety of ways. First, he would play up a grade and compete at the highest level for his team. Second, he would spend a lot of time on the road for training and looking to improve his game. Valentine is a deadly shooter but as he gets stronger and continues to improve his overall athleticism, he’ll continue to climb the 2024 ranks.