July 21, 2015
Combining great length with nice skill, Glenelg Country point guard Joshua Hightower has emerged recently as a 2016 with some serious college potential.
After nabbing a starting spot midway through last season, and spending his 17U season running with HC Elite, Hightower has seen a wide-range of interest come in from Division I to Division III.
“I have a little bit of interest from Lafayette (College) and Mount St. Mary’s, and then I have a lot of Division III and Division II interest,” said Hightower.
“Davis & Elkins (WV), Lycoming (PA), Wilkes (PA), Salisbury, Randolph-Macon (VA), and a bunch more. I’d say Lycoming and Wilkes are after me the most of the smaller schools”
The 6-foot point guard spoke with a Mount St. Mary’s coach on the phone shortly after his junior season wrapped up.
“Mount St. Mary’s reached out to me after my junior season,” said Hightower. “The coach called me and said he liked my game, and they’d come out and see me play.”
After waiting in the wings at Glenelg for two-and-a-half years, Hightower finally got his opportunity to shine when he picked up a starting spot during his junior season.
“I didn’t start right away and I had to wait a little bit, and once I got my opportunity to shine, I just went ahead and took it and did whatever I could to help my team win,” he said.
“I think one of my biggest strengths is in transition, I really like to get out and run. And my style is I’m always energetic, especially on defense, I’m always doing something, always moving. That’s really my entire game, I’m just always trying to make something happen and be a playmaker.”
The talented point guard says though his perimeter game was already established, he’s been working to master it this offseason with HC Elite.
“I think I’ve improved my shooting range, last year I shot OK from 3, but I think I’m shooting much better so far this summer. I’ve been working on that constantly so I can expand my game,” said Hightower.
“And another thing I’ve been working on is just getting bigger and stronger, that’s one thing I try to make sure I work on everyday, whenever I can just try and get bigger and stronger.”
He’ll play in one last live period even this weekend with HC Elite, his last ever grassroots tournament.
“My goal right now is to try and get a Division I offer, as many as I can before we get into the high school season,” he said. “I’d love to come in to my senior season, my last season, with some offers.”
