Prospect Spotlight: JT Thor (2020)
There’s been a recent influx of talent from Alaska to the Hampton Roads area. First was Chester Makoi, who moved toward the end of last summer and attended Williamsburg Christian last year and announced he will attend Mt. Zion this season. Next was Mareng Gatkuoth, who moved at the beginning of the summer and announced recently that he will attend Mt. Zion Prep as well.
The last one may have the most potential of them all. 6’7” JT Thor, Gatkuoh’s cousin, moved from Alaska about a month ago, and he’s wasted no time making his impact felt locally, across the state and on the east coast. He has already picked up offers from UMES and Hampton, and was named Hoop Group Elite Camp’s best underclassmen prospect.
While he’s showing great potential early, the rising sophomore knows that there’s still stuff he’ll have to get used to with the different style of play in Virginia than he’s used to in Alaska.
“The game is way more physical and much faster,” Thor said about the transition on the court.
Off the court he’s had to get used to some new things as well. Moving to Virginia in the middle of the summer from Alaska is a big change in climate, and it took Thor by surprise.
“It’s really hot, I didn’t expect it to be like this,” he said laughing. “My first two days here, I just wanted to sleep because the heat kept me down, but I’m in good shape now. I got used to it.”
As for what to expect from Thor, there’s a lot he can do now and a lot of room for him to improve as well. He’s coming to a Jamestown team that made an impressive run to the 4A State Semifinals before losing to Loudoun Valley, but they lose six of their top seven players, so he’ll be needed to step in and make an immediate impact for the Eagles.
“I can score, I can be the glue guy and I love playing defense. I think I can help overall, not just in scoring, and I just want to have a good season and try to help them get back to states and win it this year.”
As for how he would describe his game to potential college coaches, he isn’t just focusing on what he can do in the scorebook. He’s also very realistic about what he needs to improve on moving forward.
“I’m a long wing that’s versatile, plays defense and I always play my hardest to win. I know I need to get bigger and continue to be more physical.”
With a solid start to his time in Virginia, you can expect to hear more about Thor moving forward. His humble and hard working approach means he’s only going to get better moving forward as well, and if you’re a college coach reading this we’d suggest you take a look before the season starts just in case he ends up blowing up!