Prospect Spotlight: Jalin Abbott (2019)
One of the key members that will determine how far this St. John’s team goes this year in my opinion is 2019 wing, Jalin Abbott. Jalin has caught my attention so far this season with his skill he is bringing to the wing position. He has been shooting the ball very well from all areas on the court and has been rebounding well for St. John’s. He has very good size and length for the position and is one of those “glue” guys that can really help a team out on all fronts.
Abbott mentioned how playing with DC Premier this summer has helped him carry momentum into this high school season.
“This summer I was forced to take over a huge leadership role and motivate my teammates. On defense, I had to keep my guys alive and all of that helped coming into this season at St. John’s because we have so many young kids so I can act as a mentor and also I have to improve myself because I didn’t play a lot last year, so I have to learn things and teach at the same time.”
When asked how he would describe his game, Abbott said, “It is real simple, my coach describes it likes this, if you catch the ball and don’t shoot it, drive or pass it and that is stuff I feel really comfortable with doing.”
There are some things he would love to work on so he can take his game to another level, “I always have to work on my defense, I can always improve in that department. I want to attack more, so I need to get out here and attack more.”
The main thing that has really caught my attention early on this season is Jalin’s ability to shoot the ball and he is very confident with his shot, “Ever since I was young, shooting has just been a real easy thing for me, but just because it is easy doesn’t mean you don’t have to work for it, I stay in the gym every day before games, after practice and after games sometimes, it is all about confidence and reps.”
Like I mentioned in the beginning, I believe that Jalin is an extremely important piece to this St. John’s team and when asked about his role on this years team, he kept it really simple, “This year my role is simply to rebound, play defense and score on offense, it is that simple.”