Standouts: SLAM January JamFest (Part 1)
One of the top events I’ve been to all season took place at Bishop Sullivan last weekend, with the January JamFest presented by SLAM Magazine. It featured seven games with teams mostly from Virginia, the exception being Mount Zion out of North Carolina. It was a great place to watch some high level basketball, as their had to be close to 50 division one prospects in the event. We’ll take a look at some of the standouts, although it’s hard to get to all of them. Here’s a look at part one, featuring eight guys in the first four game sets.
- Kenari Jones | Carmel School 2020
Jones opened the January JamFest by dominating in Carmel’s win over Atlantic Shores, scoring 26 points and dishing out 5 assists in their 55-40 win. Jones is a talented and explosive point guard who makes plays with his ability to push in transition and his burst in the half court. There was no one that could stay in front of him for Atlantic Shores, and that’s usually how it is in every game. He has decent size at 6’0”, but his handle and blow by ability are second to none, and that’s why he’s already receiving division one interest from a handful of schools.
- El Ellis | Mount Zion 2019
Ellis, who ranked in the top 20 in the Prep Hoops North Carolina 2019 rankings, got better throughout the game until he was undoubtedly the best player on the floor for either team in Mount Zion’s win over Millwood. The 6’2” off guard got off to a somewhat slow start, but he picked it up and showed the ability to score it from all over the floor and seemed to get stronger as time went on. He finished with a game high 28 points, and also pitched in five rebounds and four assists.
- Trejen Woods | Mount Zion 2018
It didn’t take long for Woods to turn heads, as the senior point guard got hot early and wasn’t shy when showing how he could shoot it. Midway through the first quarter, Woods hit his first three, which started one of the craziest runs I’ve seen in a long time. On the next three possessions, Woods knocked down three-pointers, each with increasing range and his last two were from 35 feet plus, and there’s no exaggeration in that. He ended up hitting five straight three-pointers, finished the half 5-for-8 from deep and had 17 points, and finished the game with 24 points on 6-for-11 shooting from deep and pitched in four assists in the win.
- Chester Makoi | Mount Zion 2019
The former Williamsburg Christian big man was back in the 757 and he had one of the best performances from a big man in attendance on Saturday. The 6’9” Makoi came off the bench for Mount Zion and got off to a somewhat slow start when he came in the game, but he was active on both ends and everything started to slowly come to him. He gave great effort on the glass on both ends, ran the floor really well and finished well through contact. He should have hit a few more free throws, but he still finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the win.
- Aundre Hyatt | Miller School 2019
Hyatt was arguably the MVP of the event, as he helped his Miller School squad take down the #2 post graduate team in the country in Massanutten. In a back-and-forth game that was played in 18 minute halves, Hyatt was the best player on the floor and showed that he should be considered as a nationally ranked player that we were saying is maybe a top 50 player in the country. He has great size as a 6’6” wing, has effortless range and is a big time rebounder for his position. He finished with 35 points and 13 rebounds, and he made big plays down the stretch to help Miller hold off a very talented Massanutten team.
- DeArvae Heard | Miller School 2019
The best way to describe Heard’s game is to say that he has somewhat of an “old man” game. He isn’t a killer from deep, he isn’t super athletic to blow by defenders, but he’s crafty, smart and understands how to put the ball in the hole in a number of different ways. He uses his wide shoulders and 6’3” frame to create space and get his shot off. He changes speeds well, has counters off the bounce to all of his moves and he has a deadly midrange game that he just deflates defenders with as he hits contested midrange after contested midrange. He finished with 20 points and 8 rebounds in their win.
- Rasir Bolton | Massanutten 2018
Miller made it a priority to slow down the Penn State commit, and for what was equivalent to one quarter they did a pretty good job. Then Bolton got loose, and while he didn’t have the best shooting game for him, he still wreaked havoc with the ball in his hands as he broke down defenders and got in the lane, forcing defenders to foul him and taking advantage as he finished an impressive and perfect 15-for-15 from the charity stripe. Bolton will continue to be the guy they go to when they need a play to be made, and despite the loss he came up with big time plays throughout the contest when they needed him to.
- Terrence Whitfield | Massanutten 2018
The 6’3” wing from Richmond stepped up in a big way for the Colonels after starting forward Miles James left in the first three minutes with an ankle injury. Whitfield came off the bench and did a little bit of everything, as he made shots, defended multiple positions and was clutch down the stretch. He hit a big three with less than 20 seconds left to pull them within one, and despite them losing the confidence and efficiency he played with has to be encouraging for a
Massanutten team that needs a few solid pieces off the bench if they’re going to compete for a national championship. He finished with 15 points, shooting 5-for-6 from the field, 3-for-4 from deep and 3-for-4 from the line.