Jonathon Howard Recruiting Update (2018)
Unsigned senior guard Jonathon Howard (Cane Ridge) fills a need. The void left by Damion Baugh (transfer) and David Smith Jr. (ACL injury) required, demanded some hooper emerge as a scoring leader.
Enter Johnathon Howard.
“It was (important) to step up and score,” said Howard. “I really wasn’t a shooter or a scorer before he got hurt. It just made me more aggressive as the games came on after Christmas.”
Adapting to a new scoring role can be tough. Some players are incapable of making that leap and the enormity of the assignment engulfs them. It is easy to expose pseudo-scorers when a coach gives them too many shots.
“I felt like I was doing pretty good and I just kept working,” said Howard of his opportunity.
In the Jemison game he asserted his case as go-to scorer.
Right after (Smith Jr.) got hurt…he got hurt in the first quarter,” said Howard. “I knew for us to even be close I had to do more. I think I had 26 that game. That really defined my senior year.”
College coaches evaluating his talent and potential need to evaluate that game to get an idea of his value. Few players can shift so quickly from sidekick to hero.
The unsigned off-guard Johnathon Howard intends to decide on a college by May tenth.
Options
Two weeks ago Jonathon Howard had very little recruiting buzz, but now the options are piling up nicely for the deserving wing scorer.
Columbia State and Vol State have reached out. He is setting up a visit to Walters State, while communicating with the coach about logistics.
“We are working on it,” said Johnathon Howard about a potential visit.
Vol State is putting in the legwork.
“I just came from Vol State today,” said J Howard. “It was nice. The campus was nice. I would have to live off-campus and get an apartment.”
There is a connection between Vol State’s team and Howard.
“I know Kevin Rimmer,” said Johnathon Howard. “He played on my AAU team, but he was on the older team.”
Personal connections go a long way. The players can give honest insight that recruiting coaches will not share. Johnathon has talked to Kevin Rimmer about Vol State.
“He said it was alright, but towards the end of the year one of their best players quit,” said Howard.
Howard will probably take at least one more college visit before deciding.
“They want me to come back up there Monday. Walters State wants me to come there.”
Junior College coaches are scouring the state of Tennessee looking for role players, players that will fill a need.
Jonathon Howard fills a need.
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