Recruiting Report: Zyshonne Atkinson (2020)
Franklin County has a good returning nucleus this season with Jared Courtney, Kyle Stivers and Zyshonne Atkinson and the Flyers are planning to compete for district and regional titles this season. Of those three, Atkinson is the lesser known but he is looking to change that soon. Zyshonne describes himself as “a 6’2 wing that can attack the basket very good and I’m a good dribbler. I defend very well and can rebound the ball well but I need to improve on my shooting.” His sophomore season yielded mixed results, “As an individual I was proud of my performance this past season. I felt like I helped my team win games. As a team, we could have done better. We had a losing record and lost in the first round of district tournament.”
Atkinson is in the midst of a strong AAU season with I am 3rd ICE out of Lexington and starting to get some collegiate interest. “I haven’t gotten any offers yet but I have talked to some coaches and have been invited to some camps, such as Youngstown State Uuniversity, University of Charleston, Montclair State University, University of Tampa, Columbia University, Kentucky Christan University, and Arkansas Tech University.” Zyshonne says an improved jump shot should help carry him into next season, “What I’ve done better this AAU season is shoot the ball a lot better and I can take that and help elevate my high school game.” Atkinson has some lofty goals for his Junior campaign playing for Tony Wise at Franklin County, “My goals this next high school season are to help improve our team record over last year, be a better teammate and player, and average double digits in points and rebounds with at least 5 assists per game.” If Zyshonne can average a double double with 5 assists per game this year he can definitely expect a big uptick in his recuiting and a chance to compete to get to Rupp Arena in March.