Prospect Spotlight: Jordan Smalls (2020)
Already with his post skills intact, 6-foot-7 forward Jordan Smalls has been working to become an ultimate versatile threat, on both sides of the ball.
The Eagles Landing Christian Academy junior had been a center since middle school, but started transitioning to a forward when he got to high school. Now, he’s in the process of continuing his transformation into a three.
“I’m working on being able to guard more the one and the two, but I’ve been able to guard the three through five. What I bring every game is energy and grit, and even though I’m undersized, I have the grit to guard the 6’10 and 6’11 guys,” said Smalls.
“I’ll probably be a confident three, but I’ll always go back into the post because that’s where my strengths are. But I’ll be able to score at the hoop, score from mid-range and score from the perimeter.”
In addition to making himself more versatile, Smalls is working to develop his leadership abilities, and has been learning from one of the NBA’s all-time greats.
“I’ve been watching a lot of Kobe Bryant videos on how to bring the best out of my teammates, because I think that’s ultimately how you win games, is collectively,” said Smalls. “So that’s one thing that’s been important to me this offseason”
An offseason spent playing with both Atlanta Xpress 16U and 17U was greatly productive for Smalls. He says finishing the summer playing up with the older guys was especially helpful.
“With 17U, it really got me to speed up my development. And I know it’s going to be a great experience for me next season during 17U because I’ll have a year up on everybody in experience,” said Smalls.
Along the way, he gained interest from South Carolina, UAB, Georgia State, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern and VMI. Other interested schools are Auburn, Lipscomb, DePaul, Liberty, Harvard, Holy Cross and Jacksonville.
Now, he heads into his junior season with the ECLA, he’s going to do whatever he can to help the Chargers be the best they can be.
“This upcoming season, I’m just working as hard as I can,” said Smalls. “If I start, that’s great, if I don’t, I’m just going to come off the bench and give the best effort I can, because the ultimate goal is to win a championship.”