Prospect Spotlight: Jordan Strickland (2020)
Parkville saw drastic improvements as a team last season as they boasted a 16-5 record. After a couple of seasons finishing around the the .500 mark, they had players take great strides in development to make them a tough competitor…
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Continue ReadingParkville saw drastic improvements as a team last season as they boasted a 16-5 record. After a couple of seasons finishing around the the .500 mark, they had players take great strides in development to make them a tough competitor in Baltimore County. One of those players was rising senior Jordan Strickland.
If you pay close attention to county play, you know Strickland is no stranger to double-doubles. He led the county as a junior in that statistical category and really asserted himself as an all-around play-maker for the Knights and head coach Josh Czerski.
“Even though we did pretty well, I feel like I could’ve played a lot better,” Strickland told Prep Hoops. “When I look back on it, I took a lot of bad shots, so this season I want to get as many easy baskets as i can in the paint and stretch out to three when it’s there.”
At 6-foot-4, Strickland is one of the taller players on the roster, so he’s expected to long the majority of his minutes defensively in the paint acting as the anchor of the defense. On the offensive end, Coach Czerski gives him freedom to be a play-maker from pretty much anywhere. Because he is the Knight’s tallest player, it usually calls for the opposing team’s big to guard him. That quickly can become a mismatch with Strickland’s ability to catch and rip from the perimeter that helps beat his man to the bucket.
I didn’t get the chance to see Strickland in action this spring during his time with Team Thrill, but I’ll be seeing plenty of him this summer in the EBA Summer League. So far, he’s been a standout throughout and what has impressed me most is his ability to grab the defensive rebound, glide down the court as the ball-handler and find lanes to attack the rim where he’ll either draw a foul or get a lay-up.
Strickland’s effort on both ends has been a pleasure to watch. He’s resilient on the glass even on the offensive end. At the end of the day, he’s a great competitor, but he still believes there’s one area that needs huge improvement as he looks at the team this season.
“Leadership,” Strickland continued,”I have to step up and be a better leader because we lost a lot of seniors that filled that role. I’m going to be expected to be that leader and be vocal both on and off the court.”
Strickland will likely have to go JuCo once he graduates this season. I imagine with his ability to do a little bit of everything, he’ll have a nice list to choose from but currently no schools are contacting him consistently.
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