Player Capsule: Adam Jollie
St. John sophomore Adam Jollie loves to do the dirty work.
The 6-foot-1 forward prides himself on defense and isn’t afraid to take on the task of guarding the Woodchucks opponents best player.
“I’ve always liked defense,” Jollie said Tuesday evening. “During middle school I used to like scoring but freshman year I actually realized I was good at defense and every since that I’ve been priding myself on that.”
St. John had never been to the North Dakota Class B state tournament until this season when they earned a third-place after defeating Carrington, 56-52.
However, Jollie become more of a scoring threat at the state tournament this past March compared to his role during the regular season and averaged 9.6 points per game, 1.3 steals and shot 72.2 percent from the floor.
“At the beginning of my sophomore season I felt I could’ve done better,” Jollie admitted.
“But I just got to be more of a defensive player and at state time I really needed to start rebounding more and once I got the rebounds I put them back up.”
Jollie isn’t the best outside shooter and he knows that’s one of his weaknesses. This summer his plans are to get in the gym as much as possible and will spend time with his traveling summer league team, which is mostly made of players from St. John.
The Woodchucks lose eight seniors, 89 percent of their scoring and All-State First Team selection in Kyler McGillis.
So, Jollie will have to step up next season to fill some big shoes. And that might mean scoring at a higher clip than he did this season.
“I will probably be in the post a lot this (next) year,” he added. “(I hope to increase) my defensive stats, my rebounds, and steals probably.”
By the Numbers
110: Jollie scored 110 points in St. John first 24 games and averaged 4.6 points per game. He shot 52 percent from the field and dished out about three assists a game.
52: The percentage he shot from the floor this season. Jollie had the second highest shooting percentage on the roster for players that took more then 75 attempts. In three games at the state tournament Jollie finished 13 of 18 from the field.
16: Jollie committed just 16 turnovers during his sophomore season. When the ball was in his hands he made sure to keep it in the possession of his team.
What’s Next:
Jollie will spend the summer working on his mid range and three-point shot as well as getting faster and stronger. With two more years left of high school basketball he isn’t sure what his basketball plans are after he graduates. But if given the opportunity, Jollie said he’d play at the collegiate level as its been a life goal of his.