Q: How many schools do you have offers from? From Whom? 

A: Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Missouri, Kansas, Washington, Indiana, Stanford, UCLA… I can’t name them all, but I have offers from most of the high major schools.

 

Q: Are there any frontrunners as of now?

A: Well, I wouldn’t say there are any frontrunners right now, but I have been talking to Washington a lot lately. I’ve been talking to Missouri a lot lately, and I’ve been talking to Kansas a lot lately.

 

Q: Do you have a timetable for when you plan on making your decision? 

A: Hopefully, I will make my decision by the end of next summer.

 

Q:What are you looking for in a school when deciding where to commit?

A: I’m just looking for tradition, just how the program has done in the past, how they develop their players, and the atmosphere of the school. I want to have a coach that relates to his players, lets the players coach and is more of a teaching coach. A coach that realizes what his players need to contribute to the team.

 

Q: How have you handled the pressure of being a top five player in the 2017 class?

A: There is some pressure that comes with it. Some people might take it as, ‘dang I already made it. I don’t need to work anymore’, but with someone like me, I see it as, once you get here,  It’s harder to stay at the top than to make it to the top. I don’t let the pressure bother me as much because I know, I need to keep working.

 

Q: How have your friends and family influenced you throughout your basketball career, and more specifically, the recruiting process?

A: My parents have both been through the process before, so they help me a lot with everything. Both of my sisters, who are at Missouri, also went through the recruiting process, so they also help me a lot. My dad helps with a lot of the stuff for me.

 

Q: Your brother committed to Washington this past summer. How does his commitment affect you when deciding where to play college basketball?

A: I didn’t affect me too much, just because more than likely, I will be a one and done player, so I wouldn’t be playing with my brother anyway, if I left college after one year.

 

Q: You plan on being a one and done player? 

A: Yeah, hopefully. 

 

Q: There have also been talks of a package deal between you and Trae Young. Do the two of you still plan on making that happen? 

A: It’s a little harder than you would think, becoming a package deal with someone unless you live in the same exact area. He lives in Oklahoma and I live in Mizzou. He has schools like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State recruiting him, but if we can make it happen then we definitely will, but it’s a lot harder than you would think.

 

Q: How does it help you as a player, being able to play with your brother, Jontay at Father Tolton Catholic High School? 

A: It’s really cool man. We work off of each other really well. We take a lot of the pressure of scoring the ball off of each other, we really enjoy playing together. Whether we are at home or school, it’s really cool being able to play with each other.

 

Q: What are your goals for the upcoming season? 

A: For me, I just want to be the best leader that I can be. Lead our team to the state championship, and hopefully win player of the year for the state of Missouri. For the team, we just want to do what we couldn’t do last year and win state.

 

Q: What are your goals for the future, beyond high school? 
A: First, I want to get to college and have a great year of college, not take anything too quick, and then go to the NBA. Once I’m there, I want to be more than an average player. I just want to keep working and never be satisfied.

 

Q: What do you feel are the greatest strengths and weaknesses in your game? How do you plan to improve those skills?

A: My biggest strength is probably, ball handling, shooting, and my athleticism. My biggest weakness is that I coach too much and sometimes I don’t give enough effort on a particular play. Also, my stamina and my conditioning, sometimes I take a break, so I have to get back in shape. Now that the season has started, everyday in practice, we are running a lot, so I’ll feel good by the time our first game starts. My other weakness is… I’m just working on my mindset. I think stamina, conditioning, and all that stuff will help with that. Sometimes, I conserve my energy until the end of the game, but with conditioning, I shouldn’t do that anymore.

 

Q: Is there any player that you try to model your game after? What player are you most compared to? 

A: Nowadays, I’m compared a lot to the old Tracy McGrady, just that athletic style of play. He can shoot the ball well.

 

Q: How would you compare your game to your brother, Jontay's game?

A: We’re completely different players. We’re both very versatile, but the way we score, the way we do stuff is a lot different. In a way, it’s kind of similar because we can both shoot, we both like to handle the ball. I wouldn’t necessarily know how to compare our games, but I can tell you that we both can score in a lot of different ways and we are both comfortable in our position.

 

Q: Do you have any pregame routines? 

A: Yeah, in the locker room, we usually do a little dance, but for me personally, I don’t have any pregame routines.

 

Q: What game are you most looking forward to this year? 

A: The first game. I'm ready to go. 

 

Q: Have you played any sports aside from basketball? 

A: I played football until seventh grade. I actually played football, basketball, and soccer all at the same time and I decided to focus just on basketball when I got to seventh grade.

 

Q: How has playing other sports helped you improve as a basketball player?

A: From what I’ve heard, one of the worst things you can do is just play one sport. So, I think playing football, learning how to use those different muscles, I think that helped a lot in my early development.

 

Q: How has playing with your AAU team, Mokan Elite, helped you improve your game?

A: Summer basketball and school basketball are two completely different things. Summer basketball is way more physical, way more competition, so when you go from AAU ball to school ball, school ball seems easy. That’s a big way that it has helped me.

 

Q: What obstacles have you had to overcome to get to where you are today? 

A: Right now, I’m doing a lot of rehab on my back. I fell on my back, not too long ago. That’s why I took a break for a little bit. I’m trying to get back in shape because I hurt my back. I haven’t really had too many big injuries besides that one so, I’m blessed.

 

Q: And lastly, What motivates you to continue to pursue your goals as a basketball player? 

A: My parents. My mom is always doing all this for the sports and my dad, they both motivate me. Playing for God’s glory and trying to give back to him, a fraction of what he has given me, so that’s what motivates me.