The steady improvement of athletic 2005 small forward Jonathan Adams out of The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee has numerous high major schools watching him closely.

In a game earlier this year against Brentwood (Tenn.) Academy and 6-foot-9 super sophomore Brandon Wright, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Adams scored 34 points. Tennessee head coach Buzz Peterson was there to watch the outburst.

“Wright guarded him on and off, but he really couldn’t guard him,” said Baylor coach Austin Clark. “Jonathan took him outside and drove on him. Jonathan is a legitimate threat from behind the arc. He hit 6 threes in one game.”

Scoring 34 points with one of the best high school shot blockers on the court is quite a statement.

Although Adams, who plays in the summer for Charlie Benson’s Tennessee Travelers program and is the state high jump champion, can catch and shoot the three and is athletic enough to finish at the basket, there are questions about his mid-range game. However, based on the improvement of his long range shot and his natural ability, the development of his mid-range game should be soon to follow.

Coach Clark, like most coaches, would like to see his star player improve at other areas of the game as well.

“The jury is still out on Jonathan,” he said. “He needs to be more consistent and do things like play on both ends of the court and rebound. Sometimes he will take possessions off. He still needs to develop a killer instinct, but I think that will come. He is really young. He will not turn 17 till late May.”

Well, despite his coach’s yearning for constant improvement, Adams is averaging 21 points and 12 rebounds per game. And as to the “jury,” it is a pretty large jury.

Coach Clark listed NC State, Florida, Louisville, Kentucky, Alabama, Connecticut, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, DePaul, Kansas, and Western Kentucky as schools that have been calling about Adams.

“Alabama was in the other day to watch him,” Coach Clark said. “DePaul is coming in on Saturday. And he might visit NC State soon. That is where his mother played basketball. I also think Western Kentucky is trying to get him up to watch a game.”