Lone Star Sleeper: Jinski Grigsby

Texas is the hot spot for basketball prospects. Just look at the current top 150 rankings for the class of 2005. There are 17 players from the Lone Star State on the list. But the ranked players aren’t the only prospects within the borders of the state. One player, Jinski Grigsby, had a solid summer and a dazzling game in Las Vegas and now he’s hoping to add his name to the list of his fellow statesmen.

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound small forward from Nacogdoches High School played with the Texas Blue Chips on the AAU circuit. He also made a splash at the ABCD camp, where he shot the ball well and attacked the basket, displaying his superb athleticism. But it was his 34 points, 15 rebound performance in Las Vegas against the Delaware Sharpshooters that really impressed coaches.

“That is when I went off,” Grigsby said with a laugh. “It was a nice one.”

Grigsby took the advice of college coaches and added weight to his lanky frame. He believes that change has morphed him into the aggressive, and confident, player he is now.

“Before last summer, a lot of the coaches that were recruiting me told me that I needed to get bigger. I was only 195,” Grigsby said. “I hit the weights and now I’m at 210. I guess that paid off. I used to get bumped around. Now I’m doing the bumping. Hopefully that brought some attention.”

Somewhat of a relative unknown on the national circuit, his play over July caught the attention of college recruiters. SMU and Wichita State are the most consistent schools recruiting him, he says. Since returning home off the summer circuit, Grigsby said he’s received letters from Texas A&M, Kansas, Tulsa and UConn.

“I’m open to whoever thinks I’m good for their program,” Grigsby said. “Their coach is huge. That is my main thing. The coach has to be cool. I’m going to play for him for four years so I have to like him and get along with him.”

Grigsby said he will take the ACT in October and maintains a 3.6 grade point average. Teamed with 2006 stud Damion James at Nacogdoches, Grigsby believes his prep team will be one of the top schools in Texas.