Rock Hill’s Jada Jones is The Herald’s latest winter sports Player of the Week
Jada Jones of the Rock Hill girls’ basketball team is The Herald’s latest winter sports Player of the Week.
Last week, the 5-6 junior filled the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, seven steals, two blocks and eight deflections in a 56-38 win at Gaffney on Jan. 12 to help Rock Hill improve to 13-1 this season. Earlier this season, Rock Hill’s coaching staff confirmed that Jones also had a quadruple-double — with 11 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals — in a 75-49 win at Spring Valley on Jan. 8.
On the season, the Bearcat is averaging 16.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 5.1 steals per game.
There were 20,970 votes cast in this week’s poll — and it was an incredibly close one. Jones earned 41.4% of the vote, which was just enough to beat Chester wrestler Octaveon “Tank” Minter who notched 40.9% of the vote. (The two contestants were separated only by 103 votes.)
View the full results and a full list of the award’s candidates below.
This week’s finalists
Trinity Adams, South Pointe basketball: The 5-9 senior averaged 24 points, six rebounds and 4.5 steals per game to lead South Pointe to wins over Catawba Ridge and Victory Christian this past week: Adams had 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists and five steals in a 48-32 win over Victory Christian on Jan. 11, and then two days later, Adams had 19 points, four rebounds and four steals in a 42-29 victory at Catawba Ridge. Adams is averaging 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game for South Pointe (4-2) this season.
Gavin Bouldin, York Prep basketball: The 6-3 senior averaged 11.3 points and 10 rebounds per game as the Patriots beat Andrew Jackson, Buford and Central Pageland this week. Bouldin started the week with six points and 12 rebounds in a 66-48 win at Andrew Jackson on Jan. 11. The next day, Bouldin came back with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 105-35 victory over Buford. Bouldin finished off his week with 11 points and eight rebounds in a 90-42 win over Central Pageland to improve York Prep’s record to 13-3 this season.
Darby Grigg, Northwestern basketball: The Trojans’ sophomore point guard averaged 14 points and 4.5 steals in two contests against Blythewood this week. Grigg had 10 points, three rebounds and three steals in a 42-24 loss at Blythewood on Jan. 12. Grigg followed that up with 18 points, six steals, three assists and two steals in a win to Blythewood on Jan. 15. Grigg is averaging 10 points, four rebounds and three assists per game for Northwestern (4-6) this season.
Jada Jones, Rock Hill basketball.
Marcus Kell, Legion Collegiate basketball: The 6-7 junior averaged 16.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals in wins over Andrew Jackson and Chesterfield this week. Kell had 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, six steals and two blocks in an 82-43 win over Chesterfield on Jan. 13. Two nights later, Kell had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in a 63-59 at Andrew Jackson. Kell is averaging 15.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for a Lancers’ team (7-5) that has won three straight games.
Octavion “Tank” Minter, Chester wrestling: The Cyclones’ senior heavyweight was a perfect 4-0 on the mat this week with a win over Whitmire’s Chandley Crumley (1A/2A state runner-up last year) and a 13-second pin in another match. Minter is a perfect 7-0 this season.
Kyle Neibch, Fort Mill basketball: The 6-2 junior averaged 24.7 points per game in three wins over Boiling Springs (twice) and Arborbrook Christian this week. Neibch had 22 points and nine rebounds in a 79-57 win over Boiling Springs on Jan. 12. He followed that up with 32 points — including six 3-pointers — and seven rebounds in a 67-54 win at Boiling Springs on Jan. 15. To finish off the week, Neibch had 20 points and three rebounds in an 80-29 win over Arborbrook Christian on Jan. 16. Neibch averages 23.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest for a Fort Mill (5-4) team that has won five straight games.
Forrest Rozelle, Catawba Ridge wrestling: The Copperheads’ junior was a perfect 4-0 on the mat for Catawba Ridge this week. Rozelle, who competes in the 160-pound weight class, is 5-3 this season.
Ca’Darrius Sowell, Andrew Jackson basketball: The 6-2 guard averaged 21 points per game in three games for the Volunteers this week. Sowell had 11 points in a 66-48 loss to York Prep on Jan. 11. Two nights later, Sowell had 17 points in a 71-27 win over Chesterfield. The junior finished off his week with 35 points, six rebounds and four steals in a 63-59 loss to Legion Collegiate. Sowell is averaging 17.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and three assists per game for Andrew Jackson (5-3) this season.
Joshua Sturgeon, Fort Mill wrestling: The Fort Mill junior earned his 100th career victory to help the Yellow Jackets to a 53-18 win at Gaffney on Jan. 13. Sturgeon, who wrestles at 138 pounds this season, was the 5A state runner-up at 126 pounds last season. Fort Mill is currently 6-0.
View full results
If you can’t see the poll on your mobile device, click here to refresh the story.
Want to nominate?
Player of the week awards highlight high school players with outstanding performances. The goal is to recognize all athletes — both the most accomplished and the underrated or underappreciated players. If you want to suggest someone to be included in the ballot in future weeks, send an email to Jay Edwards at edwardswork23@gmail.com. Please include the athlete’s name, school, class and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 2:17 PM.
.jpeg)