Is Jahsemar Olembe the best uncommitted Prospect in the C/O 2023?
When evaluating prospects, there are a lot of factors that come into play. You have the tangibles: size, skill, talent, & production. Then, you have the intangibles: effort level, confidence, mental toughness, coachability, IQ. The best prospects always have high level tangibles and intangibles.
There’s a common debate in the scouting world of what holds more weight when evaluating, potential or production? Is the better projected prospect one that has great talent but still needs to learn the game? They always say “you can’t teach height”. Or is it the prospect that’s produced at every level he’s played at, but might lack traditional size and athleticism? It’s important to consider a balance of both when projecting.
Enter Jahsemar Olembe. 6’5 PG with great size for position, an all-around skillset & high IQ. Most recently, he’s been producing at a higher level than ever.
Just two weeks ago, he won the Canadian National Invitational Tournament Championship scoring 33 points in the finals taking home MVP Honours.
Shortly after, this past weekend he won the NPHShowcase League Championship, putting up 20 points & 12 rebounds while picking up another MVP Award.
His Supreme Hoops Squad ran the table this summer. Everyone had a role to play and stepped up in the biggest moments.
“I took the year off and I’ve been training with Bobby Allen. He’s helped me improve my game and change my mentality. Every time I step on the court I want to dominate my competition, and most importantly win.”
Jahsemar’s versatility is probably my favourite part of his game. If you need him to score, he’ll give you 30 off getting to the midrange and rising up, posting up smaller guards and scoring inside, or attacking the defence to get to the line time and time again. Extremely crafty.
If you need him to facilitate, he’ll take what the defence gives him, draw doubles and hit the open teammate.
As mentioned, there are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to player evaluation. With that said, there are times when we simply must stop overthinking it and say to ourselves: “that guy can flat out hoop”
For a player to check off nearly every box when it comes to tangibles, intangibles, all while producing at a high level is special. To me, it’s crazy that Olembe’s still available. However the program that lands him will know what they’re getting, and that’s a flat-out good basketball player.
