JTV Sports Quick Focus: Potter Gaining Confidence on Basketball Court at EJ

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(January 22, 2022 9:57 AM)  Confidence is a two-way street when it comes to high school athletics. 

Just as East Jackson High School junior Shonte Potter.

He didn’t want to get cut from his high school basketball team at Jackson High School so he didn’t participate in tryouts.

At East Jackson, he found a fresh start and some confidence on and off the basketball court.

Potter is one of the bright spots on the Trojans’ team – playing for the first time in any sport at the high school level.

“I don’t know why … I guess I didn’t want to get cut,” Potter explained Thursday after a game at Napoleon. “My AAU coach Ryan Zyla was going to be the coach at East Jackson, but it didn’t work out.

“I stuck with East Jackson.”

And the Trojans are pretty happy with that decision. Potter scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds against the Pirates.

“Shonte is a raw player and has some talent,” EJHS Coach Rodney Lowden said. “He is eager to learn.

“You can’t teach athleticism … on a good day he can dunk the basketball.”

Potter played AAU basketball at Michigan Sports Facility and at the YMCA, but being on the EJHS varsity basketball team is his first venture into high school athletics. 

“The biggest adjustment is executing plays,” Potter said. “I know that I have to work harder to get better.”

He expects to run track this spring and play football for the Trojans as a senior. 

“It boosts my confidence,” Potter said of the success on the basketball court at EJHS. “My cousin helped get me into the gym and get things right.”