Omari Forts has coached at Tri-Cities High School for 20 years. His teams have won three state championships, including the Class 5A title a year ago. He is one of the more respected basketball men in Georgia.
So when Forts makes a statement about a player, you can count on him being straight-up honest.
That’s why it carries a lot of weight when he says senior Jalan Wingfield is the most talented player he’s ever coached.
“I didn’t say he’s the best, but he’s the most talented,” Forts said. “He has confident ability. There’s very little he can’t do on a basketball court. Now, the part he has to continue to develop and understand is that it’s not always about talent — and his talent is superior — but you have to have superior attention to detail in order to maximize it. And that’s where we’re going.”
Standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 230 pounds, Wingfield has length and quickness that drive opponents to despair. His ability and work ethic have helped him become a four-star prospect, rated as high as the No. 15 power forward in the country, and was one of three players signed by Georgia Tech in the fall.
He is a marked man whenever Tri-Cities takes the court. And he’s OK with that.
“Actually, that’s a good feeling,” Wingfield said. “It makes me feel like I’ve got a bull’s-eye on my back. I’m glad I’ve got that because I want to keep getting pushed. I don’t want to be where everybody just knows I’m good. I want to be great.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Wingfield’s numbers are good. This season he is averaging 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 steals. As a junior, his first season at Tri-Cities since moving from Thomas County Central, Wingfield averaged 16 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and was the MVP of the state championship, producing 22 points and 19 rebounds in the 66-55 win over Woodward Academy.
Wingfield always has lived with high expectations. His father is Dontonio Wingfield, one of the great high school players in Georgia basketball. Wingfield led Westover of Albany to four consecutive state championships from 1990-93 and was named to the McDonald’s All-American team. Wingfield went on to play at Cincinnati, where he spent one season before declaring for the NBA. He was a second-round draft pick and spent four seasons in a star-crossed NBA career.
With such patronage comes high expectations, as well as a few perks. He recently had a conversation with Shawn Kemp, who played with his father in Portland.
“Just hearing the voice of Shawn Kemp telling me how to play the game, and telling me how I can control the pace of the game. and him telling me to play over the rim, just like him, in high school,” Jalan Wingfield said.
And Wingfield was drawn to Tech coach Damon Stoudamire, who was the point guard in Portland when his father played there.
“I knew being a Yellow Jacket was going to be the main thing because I want to stay in Georgia. I’m a city boy,” he said. “I knew I was going there from Day One.”
Although the physical skills are there, Wingfield is not a finished product. He’s been working to make himself better and has seen the results.
“I’ve gotten better by adding more muscle, working on my ball handling, making sure the jumper isn’t flat, and by playing hard on defense, making defense my main focus,” he said.
Tri-Cities takes a misleading 5-9 record into Tuesday’s home game against Arabia Mountain. The Panthers have lost to state powerhouses like Wheeler, McEachern and North Oconee and dropped games to region rivals Woodward Academy and Decatur, both top-10 teams.
Wingfield said: “I still think we’re going to be the Class 5A state champ, even though we’re 5-9 right now. It’s a hard season and we understand that. I think we’ve played the toughest schedule in 5A.”
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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