Middle Early College’s JoJo Staton Making a Big Impact

Despite standing at only 5’7 ½”, Middle Early College’s JoJo Staton is garnering some serious attention up north.

The point guard has come on the scene in a major way this season and is using his sweet shooting stroke and strong overall skill-set to help Middle Early College to a 11-4 record and a number 6 ranking in the latest Class C state polls.

Due to his lack of size, Staton has had to get creative in finding ways to be productive, but if this breakout season is any indication he has mastered that skill. “I think my best attribute is scoring. I think I’ve learned over the years how to get my shot off. With me being how short I am, I have to do different things to get my shot off.  Because I’m a shooter I think the best for me is coming off screens and moving around and getting the ball in a place where I can score.”

But Staton is more than just a shooter. A major reason for Middle College’s success this year has been Staton’s ability to take major strides on the defensive end. “My freshman year I wasn’t a good defensive player, I didn’t play a lot of defense, but over the years my coach has really told me that I need to work on that if I’m thinking about going to the D1 level, so I really have been working hard on that the last two years. “

Staton’s improvement has been evident, but he also has taken a bigger role off the court, saying that this year he has accepted a leadership role with the Kats, attempting to create a strong basketball culture for his team. “I get my teammates involved a lot because I want them to have the same passion that I have for the game. I take them to the gym with me we work on a lot together as a team,” said Stanton. “My goals are just to get my team to states as it is every year, and just to become more of a family. We’re all juniors so we’re all young, and we’re just now coming together so we want to just become more of a brotherhood and more of a family.”

With still another year full year plus the remainder of this season, Staton says he’s not focused on what his next still will be after high school, saying he is focused on getting his team to states and getting a high school degree. However, he did mention that he is currently being recruited by several schools at the Division Two level.

After making it all the way to the Class C Championship game last season before falling to Hoosic Valley, Middle College will be relying on Staton to help get them over the hump this season.

Once his run with the Kats ends, Staton is looking to try out for the prestigious Albany City Rocks for AAU season which he thinks will be a major step in getting his name out to bigger schools if he can make the team. “I think if I play for the City Rocks that will really be my breakout. This year has been a really good year for me so far, my name has really gotten around so playing with them is just going to get my farther and get me a few more looks.”

JoJo Staton and Middle College will look to keep up their winning ways as they take on South Park in their next game on Tuesday night.

Ross Bentley-Staff writer