Longmont High Graduate Drafted into NBA
On November 18, the Golden State Warriors selected 6’7” shooting guard and Longmont High class of 2016 graduate Justinian Jessup with the 51st pick in the 2020 NBA draft.
In his time at Longmont High School, Jessup received a varsity basketball letter all four years. As a junior, he was named the Colorado 4A player of the year and took the Trojans to the state championship game. Jessup continued this success as a senior averaging 18.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.6 steals and leading Longmont to an impressive 25-2 record. He was selected as a first-team all-state player and was named Northern League Athlete of the year. As a prominent high school player, Jessup attracted interest from collegiate programs and decided to continue his basketball career at Boise State University.
From day one at Boise State, Jessup was a key part of the program and sustained a high level of play throughout his four years. Jessup averaged a team-leading 16 points as a senior and shot an incredible 96 percent from the free-throw line. His most notable attribute, however, was his shooting ability beyond the three-point arc. Jessup set the Boise State school record for most career three-pointers made with 325 threes, smashing the previous record of 275 while shooting 40 percent on three-pointers in his collegiate career.
Jessup graduated from Boise State in the spring of 2020 and looked to play at the next level. At 6’7″, Jessup has above average height for a shooting guard. His size, when combined with his high release and impressive three-point shooting, made Jessup an ideal candidate to play professionally. However, this year’s NBA draft class was filled with talent across the board, and with only 60 picks in the entire draft, the odds of getting selected were slim. Many reputable mock drafts did not have Jessup in their predicted picks.
Due to all uncertainty around whether he would get drafted, in August of 2020 Jessup signed with the Illawarra Hawks, a professional team in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL). However, Jessup did have a clause in his contract that enabled him to be eligible for the NBA draft and gave the NBA team who would draft him the option to let him play with the Hawks for a year. The Hawks gained significant popularity over the last year when high school basketball phenom Lamelo Ball signed with the team. They are known for developing NBA caliber players and could be a solid fit for Jessup.
Come draft night, most prospective draftees were surrounded by friends and family who congratulated them with hugs and cheers, but this was not the case for Jessup. He was by himself in an Australian hotel room, watching the draft on a live stream, when he heard the NBA commissioner call his name. The championship dynasty Golden State Warriors had selected him late in the second round. Only about 1.2 percent of division 1 NCAA players and just 0.03 percent of high school varsity players get drafted into the NBA, but Jessup beat the odds.
It is still unclear whether the Warriors will choose to let Jessup play a season in Australia to develop his skills and then use him later down the road, or if they will add him to the Golden State roster this upcoming season. Either way, Justinian Jessup has a bright future ahead of him.
Conner Reagan is a senior at Boulder High School and a new staff member of The Owl. He is interested in a number of journalistic topics ranging from local and national sports to contemporary social and political issues. This year, Conner is eager to learn more about his peers and the Boulder High community while also working to improve his writing. Outside of school, Conner is a member of the Boulder High basketball team and one of four returning varsity players. When he is not on the court, you can find him hitting the slopes on a powder day or enjoying quality time with his friends. Conner has a golden retriever named Nala and is the youngest of four kids, all of whom attended Boulder High...
Mac Richardson • Dec 14, 2020 at 9:05 pm
I heard about this briefly from friends and family and it was great to hear an article about him. Making it to the NBA keeps on getting harder and harder especially this year with all the worldwide talent. This is super inspirational to hear. I never knew longmont had pro caliber players, Jessup proved my assumption wrong. Stated the statistical side to reaching the pros was a very good tactic in writing this article. It still amazes me to this day of how many division 1 NCAA players make it through considering how talented all the players are at that level.
Eve Bleam • Dec 14, 2020 at 8:21 pm
This article is very cool and stories about kids from smaller towns making it to the NBA or national and pro teams for any sport are always motivating to hear about. The chances of players going pro are very slim and the number of people who want to go pro vs. the number of people that actually do is very different. Stories about kids like Jessup can impact someone a lot more than you could expect and could be the motivation for someone to chase their dream and go pro.
Evan Hassan • Dec 14, 2020 at 6:29 pm
This was a very interesting article to read. It is cool that Boulder/Longmont area is producing professional sports talent. I know that there aren’t that many professional sports players from Boulder/Longmont area(besides bikers), I believe the most famous is Tony Boselli. The statistics about who makes the NBA from Varsity and NCAA is extremely interesting, it really shows how much work athletes have to put in. Also I had no idea that he played with LaMelo Ball overseas, I wonder if he got to meet LaVar Ball, that guy is a character. Loved the article!
Quinn Besser • Dec 14, 2020 at 3:17 pm
It’s so nice to hear stories like this when for so many making it to the big leagues like the NBA seems impossible to so many. Jessup definitely had to persevere to make it to the level that he’s at when so many are unwilling to put in the time and work that it takes. For many this will give them the extra boost of confidence knowing that anyone can make it if they just never give up on their dream. It’s crazy to think that for the NBA there is such a small chance that you will get drafted with so little spots and so much competition, almost seems like a miracle for him. I had no idea that Lamelo Ball was currently playing overseas, I’m sure that that experience playing with other competitors at a higher level will better prepare him for the NBA. Great Article!
Morgan Srednick • Dec 11, 2020 at 4:34 pm
Super interesting and exciting article! It’s cool this player was an MVP all through high school, and was renowned as the Colorado 4A player. The contrast between other draftees and him was another interesting and almost ironic component, and I really liked how you brought that up in a conclusion. Jessup seems like he definitely has a big and successful future ahead of him. Great piece!
Jonathan Wright • Dec 3, 2020 at 9:04 am
Of course, as a former basketball player and fan, I found it very interesting that a player from Longmont made it into the NBA. I just never really thought of Longmont as a breeding ground for NBA talent—very cool.