Memphis Grizzlies: 3 Reasons To Like The Jarnell Stokes Signing

Hometown Kid

Stokes attended Southwind High School in Memphis. He was a star there and many college scouts took notice.

His stellar play led to him becoming a top prospect as 247Sports had him ranked as the 41st top prospect in his class.

He enrolled in January of 2012 at Tennessee and still made a big impact that season. He started 14 of the 17 games he played in averaging 9.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game.

In his first two collegiate seasons the team only made it to the NIT where they were unable to make it past the second round but the third year they were able to make the NCAA Tournament.

While the team was getting to the next level Stokes’ game did the same thing. He averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in what turned out to be his last season in college.

They made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen as an 11 seed where they fell to 2nd seeded Michigan after they had been selected to play in the First Four after being one of the last four at-large teams selected.

He isn’t going to have the same impact as he did in college but the fans are already familiar with him and he could become a fan favorite right away.

His play in college was good in all three seasons and he has continued to improve as a basketball player each year since then.

The Grizzlies wouldn’t have brought him back if they didn’t see big improvements from his first stint with the team. A lot of that is due to his stellar G-League play.