JERRY EASTER II LEADS #1 LINK ACADEMY HS TEAM INTO 24-25 SEASON;
IS EASTER THE MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER IN THE CLASS?
by Deon Cash
As Jerry Easter II comes into the senior season with the #1 ranked team in High School hoops, after another incredible summer, one must wonder what he has to do to elevate his ranking.
Easter, who has been a top 10 player since the 8th grade, has seemingly slipped to the 30-40 range over the last few seasons, despite having over 50 offers before the season has even started.
And nobody understands why.
Even Easter II is a little surprised at the drop.
He has done nothing but dominate his competition over his high school career, which makes the rankings baffling, and to be honest, invalid.
Here's a short recap of Easter and his highlights over his HS career:
As a freshman Easter II, who stands at 6'5, averaged 25ppg and 10 rebounds for Emanuel Christian HS, located in the Toledo, Ohio area. Easter was completely dominant all season with some crazy numbers all season.
He even had a game where be went for a quadruple double as a freshman (40-13-10-12) with Kentucky star and NBA hooper Tyler Ulis watching in the stands.
After seeing the game in person, there was no doubt that he was a top tier hooper then and one of the best freshman in the country.
After his freshman year, Easter was #22 in his class.
He would then ball out in the EYBL Summer League, showing that his freshman season was no joke. He got invited to Team USA Tryouts where he played well. He played with All-Ohio Red.
He also would be featured in the LeBron James movie, and it seemed as if he was on his way to stardom.
He would average 33 points and 11 rebounds per game in his Sophomore year, and make OHSAA All -State honors and Player of the Year in the Region.
He also was a Mr Basketball candidate as a sophomore.
He was neck and neck with one of the top players in the class from Ohio as well in Darryn Peterson Jr. They were both ranked in the top 10 in Ohio hoops.
He then would play in the EYBL circuit, and was one of the top 10 undercassmen in scoring, solidaritying himself as a Top 10-20 player. He was playing up against Cooper Flagg, V.J. Edgecombe, and the top tier hoopers in the 2024 class.
He was invited once again to the Team USA Trials, where he played well.
However, for some reason, he would only move up two spots to #20.
Prior to Easter II junior year, after some rumblings between the coach and the star player, Easter II decided to take his talent to the EYBL Scholar circuit, playing alongside the likes of highly ranked players such as Darius Adams, Jalen Harrelson and others at highly touted La Lumiere Prep in Indiana.
He would dominate the circuit, landing in the Top 5 in scoring in the EYBL Scholar League, en route to leading La Lumiere to a Top 6 finish nationally and a quaterfinal berth.
Easter, a powerfully built guard, would lead La Lumiere in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists on the season, even with the likes of Harralson and Adams on the team.
Easter scored more points than Cooper Flagg, The Boozer brothers, A.J.Dybansta, and nearly every other top 10 player that was in the Scholar League.
He then went into a frenzy this summer, averaging nearly 20ppg in the EYBL summer circuit once again against all the top talent.
This summer he played with Team Final Jalen Duren (Philly Based team) last summer and All-Ohio AAU the last couple summers before that.
After the EYBL summer circuit ended he would end up on the 1st team.
Easter would be invited on a Who's Who list of "High Profile Showcases", Elite Camps, and even had the chance to work with Kyrie Irving.
Here are the notable events and camps he went to.
- Chris Brickley Invitational - Dominated in 1v1 battles; Brickley was impressed and already invited him back next summer
- Pangos Camp -Was the MVP of the camp
- NBA Top 100 - Undefeated and won the championship as the Point Guard
- Got Invited to the prestigous CP3 Camp in Las Vegas and showed out
- Was invited to Adidas Formula Camp (Arizona) Had a very good showing.
- Was invited to prestigious Wooten Camp - And was mic'd up. He had arguably his best showing all summer.
- Invited to USA Trials
And after it all NBA Future Hall of Famer Kyrie Irving flew Jerry out to work out with him.
Now, for some reason, Easter II is ranked in the 30s.
How?
There seems to be something brewing with the rankings.
Easter II has over 50 D-1 schools clamoring for his services, including the likes of Ohio State, USC, SMU, Miami, Baylor, and others.
He had over 10 schools offering a scholarship before he even got to high school.
Although its early, Easter II recently hit a buzzer beater over Indian Hills JC. Indian Hills JC is one of the top JUCOS in the country, year in and year out.
Easters buzzer beater was so smooth, it has become the norm. He makes it look so easy.
Jerry Easter GW Shot Over Indian Hills
While the experts continue to miss on Easter, the top team in the country is estastic to have him.
Link Academy Chad Meyers and his staff is thrilled to have Easter, as the season starts at home against tonight as they start the season at the top of the mountain.
While the Easter II haters and pundits continue to throw shade, there is no doubting that Easter II full body of work is second to none.
And for the narrative that Easter II is chasing money?
You can dead that, as Easter was offered nearly a million dollars as a underclassman to forgo High school and play at OTE after his Emmanuel Christian days.
However Easter II and his family declined as they wanted him to develop and make his decision later in the process.
Now Easter has a golden chance to show everyone how he will not be stopped on his journey to a championship, the next level, a McDonalds All-American nod, and a Top 10-15 ranking.
Because anybody who has watched him knows that's exactly where he should be.
Easter II will be making his decision later this month, and with the likes of Oregon, USC, Ohio State, Miami, SMU, and others vying for his talent? Look for a frenetic finish to try to get arguably the best player in HS from Ohio this season.
Will be a show this season for Easter II. Don't miss it.
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