Summer hoop dreams: A trio of young players play against pros as they train for future
Three players, each with a unique skill set. Three players with plenty to prove as they carry basketball expectations of their own and those who watch them.
This is not a summer to relax and dive into a pool, so Ameere Britton, Andrej Stojakovic and Jaylen Wells work on their games to the point of exhaustion, sweat soaking their shirts in a slow drip.
Britton, of Elk Grove High School, and Wells, of Folsom, are the previous two Sacramento Bee Players of the Year. Stojakovic is as likely a choice to be the next winner as anyone can imagine.
He is a sight to behold, a 6-foot-7 senior-to-be at Jesuit, the guy who doesn’t just drop perspiration but drips with skills and tenacity. He might be recognized as “Peja’s Kid,” the son of Kings All-Star forward Peja Stojakovic, but he has quickly carved out his own hoops legacy. The guard is his own guy, a fast-rising national recruit with global appeal from his Greek roots. Every major program has sent compliments and scholarship offers his way. At this rate, Peja may someday be known as the father of All-Star Andrej Stojakovic.
Britton is the relentless, 6-foot-1, ball-hawking floor leader who led the Elk Grove Thundering Herd to a historic season this past winter. Wells is an example of the classic late bloomer, who grew to 6-7 by his senior season at Folsom and is preparing for his sophomore season at Division II Sonoma State.
The three are intertwined, linked by legacy, their shared passion to ball and by Guss Armstead, the noted specialist coach who opens the gym doors every morning for anyone who wants to hone his craft. This trio shows up regularly. They have competed in summer Pro-Am leagues or working on dribbling, passing and skill work at Sports Courts Fitness, with Armstead barking instructions and offering input.
In these settings, games or practices, no one cares what sort of honors one has earned or how famous one’s father is. It’s man on man. Every rebound is a prize, so grown men scrap for every loose ball. No one gives any of this trio a break, certainly not from guys collecting paychecks on the professional circuit across the globe, be it Egypt, Israel, Japan, Portugal or even the Miami Heat. That would be guard Gabe Vincent, a Modesto and Stockton native who has played three seasons with the Heat.
This has been a summer of reflection for Britton, Stojakovic and Wells, each an inspiration and each an example of what work ethic and attitude can do.
Britton the beast
Britton, for as long as he can recall, has competed at one level: frenetic ... or faster. His shock of curly hair makes him look taller and all the more menacing as an in-your-face defender, a guy as unflappable as he is determined.
Why so feisty?
“I’m the youngest in my family, so you have to be,” Britton said with a laugh. “It’s just the way I am. I love to compete.”
Britton was the power source for Elk Grove’s State Division II championship team, guiding just the sixth regional team to win state honors since the CIF started the event in 1981. Scoring off the dribble, with pull-ups in the lane, or off steals or from 3-point range, Britton averaged 18.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.1 blocks. He became Elk Grove’s first Player of the Year in this sport since Bill Cartwright repeated in 1974 and ‘75 before embarking on an All-America career at San Francisco and winning three NBA championships as the starting center for the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in the early 1990s.
Said Elk Grove coach Dustin Monday of Britton, “He gave us everything.”
All Britton wanted in return was team success, and he got that. He also wanted a full athletic scholarship, which took a while. He is a striking reminder of how competitive the scholarship waters can be. For all of his tenacity, the knock was that Britton needed to refine his outside shot, to work on his dribble. He does so every day.
He accepted an offer to sign with Cal State Monterey Bay, a Division II program in one of the beautiful parts of the state.
“I feel I can hang with these guys,” Britton said of the workouts and summer Pro-Am action. “But I have a lot more work to do. I need to work on everything: Dribbling, shooting. I’m super appreciative of all of this and it’s accelerated my basketball learning.”
Britton didn’t hesitate doing his thing in the Pro-Am, a collection of college and pro guys and the periodic prep star under the direction of Armstead, the father of San Francisco 49ers lineman Arik Armstead. Britton stalked ball-handlers. He attacked the rim. He ran the break.
And he was human. He made mistakes.
“I smoked a layup in one summer game, missed it, and the guys were telling me, ‘Don’t worry. You belong,’” Britton said. “It was good to hear that.”
Said Armstead, “Ameere’s tough, not afraid of anyone. Ninety percent of the guys he’s going against here are professionals. They’re men. He didn’t back down. He dunked. He has the intangibles and the desire. I think he was a D-I college guy but we’re in a different basketball time with COVID causing a lot of backlogs and the NCAA transfer portal also full, so he’s a nice player for Monterey Bay.”
Britton had the best defensive game of his prep career in a playoff game against Jesuit and Stojakovic. Britton’s harassing on-ball defense forced Stojakovic into eight first-half turnovers in an Elk Grove win, and Stojakovic heaped praise later saying, “He’s a great defender.”
Britton sized up his overall plight this way: “I’m excited about college, about what I can do. I’ll just keep working. At the end of the day, it’s a marathon. A few months of hard work can change your life, or you can blow it by not working or caring.”
Andrej the destroyer
Stojakovic was a curious talent as a sophomore at Jesuit and a proven one by his junior campaign. He suddenly became the area’s most intriguing recruit prospect for his size, instincts and skill set. What is it the 17-year-old can’t do?
He can handle the ball with either hand, and on the fly, and in traffic. He can pass. He races off screens to get shots. He has unlimited range. He’s crafty and determined on the break and in the paint. He has Euro skills and some scrap to him. He doesn’t get rattled, and he continued to flourish in the summer AAU circuit. At Jesuit, Stojakovic averaged 25.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.5 assist and 1.4 steals a game. He effortlessly peeled off games of 42 points, 33, 35 and 31 against teams geared to stall him.
“There’s a reason so many big colleges are chasing him,” Armstead said. “He’s the total package. When guarding him in high school, you’ve got to send a lot of help. A lot of it, otherwise, it’s not going to work.”
In these workouts or games under Armstead, Stojakovic was usually the youngest player, but in a lot of instances, he was also perhaps the one with the most upside. He is still growing into his body. His father topped out at 6-10. The kid is still growing. This summer, Stojakovic dealt with a great deal more physicality than in the prep or AAU summer circuit. He invited all of it.
“I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve gotten stronger, learning to play through contact,” said Stojakovic, who has the same affable mannerisms of his father. “It’s been a great summer.”
The scholarship offers are pouring in: Cal, Stanford, Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, Kansas, Texas, Florida, Connecticut. More will come. That’s how this game works. Stojakovic will spend the rest of his summer starting this week in Greece, where his father was a player of national renown and where the kid played last summer, also against older competition.
“My dad taught me everything about this sport,” Stojakovic said. “I’m super thankful. The way I was raised, if you didn’t give it your all, then you didn’t give enough. We talk about basketball all the time. There’s always more I can improve on. There’s always a rebound to get, a better pass to make.”
Said the father during a prep game this past season, “I’m proud of him. He works hard. He wants to be good.”
The younger Stojakovic also doesn’t want to be defined as just a ball player. He’s more than that.
“When I’m not playing, I like to listen to music, watch TV, hang out with friends, and a lot of my friends don’t play basketball, so it’s good for me,” Stojakovic said.
As for the recruiting interest, Stojakovic is moved and wowed, saying, “I’m super excited and super grateful for all of it but it can be overwhelming.”
Stojakovic will announce his college choice before the start of his senior academic year at Jesuit. Jesuit coach Tim Kelly has called his star, “A great talent” and reminds that he is as good of a young man as he is a baller.
Wow factor Wells
Wells is a late bloomer who continues to bloom. He was 6-2 as a junior at Folsom, a regional basketball power under coach Mike Wall, who marveled at his Wells’ ability to do anything on the floor. By his senior season, Wells was 6-6, and he merged his dribbling and outside scoring feats with his growing power inside game.
As a Folsom senior, Wells started games at point guard, forward and center, and he averaged 26.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists. When COVID-19 shut down schools and sports, Wells never broke stride. He found a gym. He kept working.
Wall sized up Wells, “The neat thing about Jaylen is he grew but he didn’t wait to grow, so he worked his butt off to be the best guard he could at 6-2. He kept working hard and developing his game, and when his body caught up and he had the height to go with his game, he became dominant. It’s a lesson in life. You can’t wait to see how you turn out physically, so be the best you can be, and if you get big, you do, or you don’t.”
Wells got bigger but never became a big national recruit. That still fuels him. He landed at Sonoma State. His late growth spurt kept him off the radar and the shutdowns of COVID-19 didn’t help, not to mention the backlog of players who were granted an extra year of eligibility across the college landscape.
Wells last season as a true freshman led Sonoma State in minutes played (30.6), points (12.6 average) and rebounding (6.8). But the losses mounted, which pained the quiet Wells.
“I want to win this year,” Wells said. “We went 3-25 last year. It was tough. I can do more. More scoring, more rebounding.”
Wells in this era of people jumping into the NCAA transfer portal has remained firm. He has a job to finish.
“I want to build something,” he said.
In the summer workouts under Armstead, Wells has held his own. He bangs inside. He’s spun inside for buckets. He hustles for rebounds. He runs the floor. He will finish his summer in the Bay Area on a Pro-Am team. More games, more chances to improve. More momentum heading into his next Sonoma State season.
“I’ve learned so much,” Wells said. “You’ve got to always prove yourself when you’re the young one.”
Said Armstead, “Jaylen’s a Division I guy who got lost through channels with COVID, like Ameer. He’s really, really good. He’s 6-7 with a high skill set. I like what I’ve seen. He picks up basketball sets. He moves without the ball. He’s a good back-cutter. He had a great foundation from his Folsom High days. I’m a big fan of his.”
He’s a fan of the trio in general.
“I can’t force guys to come here to work, to get better, and I don’t have to with these guys,” Armstead said. “They want to get better, to be great.”
This story was originally published July 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.