Who is SLO County’s boys basketball Player of the Year? All-star list revealed

While on a breakaway fast break during a state playoff game at Mission Bay High in San Diego, Mission Prep basketball player Jamar “J.J.” Howard not only dunked the basketball, he windmilled it.

After the highlight reel move, announcers on the NFHS Network that livestreams high school games described the Royals’ 6-foot-5 senior guard’s athleticism as exceptional and fitting of a Division 1 college basketball player.

Leading the Royals to a 23-10 record and 14-2 in Mountain League for a second-place finish, Howard is The Tribune’s San Luis Obispo County high school boys’ basketball 2022-23 Player of the Year for the second straight year.

Howard will be moving on to play at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he received a Division 1 scholarship.

Howard’s quickness and leaping ability are just a small part of what makes him a special player, said Mission Prep Coach Terrance Harris.

“There’s no doubt that the Central Coast was treated to just a special, special athlete and a special, special kid,” Harris said. “And I hope folks appreciated getting the chance to watch him do what he does. His consistency was remarkable, no matter if it was (high-ranking state teams) St. Joseph or Bishop Montgomery, a league opponent or a California Open Division opponent, you were going to get the best from J.J.”

On the season, Howard averaged 24.5 points per game on 52.9% shooting from the floor and 78.8% from the free throw line, to go along with 7.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.

“J.J. is one of the best players that I’ve had the opportunity to coach, with willingness to embrace constant improvement, and that was critical for not only for his personal growth and development, but for the success of our team,” Harris said.

Howard also led the Royals to the quarterfinals of the CIF-Division 3 state playoffs.

In their last three games of the season, the Royals beat AGBU of Canoga Park 64-60 and Mission Bay of San Diego 67-57, and nearly pulled off the upset, falling 52-50 to Culver City (all state playoff games were on the road) — as Howard scored over 20 points per game in each of those contests.

“I I feel like I was able to improve as a leader and help my team get better,” Howard said. “Just like my mom (Jessica Smith) and everyone in my family, I want to be a leader. We lead by example with whatever we do, so I tried to do that this year.”

Howard, who suffered a neck injury crashing into the wall on the last play of the game versus Culver City, expects to fully recover over the next couple of months.

“I got knocked unconscious, and when I woke up, I asked who shot the free throws because I thought I was fouled,” Howard said. “I think that’s when tears went to my eyes after they said ‘No one.’ I tried to move my neck and couldn’t move. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s really how everything ends,’ and I got teary-eyed. I think people thought I was crying because I was hurt, but it was because of the pain of losing.”

Howard said that the end of the high school season on a team with great camaraderie and so much success was a blow because of how much he loved his high school basketball experience.

“On the bus rides, I feel like that’s when we had so much chemistry,” Howard said. “We be talking for three hours, just having fun together, playing Fortnite. We just had fun together on and off the court, and we’re all still friends.”

Continued growth

Howard said that he worked hard on his passing and 3-point shot to improve over his standout junior season in which he averaged 25.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

“My 3-point shot kind of came together at the end of the year. When teams backed off of me, I had to show them that I could shoot,” Howard said.

This year, Howard eclipsed 1,000 points at Mission Prep, which included only two years after transferring in as a junior. Howard moved here with his family from Pacific Grove.

He enrolled at Mission Prep at the end of his sophomore year.

“The thing that I love most about J.J. is his willingness to accept coaching and to always work at getting better at some part of his game,” Harris said. “This year he elevated his commitment to leadership and getting teammates involved and making the game better for players around him.”

Harris added: “I have no doubt that he has not plateaued as a player. ... He will continue to grow and get better. When it’s all said and done, I think it’s the intangibles that will really drive that for him. His competitive spirit is phenomenal.”

Howard said that the season highlights included the annual Christmas Classic Tournament at Mission Prep that attracts top teams from California and other states. Among their matchups, the Royals faced Bishop Montgomery, the tournament winner and a perennial powerhouse in California high school basketball, falling 54-40.

“The first three games of the Christmas Classic were amazing,” Howard said.

The Royals also faced stiff competition at a tournament in Seattle earlier in the season, where players talked a lot of trash to Mission Prep. Asked about the best approach to trash talkers, Howard said it’s OK to talk back if you can back it up.

“The funnest games are when people are trash talking just because it makes the environment more like hostile and more fun,” Howard said. “If you make a shot and talk, you’re backing it up. But if you’re down 30, at some point you have to shut up.”

Season successes including beating all of the Mountain League teams except for state runner-up St. Joseph, who beat the Royals twice 77-58 on Jan. 13 and 86-69 on Feb. 3). St. Joseph fell in the state Open Division title game 76-65 to top-ranked Harvard-Westlake.

Howard, who wore No. 23 having rooted for LeBron James (the NBA star’s former number before he switched to No. 6) growing up, said part of his growth as a player at the next level will be to get healthy from his injury, and then work on his outside game and step-back shot.

Playing in summer basketball in AAU for West Coast Elite helped him get used to playing against bigger players.

“I gained probably five inches on my vertical this year, so that’s pretty awesome,” Howard said. “But when you drive the lane against guys that big, you have to get the ball higher to get over them. Every game in AAU basically, there is a 7-footer. Just being able to finish against them helps.”

Here’s a full list of The Tribune’s All-SLO County basketball team.

Player of the Year

J.J. Howard, Mission Prep

First team

Lucca Hart, Nipomo

Adam Silmon, Arroyo Grande

Luke Jacobson, Mission Prep

C.J. Bell, Atascadero

Nicky Frangie, Templeton

Second team

Zach Soriano, Arroyo Grande

John Raj, SLO

Roman Benedetti, Mission Prep

Jayden Nozil, Mission Prep

Ryan McNamee, Templeton

Honorable Mention

Justin Campbell, Morro Bay

Corbin Rossi, Atascadero

Nic Simmons, Arroyo Grande

Noah Morris, Arroyo Grande

Trevon Carter-Givens, Templeton

Wyatt Maulhardt, Mission Prep

Dallon Scott, Paso Robles

Raemar Agnes, Nipomo

Preston Krier, Nipomo

Jake Falat, Morro Bay

This story was originally published March 26, 2023 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Who is SLO County’s boys basketball Player of the Year? All-star list revealed."