Team Spotlight: Team Dickerson – April 8, 2020

JoJo Peterson of Mount Pisgah (GA) will see his recruitment take off this year. 

After being with the Atlanta Celtics for a long time, Demond Stephens decided to form an independent program this year, Team Dickerson. The team is named after the late Coach Derrick Dickerson, who was a legendary Atlanta Celtics coach for many years. Stephens has put together one of the best and biggest independent 17U teams you will see, boasting great prospects at various positions. They will attract a lot of coaches and will be heavily recruited. Let’s take a look at this year’s Team Dickerson group.

By: Trent Markwith

Full Roster:

6’4” PG JoJo Peterson (Mount Pisgah)

6’6” W Jusaun Holt (St. Francis)

6’6” W Derrick Brown (Monroe Area)

6’6” SF AJ Hopkins (The Skill Factory)

6’6” W Matt Davis (The Skill Factory)

6’8” PF Taje Kelly (Grayson)

6’2” G Zach Bell (Grovetown)

6’7” F Chuol Deng (The Skill Factory)

5’10” G Jay Joshi (Lovett)

 Team Dickerson will be headlined by Jusaun Holt and JoJo. Peterson. Although they are region foes during the high school season, they form a dangerous duo together on the travel circuit. Holt already has 7 offers (Clemson, Dayton, Tulane, Washington, Xavier, UGA, Georgie Tech), but is looking to add to his options over the next few months. Holt is a constantly improving, multi-positional prospect that quickly ascended into the national ranks heading into this winter, and won another state championship with St. Francis a few weeks ago. He does it all and has a really good motor that creates a ton of opportunities for him and his team. Peterson’s lone offer came from Elon in September, but he is one of the fastest rising prospects in Georgia and is sure to pick up more offers this summer. With excellent speed and passing ability at 6’4”, Peterson has qualities that make coaches excited. He put together an exceptional season at Mount Pisgah and has his name written down by a lot of schools as a guy they’ll watch during the live periods.

Two more prospects with size and versatility, both Derrick Brown and AJ Hopkins could help themselves a lot this travel season. Compared to others, Brown is a lesser-known prospect at Monroe Area, but I watched him twice during the high school season and came away impressed both times. He has length, perimeter skill, quick leaping ability, and a good motor. He’s one that people should become familiar with quickly once tournaments get back going. Hopkins was originally a 2020 prospect and just finished his final season at Whitefield Academy, but will be heading to The Skill Factory for a Post-grad year next fall. Hopkins can stretch the floor at 6’6” and has developed his body while getting more aggressive over the past year. He should benefit from his time with Team Dickerson this summer and his time with TSF next winter.

Not to be forgotten, the rest of the team is very capable as well. Matt Davis and Jay Joshi provide additional shooting prowess; Davis is a pure marksman who is really tall and has expanded his game, while Joshi has deep range and can get hot in the blink of an eye. The two true forwards on the team are Taje Kelly and Chuol Deng. They’re both strong and equipped big bodies that can take contact. Kelly and Deng will be active, physical presences in the paint on both ends. Lastly, Zach Bell is an ultra-athletic guard that’ll be coming over from Augusta to join the team. He came into his own at Grovetown during the 2019-20 season and is another solid sleeper to be aware of.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *