JaBorris Frazier wanted a higher level of exposure.
As a junior, Frazier was a key member of the Columbus Christian Academy boys basketball team’s Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AA State championship team.
Prior to his senior year, though, Frazier opted to take his game to a bigger stage and transferred to Columbus High School. The 6-foot-5 forward/center admits he had to adjust to the speed of play and that he had to work on his conditioning. Once Frazier made that transition, he focused on raising his profile for college coaches.
On Wednesday, Frazier’s decision to move to Columbus High helped him realize his goal, as he announced his plans to attend Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale in a signing ceremony in the school’s gym.
Frazier signed the National Letter of Intent last month, so the ceremony was a celebration of the hard work it took to get him to this point.
“It was better competition (at Columbus High),” Frazier said. “The game was slower (at Columbus Christian Academy), but when I came over here it was a faster tempo. You have to get up and down the floor. I had to get my wind up, but toward the end of the year we started to get better.”
Columbus High boys basketball coach Gary Griffin said Frazier lost 15-20 pounds before the season, which helped prepare him to go against bigger and quicker opponents. He also said Frazier worked hard to improve his skills and to show college coaches he was capable of playing with the state’s best players in the Mississippi High School Activities Association’s highest classification.
“We knew what he had in him,” Griffin said. “It was just a matter of him being seen. We’re proud for him to get an opportunity to take the next step, and we’re excited for him to show us what he can do at the next level.”
Griffin said Frazier averaged about six points and five rebounds a game for the Falcons, who lost 10 seniors from the 2016 Class 6A State championship team. Frazier and Columbus Christian Academy transfer Dorian Brewer joined a team led by junior Robert Woodard II and overcame some early adjustments to finish as the runner-up in Class 6A, Region 2 and advance to the first round of the playoffs.
Griffin said Frazier was too heavy when he arrived at Columbus High and was committed to getting into shape. He said Frazier’s game matured and he became mentally and physically tougher and more focused.
“He was always a team player. I think that was his No. 1 attribute,” Frazier said. “He was always pushing for his other teammates.”
Frazier said he and his father, looked for places he might be able to go so he could continue his basketball career. He said it was difficult to attract attention because he had played at a smaller school. Frazier said he became more recognized as the season progressed, which made it easier for him to get his name out to coaches.
Frazier said he visited Coahoma C.C. and went through a workout and a scrimmage. He felt he did pretty good and was excited to get an opportunity to showcase his skills at small and power forward.
“It takes hard work to do it,” Frazier said. “I have a lot of growing to do.”
Frazier said his decision to attend Coahoma C.C. starts a new chapter for him. He feels the first step he took going against the top talent in the state this season has prepared him for a similar step later this year when he joins the Coahoma C.C. men’s basketball program.
Griffin agrees and feels Frazier projects as a four, or power forward, in college. He said Frazier has a good mid-range game, but he feels his size makes him better suited to be a physical presence who should be able to fit in well at Coahoma C.C.
“I think he will be more of a banger-type guy inside,” Griffin said. “At that level, he will go down there and do good. He has an opportunity to go down there and average a double-double. The pace of the game is going to be faster. There is going to be a shot clock. The floor is going to be more open, so it is going to give him more opportunities to do different things.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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