The first time Union coach John Darnell ran across J.T. Vance, the 6-foot-2 senior was then a sophomore for the Yellowjackets and Darnell was coaching at Lake.
Darnell says he doesn’t remember how many points Vance scored that night, but the sophomore left an impression on his future coach that night.
“I had heard about him, and in my first year at Lake, he got on my radar really quick,” Darnell said. “He was playing down low and killed us that night. We couldn’t stop him. So, I knew really quick that he was a special player.”
Darnell left Lake that summer and took the Union job after Marcus Luckett left for Northwest Rankin.
Since then, Vance has continued to impress Darnell, and just finished his senior year by averaging 22 points and eight rebounds a game for the Yellowjackets, who just completed a second straight 20-win season. For his efforts, Vance was named The Newton County Appeal’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Darnell had high praise for Vance, who has been named the Premier Preps of East Mississippi boys basketball team the last two years.
“I’ve told people that I thought he was the best player in the district,” Darnell said. “He’s a very smart kid and he works really hard. Here’s the thing, you watch him play and take scoring out of the equation, he’s always in the right spot. He rebounds, blocks shots, goes to the right spot. He just knows how to play the game. I’ve been very fortunate to coach him the last two years. He’s one of the best players that I’ve ever coached.”
When Darnell got to Union, Vance was an inside player but the new coach thought he saw more that the small forward could do.
“I thought when I got there that I wanted to make him more of an outside shooter,” Darnell said. “And that’s what we did. Every coach wants to coach a kid like J.T. When kids say they work on their game, they might go to the park but not many go home every day and work on their craft. He’s one of the most fundamentally sound players I have every coach. But there were times I had to tell him to shoot more. I’m proud of him and think he has grown and become a better player.”
Vance even made an impression on the current Lake head coach Darrin Gray, who also faced Vance his sophomore and junior years at Newton.
“I was super impressed with that kid,” Gray said. “We threw everything we had at him and he came right back and hit us in the face. I was really impressed with him. I thought he was the best player in our district. I’m just telling you he’s the kind of kid that you could go win with. He’s a difference maker. I agree that he was the best player in our district.”
Darnell said he thought Vance could certainly play at the next level. Vance has had interest from Millsaps and East Central as well.
“I know he visited Millsaps in February and I’m hoping that East Central gives him a chance,” Darnell said. “He worked out with East Central right before the virus outbreak and was going to work out with them. I’m kind of baffled that not many colleges have asked about him. I’ve reached out to a few schools. I know he can play at the next level. He can shoot it really well. If he goes to the right team and right situation and will work on his defense, I think he can thrive.
“But if he doesn’t, I’m sure he will be just fine in academics. He’s a really smart kid and wants to be an engineer and I’m sure he will be fine if that’s the way he goes.”
