Jerell Springer

Springer played three seasons of high school basketball for Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. In July 2015, at the Full-Court Press All-West Camp in Norwalk, California, he was among 25 players selected to the All-Star roster.[1][2] As a junior, Springer averaged 20.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists en route to All-League and third-team All-State honors.[3] By the end of the season, he became one of the most sought-after recruits in his state, with scholarship offers from Pacific and Southern Utah.[4]

For his senior year, Springer transferred to Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas. After being declared ineligible to play for his new school, his family hired a lawyer to deal with the eligibility case, which went to district court.[5] Springer said, "It was pretty hard watching knowing it was my final year and I didn't have nothing else to put out there on the table."[6] A temporary court order allowed him to play one game on January 21, 2017, in which he scored seven points against Ed W. Clark High School, shooting 1-of-14 from the field.[4] Despite his absence for the rest of the season, Desert Pines won the Class 3A state championship.[4][5]

In the same year, Springer impressed college programs playing for his travel team 702 Attack, drawing the attention of UNLV and earning two visits to the campus of BYU.[4][6][7] In May 2017, he committed to play for the Southern Utah Thunderbirds under head coach Todd Simon, who said that Springer "embodies what we want the Thunderbird spirit to be as a person and a teammate."[8] However, he instead decided to not enroll and play at the prep level in order to gain more interest from college programs.[9] Springer played an extra year at Planet Athlete Academy in Tempe, Arizona.[10] On December 2, 2017, he recorded 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists for his team.[11]

In April 2018, Springer attended a tryout in Houston, Texas for the Junior Basketball Association (JBA) and was one of seven players chosen for a roster spot in the league, joining the Seattle Ballers.[9][12] He was praised by former NBA player Ed O'Bannon, a member of the selection committee, who said, "He played hard... His knowledge of the game I thought was great. He was attacking the rim, going after rebounds, controlling the game, that sort of thing."[9] In Seattle's debut game on June 23, 2018, Springer recorded 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in a 121–103 win over the Dallas Ballers.[13] A day later, Springer recorded a game-high 48 points in a close 150–145 loss against the Los Angeles Ballers.[14] He was named to the West roster for the JBA All-Star Game.[15] In the championship game, a 132–121 loss to Los Angeles, Springer led Seattle in scoring with 32 points.[16]

After the end of the inaugural JBA season, Springer was one of the 14 players included in the JBA's USA Team in their international tour for 2018.[17] During the USA JBA Team's international tour debut on September 22, Springer put up 8 points and 7 rebounds in a close 120–118 win over the Svendborg Rabbits of Denmark.[18] On October 8, he led all scorers with 36 points in a 131–118 win over BK Liepājas Lauvas of the Latvian Basketball League.[19] Springer contributed 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting with eight rebounds and three steals in a 135–127 win over CSKA-2 on October 11.[20]

In January 2020, Springer signed a one-year deal with BC Kavkasia of the Georgia A League.[21] He was named A League Player of the week on March 13, 2020, after posting 29 points and 11 rebounds against Burji.[22]