LAFAYETTE — Johnathan Stove was an offensive tour de force at Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge, averaging nearly 20 points in an all-state junior season and following that up with a senior season in which he scored 25.9 points per game.
But between those seasons, watching Stove play on a court in Indianapolis, Louisiana-Lafayette coach Bob Marlin was struck by something other than Stove’s offensive ability.
“I watched he and Bryce (Washington) play when they were juniors going into their senior season,” Marlin said. “Johnathan did a great job of guarding a young man from Jacksonville that had signed to play at the University of Florida, a top-100 player.